Consultancy that's affordable for all

Small firms tend to shy away from consultants because they are deemed to be too expensive, but new academic-industry schemes are changing this view, writes Dean Palmer More small firms in the UK are finding ways to hire consultancy services that match their budget. The cost of business or management consultants means that small businesses often see consultancy as purely for the big players who have money to burn. But expertise on specific technical projects or business challenges can make all the difference in the life of a new firm. Established in 1999, technology development firm Design Blue has 10 employees and has won a number of awards for its work, including the prestigious Royal College of Arts award and SMART awards. One of the company's recent projects, 'd3o', involved a revolutionary smart material that reacts to a high speed impact by changing its material properties from soft and flexible to stiff and protective. The change occurs only for the duration of the impact and is instantaneous and repeatable. The product is aimed at serious sportsmen and women who need to push their bodies to reach the peak of their natural ability. But promising new technologies can flop without relentless testing and development. Needing to ensure d3o made the transition to a marketable product, Design Blue made contact with its local university, Hertfordshire, to explore what additional expertise could be brought into the company. Under the KEEP (Knowledge Partners East of England) scheme, companies and organisations work alongside the University to develop a specific project with a graduate, for anything between three and 12 months, as well as the support of an 'expert' academic. i10, a collaboration between all ten of the region's Higher Education institutions - including the University of Cambridge, Cranfield University and the Open University - was set up to make it much easier for businesses to access the resources that would work for them. According to Moana Pledger, project manager at i10, "the scheme provides a cost-effective solution to a project or problem that needs to be resolved with companies expecting to achieve significant benefits and returns." KEEP is subsidised by the Higher Education Innovation Fund and supported by the East of England Development Agency. Companies are expected to pay around £14,500 for a year, and pro rata for shorter placements. Design Blue was provided with the services of Mohammed El Said, a graduate with a first-class degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Hertfordshire. He started work in April 2005 with an 18-month contract (due to finish in October 2006). Mohammed is testing and developing smart materials which supersede the performance of similar materials currently on the market. He also accompanies sales engineers to client meetings to be on hand to answer any technical questions regarding customer requirements. As a result of the work, a polymer-based material has been developed which is ideally suited to motor cycling and snow sports. Even in its early stages the project has attracted growing interest from global customers. Pledger continued: "Universities are a major resource for helping businesses to develop and grow - and there are low-cost ways for firms of any size to access them. Despite the potential for firms to get a competitive advantage from the experts, facilities, new technology and potential recruits from universities, recent figures show that only around 20% of businesses in the East of England have an active relationship with a university." Hi-tech firm IRISYS is an example of an SME which used its local university at Cranfield to develop its technologies and manufacture elements of its products. IRISYS was set up in 1997 to develop affordable commercial products from advanced sensor technology originally used by the military. Its thermal imaging devices were used to provide instant checks on travellers during the SARS epidemic and the firm has been listed fifth in a ranking of Top 100 hi-tech companies 'to watch' by The Sunday Times. Working with Cranfield allowed the company to undertake an ongoing programme of research and testing, as well as get access to staff and student expertise and crucial workshop facilities. Consultants can be expensive and not always have the specific insight companies are looking for. In the East of England region alone there are 12,000 experts across biotech, creative industries, environment, energy, health, IT/multimedia, manufacturing and rural industries. Pledger said small firms can get input into projects from experts with a definite specialism in their sector, or to deal with a particular technical project or business issue, at a realistic cost. There are ways to get an injection of graduate knowledge and enthusiasm without a long-term commitment. Besides the work placements which can be arranged with universities, there are schemes like STEP (The Shell Technology and Enterprise Programme) which allows small firms to recruit specialist graduates for short periods of time (usually eight weeks) at a subsidised cost of around £180 per week (www.step.org.uk). And it's not just about paying for some one-off input of expertise. Active participation in different forms of collaboration will be the difference between success and failure for many small firms.