Press Release

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22/10/2008

Intellect supports EDT in launching its Programme to Support Innovation in Government

EDT with endorsement by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) have launched a pan government innovation programme to showcase products and solutions to public sector organisations within their new Innovation Centre in Warrington, Cheshire, called:

“The Key” – Unlocking Innovation in Government.

Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry, has now placed its full support behind promoting The Key to its members and throughout industry.

The Key programme objective is to provide a platform to support DIUS in developing, sharing and measuring public sector innovation. Another primary function of The Key is to support Private Sector companies, particularly SMEs and third sector organisations in marketing their technology-based innovations to government.  Also to encourage public sector decision makers to consider different and innovative technology-based approaches to policy making.  The process we hope will attempt to address the barriers of skills and knowledge of government which currently hold SMEs and third sector organisations back from being able to market their services effectively.

The Key’s showcase centre aims to promote innovation in technology by providing suppliers with an exciting opportunity to show their approved innovative IT products and solutions to the public sector within state-of-the-art facilities at EDT’s base in Warrington.

The Key’s programme will showcase innovative products and solutions relating to specific themes.  These themes will be identified by senior government technologists.  Themes will be based on the key business challenges of government and will include for example child poverty, engaging young people with education, green IT for government, internet fraud detection, mobile working,  biometrics in government, and improving collaboration etc.
The benefits for organisations who apply are two-fold.  Firstly, there is a real opportunity to have their products seen and assessed by both procurement decision makers and business managers across government.  Secondly, successful applicants are able to receive formal support through a report and mentor mechanism which will help them to promote and sell their innovations to the public sector.
The programme is about improving the way innovations are promoted to public sector decision makers and will aim to support their adoption by providing guidance and tools to navigate government more effectively.  Moreover, the programme aims to allow greater inclusion of smaller companies in public sector procurements processes.

Damien Kennedy, head of business partnerships at EDT stated:

“The Key programme provides IT partners with an exciting opportunity of presenting their world class innovations to a pan-government audience.  We want the centre to become a central hub to connect public sector needs with private and public sector solutions and to ensure all of government benefits from these innovations.

Having Intellect supporting ‘The Key’ creates a valuable partnership to help promote the programme to industry. Intellect have a large membership and a great deal of expertise in working with both Government and Industry.”

Accompanying the real life centre is a fully interactive virtual innovation centre within the popular Second Life environment. This will feature current and past innovations and will further raise awareness of the innovations programme.

For further information contact:

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