Fully funded innovation support available for North-East businesses

Eligible North-East businesses can access fully funded support via Arrow – a collaboration between Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University and the University of Sunderland.

Arrow links businesses with knowledge and research – pairing an organisation’s specific needs and ambitions with the right University expertise and facilities – helping to foster success in our region.

Businesses can access a range of support via Arrow including one-to-one time with experts, specialist scientific expertise, research and development, and facilities and equipment. There is no cost to organisations for eligible projects, as Arrow is part-funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – a UK Government scheme that’s part of the Levelling Up agenda – through Durham County Council and North of Tyne Combined Authority

The fund is providing £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The aim is to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities, supporting local business, people and skills.

Businesses developing new products, services and processes in any sector who are based in County Durham, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Northumberland are eligible to access Arrow support.

More than 150 businesses in the North-East are seeing great results after engaging with Arrow. Independent assessment forecast 143 new jobs will be created by businesses supported – invigorating careers and bringing talent to our region. This will lead to 53 new products and services being developed, boosting private investment by £2.6m and increasing business turnover by £16.9m. Arrow innovation projects are helping to speed up processes and break down barriers to success.

One of Arrow’s successful projects was with Nanovery, a cutting-edge biotech company developing nanorobots that will be used to diagnose deadly diseases at an early stage. Nanovery's technology has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost and turnaround time of a liquid biopsy, making it more accessible to patients and healthcare providers.

A project through Arrow allowed Nanovery to test their prototype in a lab with clinically relevant cell lines. The team gained insight into the type of data they needed to validate their technology.

The results from this project helped Nanovery secure Innovate UK grant funding which allowed the company to set up operations in the Biosphere at Newcastle Helix. The company has now raised in £1.85m investment, employs a team of nine and hosts two PhD students to develop their diagnostic test.

Arrow is passionate about supporting all kinds of businesses. If you are looking for research, facilities, testing or technical advice to support your organisation, then Arrow can help you access the right experts at one of our four partner universities.

If you are developing a new product, process or services in County Durham, North Tyneside, Newcastle or Northumberland, and are interested in accessing Arrow’s fully funded support, contact us today via our dedicated enquiry form.

Find out more about Arrow and read more business success stories at https://arrowinnovation.org.uk

Northumbria University is a research-intensive university that unlocks potential for all, changing lives regionally, nationally and internationally. Northumbria works in collaboration with organisations across many sectors and has a highly engaged research community across several specialist areas of expertise. It works with commercial partners to develop insight, solutions and new products including areas which support sustainability and the NetZero agenda with a focus on Advanced Materials and Synthetic and Analytical Chemistry. Find out more at www.northumbria.ac.uk/research-and-consultancy