View from the top: Another busy week!

This week, we are announcing the qualifying innovators from our recent Innovation Festival.

The qualifying innovator process is an important one and is about councils scoring private sector organisations on their innovations (this only relates to those who applied to be Qualifying Innovators at the Festival). The importance of this scoring means that winners can either receive funding to develop their products further or win an opportunity to trial their product on a live network with a Local Authority. I’m often amazed at how many don’t apply to become a qualifying innovator, but that being said, there are some great worthy recipients this year that we will be following on their journey. You can see the winners here.

I’ve had a pretty busy week this week, from meetings with a multi-billion pound organisation that wants to help increase innovation in the sector, a heavy weight industry association where we’re looking at opportunities to collaborate, a trip to London to see DfT colleagues and a catch up with a major Local Government lobbying organisation. I am expecting that each of these conversations will benefit both the public and private sector, so watch this space over the next six months or so.

This week was also the LCRIG Southeast Group, which always has healthy debates and interaction around the different approaches highways services are taking. At this regional group meeting it was an opportunity for councils to ask to hear from two supply chain member associates, these being Meon and ATM-AMAC. We find that councils do enjoy having supply chain presentations at the regional group meetings, they are a great way of stimulating discussion and ideas. Of course, these do get oversubscribed but I think they are a key part of the meetings.

I am thoroughly enjoying the conversations I am having with many organisations (public and private) that want to see us do more for the sector and sending us some brilliant ideas!