Technical Support Consultants - to support the design and development of prototype systems

This is confirmation of award following the below tender. The University of Chester is seeking tenders to supply consultants to undertake technical work in support of the ERDF supported Innovation to Commercialisation (I2C) project. This project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Ref: 03R16P00976. The scope and parameters of this work opportunity are described below. Background Information: The Innovation to Commercialisation project is an £3m ERDF supported project running to late 2019. This project seeks to provide technical and equipment support to promote the development and deployment of new products, processes and services in eligible SME companies. Project aims/objectives: The project seeks to help eligible SME companies innovate, develop and produce new products, processes and services through access to advanced skills and equipment at the University of Chester. The project will provision this access in 3 key stages: Innovation Masterclasses. To assist SMEs in developing and exploiting an innovation process within the company. Technical Support. To promote the development of a new, market targeted product, process or service through the provision of access to advanced skills or equipment at the University. Signposting. To assist businesses in finding 3rd party companies to support further development. As a guide the budget allowed for this activity is anticipated to be int he range of £60,000 to £120,000, including VAT. However, this depends on the particular staff and project requirements from the University of Chester. Whilst the project has clear targets, the actual demand and volumes of staff required to fulfil the project may vary over the period of the contract term. For this reason, whilst the appointed provider/s will be awarded the contract for the duration of this contract term, no guarantee can therefore be given regarding the volume, nor value of business placed. The appointed organisation/s may therefore be required to supply requirements, below, or in addition to, what has been initially specified, within this tender.