Corporate Connections
Corporate Connections brought together a diverse group of companies to encourage innovative thinking and develop shared opportunities, through a series of collaborative workshops.
Corporate Connections from NESTA Connect on Vimeo.
The tailored workshops focused on two specific activities:
- Sharing proprietary technologies to seek new applications; and
- Collaborating on a common issue, such as the sustainable use of resources, to mutual advantage.
Opportunities that emerged from the workshops were assessed and analysed, with the best ideas being followed up for further development and seed funding.
Together with H-I Network, we ensured that good ideas were followed up and translated into profitable business.
The corporate line-up
Participating corporates included: AXA; BASF; BUPA; Carbon Trust; Eon; GSK; ITCM; Kidde; McLaren; National Grid; NATS; Ordinance Survey; Philips; PPP; Premier Foods; Procter & Gamble; QinetiQ; RBS; SEEDA; and Virgin Atlantic.
Case study: Managed serendipity
Two of the companies taking part in Corporate Connections - McLaren and NATS - have, as a result of the programme, started a major new business collaboration in the worldwide air traffic control market, where NATS has established a reputation of excellence. NATS is the UK market leader, providing air traffic services at the UK's major airports including Heathrow - the world's busiest for international traffic.
In a remarkable piece of ‘managed serendipity', race control computing developed by F1 Champions McLaren is now being adapted to aid the management of aircraft on the ground. This venture into A-CDM (Airports-Collaborative Decision Making) software could significantly enhance efficiency and has a global marketplace.
McLaren Applied Technologies is currently recruiting staff to develop the new product. Business Development Director Chris Crockford said: "NESTA's Corporate Connections programme has given McLaren an unexpected opportunity to work with a totally unrelated business. It shows that in the right circumstances the most interesting innovations can come from unlikely collaborations."
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