South East Programme of Innovative Actions (SEPIA)
Brainstorming Innovation Groups (BIG)

The aim of BIG is to awaken the awareness in SMEs of the opportunities and possibilities available to them within the knowledge economy and help to develop ideas and strategies through highly interactive brainstorming and creativity sessions.

Whether you have only recently launched a new venture or you have been established for some time, you will know that running a successful business takes ambition, desire, and determination - but it can be a very lonely path. It is almost certain that there have been times when you would have found it useful to have had others to use as a sounding board.

Technology Enterprise Kent (TEK) is organising brainstorming sessions across the South East Region for individuals, start-ups or established companies. These practical sessions will introduce you to tools and techniques to help you think innovatively, helping you to grasp business opportunities when they arise or to resolve any problems you might have - techniques that can be applied within any company regardless of size.

Brainstorming is a very powerful tried and tested process for developing creative solutions to a variety of challenges. It works by a group of people or an individual focusing on an issue, and deliberately coming up with anything related to the topic - no matter now remote or implausible a suggestion might seem at first. These ideas are then evaluated with a view to determining the most feasible solution(s).

The ideas can be recorded in various ways - on flipcharts, mindmaps and so on.   At the BIG sessions we use the latest technology to capture and facilitate the ordering of ideas into categories. Working as a group participants assess the ideas to ascertain the relevance to their market sector and with the assistance of an experienced facilitator generate an Action Plan. Every participant leaves the session with a report of all the brainstormed ideas and an individual Action Plan that forms the basis of their future strategic thinking.

TEK undertakes a follow up survey to monitor progress on the Action Plan activities and provide additional help and support as appropriate.

Sessions can also be arranged for a group of people from a single company, eg to brainstorm the launch of a new product or the introduction of a new management technique, either in-house or at a convenient local venue. Please contact TEK to discuss.

The BIG initiative is one of six projects that constitute the South East Programme of Innovation Actions (SEPIA).  The programme is managed by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

For more information please contact:

Delia Stamper
Technology Enterprise Kent
Research & Development Building
University of Kent
Canterbury CT2 7PD

Tel 01227-824310
Fax 01227-763424
Email: delia.stamper@technologyenterprise.co.uk
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