Business Support - Activities

  • The Creative Industries Network Founded in 2002, the CIN was established to provide a sustainable network for independent creative businesses in the area by encouraging growth through collaboration and providing both a forum and collective voice for the industry. Desperately needing funding to take their sector forward, DEP support has since enabled them to employ a full time coordinator and create a dedicated CIN website.

    Their new web presence, which launches in July 2005, will offer a message board, member and freelance database, information centre, showcase and member discount section, while the new coordinator, Joanne Smalley, is responsible for organising networking events, sector specific advice, promotional and marketing showcases and the increase of skills and knowledge transfer.

    For more information, please visit www.creative-cin.co.uk
     
  • Derbyshire Business Against CrimeOriginally funded by the East Midlands Development Agency, the programme began in 2003 by providing comprehensive, free of charge advice and information about how to combat business crime. Now, with DEP backing, a website has been launched (www.saferderbyshire.gov.uk), an e-mail alert system servicing over 1,800 local businesses has been established, a number of seminars have been held in the county and the Business Crime Forum, comprising of local business leaders, has been formed to steer the project.


    In December 2004, DEP funding was also used to employ four new crime advisors who work alongside project coordinator Samantha Hancock. Given the success of the scheme, in May further DEP funding was approved to launch 'Business Crime Toolkits'. These contain a range of crime prevention measures that are tailored around individual businesses by one of the advisors. They include Smart Water, Auto Dial alarms, counter fraud/forgery equipment and self contained CCTV technology. The countywide launch of the SmartWater took place at the DEP Annual Meeting on Friday, 15th July.
     
  • The Derbyloans SchemeEstablished in 2003, Derbyloans gives financial support to businesses and would-be entrepreneurs in areas where banks are reluctant to lend, and because of a £150,000 DDEP grant, their capacity to do this has almost doubled. Recent marketing activity, such as a stand at the New Business New Life and Women Involved in Successful Enterprise (WiSE), has seen over £65,000 lent this year to a number of different business ideas. These include an Afro Carribean supermarket, a professional photography business and an IT firm providing HGV data.
     
  • Growing OpportunitiesWith the 2005 Common Agricultural Policy reforms bringing an end to the Single farm Payment Scheme, farmers are being given the incentive to grow a wide variety of crops or turn their land over to environmental purposes.

    Run by ADAS - the UK's biggest research and consultancy group for rural industries - Growing Opportunities is a three phase programme that looks at the best ways that our 3,000 farmers, growers, producers and suppliers can adapt to meet the needs of an ever changing market place.

    The research into these new possibilities is split into three stages. The first involved extensive consultations with farmers and stakeholders across the East Midlands on the best ways of growing for defined markets as opposed to producing general commodities.

    The second stage includes detailed market research, field trials and practical demonstrations of these opportunities before the reaching stage three; full commercial development.

 

Latest News & Events

Partners