ukita.co.uk

LEP Toolkit from UKITA

• Engage with your LEP area's IT, digital media and internet-based businesses
• Connect these businesses to national and EU networks
• Benchmark IT adoption levels amongst your SME business-base against UK and regional baselines
• Bid for RGF 2 on IT-related projects with a recognised national trade organisation as a partner

The UK IT Association will shortly launch its 2011 IT business engagement activity campaign which will be based around the following main streams:

www.TheGoodITGuide.co.uk - which promotes IT business accreditations to SME IT buyers. The guide also has the aim of educating the buyers and making them expert at IT procurement. The guide also promotes members of the local Chamber and the FSB directly by allowing the member IT businesses to appear - free of charge - in the listings which are promoted to the buyers.

www.DigitalNation.org.uk - (Beta) this is aimed at the upwardly-mobile IT businesses who are interested in growth collaboration, R&D, Intellectual Property, access to finance and export. Through our Digital Nation IT Census 2011, it identifies these companies and facilitates events, contacts and projects aimed at them and brought forward by LEPs, Higher Education, Local Authorities, national schemes, science parks and incubators.

UKITA is financed through its membership subscriptions from paying members and from subscribers, advertisers, sponsors and patrons. We do not need public funding in order to do what we do and we also have a good track record of delivering on funded projects where access to IT SME companies is important. We are currently delivering 2 substantial EU-funded projects through our links to equivalent trade associations in other EU states.

UKITA started life as an RDA project (5 years funding) and made the transition to self-financing in 2007. As such we are able to work with RDA-type high-growth projects without feeling any need to be in the 'driving seat' (unless this is what is asked for). We also work naturally with Higher Education, local authorities, science parks and incubators.

We have a project called RecycleMe through which we seek to mix IT employers with graduates, apprentices, and IT people from the public sector, over 50s, armed forces and returners after career breaks. We also have a scheme for final year IT students and recent graduates looking for their first employment in the IT industries.

Ways in which LEPs can engage with the UK IT Association:

Highest level of LEP-UKITA engagement	Project Level	UKITA as an IT-specialised national-reach partner for your LEP for RGF 2 and other funding bids UKITA Quality Marked members as a delivery resource for LEP-led IT-related projects
	UKITA Branch Level	Fully engage with your LEP area's IT, digital media and web-related businesses Link up with or help to create a UKITA Branch with coincides with your LEP area (possibly more than one branch if there more than one distinct business communities - you have a large area or significant towns/cities within your LEP area) click to see an example of a branch site LEP representative on the UKITA Branch Committee or a named liaison person in your LEP with a regular contact with a named UKITA branch committee member Input into the UKITA events schedule - this might be events which are suggested as areas for extra intervention or education which arise from your benchmark position Access the UKITA IT events library LEP IT rep participates in closed communications platform for LEP IT nominee and UKTA branch chairs UK-wide - thus forming a public-private IT advisory group for the UKITA board and other 3rd parties (e.g. central government) to consult LEP IT rep gets a named relationship-manager at UKITA membership office Joint events with LEP and UKITA branch and other 3rd parties Provision of a LEP-level geographical area on www.ukita.co.uk/marketplace/ View of the GoodITGuide and the Digital Nation sites which load with your LEP area in the frame www.TheGoodITGuide.co.uk/YourLepName www.DigitalNation.org.uk/YourLepName
Low level of engagement	Informational Level	Your LEP is listed in the www.DigitalNation.org.uk directory with a named individual at your LEP for IT, digital media and web-based companies in your LEP area to contact You promote the Digital Census and the customer-side IT adoption survey to businesses in your LEP area and in return you receive benchmark stats covering the businesses in your LEP area which you can then benchmark against and analyse your IT-business SWOT position Your local IT businesses can place themselves in the good IT guide and your LEP area IT buyers can find them Your IT companies can easily see and network with IT companies in the neighbouring LEPs through our 2 map-based directories This promotes business improvement through the various accreditation schemes, collaboration within your LEP area and between adjoining LEPs UKITA events can help the IT businesses to unlock their business potential especially when run together with other Digital Assets in your LEP area

We can work with public and private sector partners to enable and deliver:

• Engagement with the high-tech and new economy SME sector
• Information dissemination - in-depth through bespoke events or ad-hoc through our membership-only newsletters
• Events and event sponsorships - including co-branding opportunities
• Project collaboration, management and delivery - including EU CIP, FP7, FP8
• Business improvement. Capacity building, improved quality, procedures, management of finance, innovation and product development.
• Recruiting, developing and retention of staff

If you would like to find out more - phone the membership office on 0800 862 0333 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it