Nesta in Wales: the speakers

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Professor Ian Hargreaves, CBE

Digital Ian Hargreaves is Professor of Digital Economy at Cardiff University and a Nesta Research Fellow. He is working with Nesta on a Manifesto for the Creative Economy. This builds upon his work for the UK Government on intellectual property (Digital Opportunity, published in 2011) and for the Welsh Government on creative industries (The Heart of Digital Wales, published in 2010). Most of Ian's career has been in journalism, where his posts included: Deputy Editor of the FT; Editor of the Independent; Editor of the New Statesman and Director of BBC New and Current Affairs.

Ian Hargreaves is Professor of Digital Economy at Cardiff University and a Nesta Research Fellow. He is working with Nesta on a Manifesto for the Creative Economy. This builds upon his work for the UK Government on intellectual property (Digital Opportunity, published in 2011) and for the Welsh Government on creative industries (The Heart of Digital Wales, published in 2010). Most of Ian's career has been in journalism, where his posts included: Deputy Editor of the FT; Editor of the Independent; Editor of the New Statesman and Director of BBC New and Current Affairs.

Michael Trickey

Michael Trickey is leading the Wales Public Services 2025 programme looking at the long-term challenges for public services in Wales. A partnership with Nesta on public innovation is a core element in the programme. Michael is also the Wales Adviser to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the leading UK think-tank on poverty and associated social policy, and a trustee of the National Library of Wales and other cultural charities. He was recruited into the Welsh Government civil service at devolution and, on the official side, led the Government's first public service reform policy. He retired as a full-time senior civil servant in 2010. Prior to that, his career included helping form and then working for the Arts Council of Wales, managing arts development projects in the South Wales valleys and coast and periods in higher education and local government.

Michael Trickey is leading the Wales Public Services 2025 programme looking at the long-term challenges for public services in Wales. A partnership with Nesta on public innovation is a core element in the programme. Michael is also the Wales Adviser to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the leading UK think-tank on poverty and associated social policy, and a trustee of the National Library of Wales and other cultural charities. He was recruited into the Welsh Government civil service at devolution and, on the official side, led the Government's first public service reform policy. He retired as a full-time senior civil servant in 2010. Prior to that, his career included helping form and then working for the Arts Council of Wales, managing arts development projects in the South Wales valleys and coast and periods in higher education and local government.

Dr Alastair Davies

After undertaking a PhD investigating the properties of high temperature superconductors, Dr Davies spent a number of years in new product development with the largest fibre optic manufacturing organisation in Europe.

This was followed by a spell at EA Technology in Cheshire, where Dr Davies was responsible for running a number of collaborative, international research programmes. The largest of these introduced new dielectric heating techniques to the production of a wide range of ceramic materials.

In 2001 Dr Davies joined the innovation department what was then the Welsh Development Agency. During this time he was responsible for setting up and implementing a number of new innovation support programmes for business, including A4B (Academia for Business), one of the largest knowledge transfer programmes in the UK. For the last year Dr Davies has been working for the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, developing a new innovation strategy for Wales.

After undertaking a PhD investigating the properties of high temperature superconductors, Dr Davies spent a number of years in new product development with the largest fibre optic manufacturing organisation in Europe. This was followed by a spell at EA Technology in Cheshire, where Dr Davies was responsible for running a number of collaborative, international research programmes. The largest of these introduced new dielectric heating techniques to the production of a wide range of ceramic materials.

In 2001 Dr Davies joined the innovation department what was then the Welsh Development Agency. During this time he was responsible for setting up and implementing a number of new innovation support programmes for business, including A4B (Academia for Business), one of the largest knowledge transfer programmes in the UK.

For the last year Dr Davies has been working for the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, developing a new innovation strategy for Wales.

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans has held senior posts in various universities and business schools since 1996. He is visiting professor of entrepreneurship at the Turku University in Finland and has worked as consultant for the OECD, EU and other economic development bodies. He has also served as Vice President (UK) for the European Council of Small Business. Dylan has developed over £40 million of development projects to benefit Welsh universities and has attracted research grants from all the major funding bodies including the ESRC, European Commission, Leverhulme Trust and the Nuffield Foundation. He led the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project in Wales for eight years and he has published over 100 academic articles within refereed journals, academic books and conferences (and currently has four high quality journal articles for the 2013 REF).

Along with Professor Sara Carter, he also the author of the best-selling textbook 'Enterprise and Small Business', published by the FT. He was the founding chairman of Outlook Expeditions Ltd, a Snowdonia-based fast growing business and works with a number of growing firms in Wales through his role as the founder of the Wales Fast Growth Fifty - the annual barometer of entrepreneurial development within Welsh business.

Destination Local

David Williams, Co-Founder, MyTown Media Ltd

www.mywelshpool.co.uk

David has 20 years of experience in the media industry and currently works as an Adviser to the brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Destination Local consists of ten projects which are jointly funded by Nesta, the Welsh Government and Creative Scotland. The projects were selected from 165 applications and will work alongside eleven successful Technology Strategy Board projects and Nesta's strategic partners to develop the next generation of hyperlocal media services.

In June 2012, MyTown Media was awarded a grant as part of Nesta's Destination Local initiative and will utilise the funds for the two new sites as well as developing apps for all four.

Britain's New Radical

www.nesta.org.uk/britainsnewradicals

Becky Booth, CEO, Spice

www.justaddspice.org

In partnership with The Observer, and using an expert panel of judges, Nesta identified 50 people and organisations who are changing Britain for the better; those applying fresh approaches in practical and scalable ways, through social, technological, scientific and artistic methods. The winners offer some much deserved recognition to some remarkable people and organisations. Nesta hopes it will inspire, motivate and provoke others to innovate and build on the ideas presented.

Spice is working in communities across England and Wales to develop time credit systems that support the many to become actively involved in building strong and sustainable communities and supporting individuals and organisation to design and develop more co-productive services.

Becky is the co-founder and CEO of Spice and has been designing and implementing community currency systems for the last eight years. At the Wales Institute for Community Currency, Becky was involved in the development of the Time Credit systems now pioneered by Spice.

With an academic background in International development, Becky has been involved in community development projects in Africa, India and SE Asia.

Big Green Challenge

Valleys CIC and TGVHydro Ltd.

www.nesta.org.uk/bgc_challengers

Grenville Ham, Founder, The Green Valleys CIC (TGV)

www.tgvhydro.co.uk

The Big Green Challenge was Nesta's £1 million challenge prize designed to stimulate and support community-led responses to climate change. Through the Big Green Challenge, Nesta aimed to uncover what support these communities needed to transform their bright ideas into viable solutions that will improve all of our lives. 100 from the 355 most promising groups were selected with ideas to reduce CO2 emissions in their communities, who received support from the Big Green Challenge team to develop their ideas into detailed plans. From this group, Nesta shortlisted ten finalists who then put their ideas into practice to compete for the £1 million prize.

The Green Valleys CIC (TGV) was created by Brecon Beacons residents hoping to win Nesta's Big Green Challenge - a £1 million prize fund aimed at inspiring communities to develop innovative responses to climate change. In 2010 TGV were confirmed as one of three joint winners and were awarded £300,000.

TGV delivers on-the-ground practical projects and community initiatives and has also set up trading subsidiaries that assist them with their goals. Grenville Ham is the founder of TGV and manages all elements of hydro design for TGVHydro. He presently has 27 schemes under contract and has secured the exclusive option for over 100 community hydro schemes across Wales.

Innovation in Giving

www.nesta.org.uk/giving

Nathan Cornish, CEO, timto

www.timto.co.uk

The Innovation in Giving Fund aims to invest in, support and grow innovative ideas that will bring about a step-change in the giving and exchange of time, assets, skills, resources and money and which have a credible route to being self-sustaining in the longer term. The Fund runs over two years and is managed by Nesta.

timto is an award winning online group gifting service which enables celebrators to create an online gift list which includes a donation to their favourite charity. This enables family and friends to group together to buy extra special presents from retailers that everyone trusts; whilst knowing that they are also helping a good cause important to the celebrator.

'Uplifting Gifting' aims to make donating to charity an integral part of celebrating in the UK. Nathan Cornish is the CEO of timto which he co-founded with his brother Luke in 2010. After studying business at Manchester University, Nathan pursued a career in the banking sector where he enjoyed a successful 12 year career. Inspired by the term 'doing good is good for business' he set up timto as a unique way of celebrating a special occasion whilst giving.

Creative Councils  

Monmouthshire County Council

www.nesta.org.uk/creative_councils

Paul Matthews, CEO, Monmouthshire County Council

www.monmouthshire.gov.uk

Creative Councils is a programme from Nesta and the Local Government Association to support innovators in local government across England and Wales to develop and implement radical innovations that address a long-term challenge that matters in their area.

Monmouthshire County Council is one of just six UK councils to be recognised by Nesta for their pioneering work in developing and trialling new ways to deliver public services. The council has been trialling a programme that promotes a new way of working based on giving council officers the permission, skills and techniques to listen and respond more creatively to the needs of Monmouthshire communities.

Paul Matthews was appointed Chief Executive of Monmouthshire County Council in May 2009 after leaving his post as Deputy Chief Executive and Strategic Director of Communities at Torfaen County Borough Council. Initially working in the Education sector, Paul held several senior posts including Deputy Director of Education at Torfaen.

He is strongly committed to change and improvement in public services and retains a particular passion for education. Paul has been instrumental in taking forward a radical change agenda at Monmouthshire County Council. He is a keen advocate of bringing focus to the things that matter, believing in doing better things, rather than just doing things better. An unashamed technology enthusiast, Paul champions the use of social media in his organisation. More than anything he tries to free his colleagues to bring everything they have to their work.

Paul is the Lead Chief Executive for the 'Greater' Gwent area, representing other public sector organisations on the All Wales Public Service Board.

Welsh Crucible

www.nesta.org.uk/crucible

Professor Peter Halligan, Chair of the Welsh Crucible Steering committee and Professor of Neuropsychology, Cardiff University.

http://www.welshcrucible.org.uk/

Nesta developed the Crucible programme to bring bright thinkers together and see the bigger picture. It began in 2007 as a series of residential workshops run by Nesta to help researchers, who face demanding challenges in their own fields, to network and look to solve more complex challenges across several disciplines. By bringing bright thinkers together, Crucible was designed to help people see the bigger picture and help researchers to discover how other early to mid-career researchers are tackling the same issues as them to how evidence-based policy is made.

Crucible in a Box is an extension of this approach, providing all of the assets and materials to allow third-parties to run their own Crucible programmes within their own institutions and across multiple facilities. The programme has now closed but you can now access all of the learnings from our Crucible programme, and find out how you can run your own networking programme, by visiting Crucible in a Box.

Welsh Crucible is a programme of personal, professional and leadership development for highly promising research leaders of the future who are building their careers in Wales. The programme, which began in 2011 and funded by the Universities and Higher Education Funding Council, demonstrates the HE sector commitment to supporting the development of a dynamic economy for Wales through research inspired innovation and cross-institutional collaboration. Key to the programme is the explicit aim of 'seeding' and facilitating interdisciplinary innovation and harnessing the opportunities for entrepreneurship to tackle major societal challenges.