UKITA For universities, FE and local authorities
Information for local authorities, LEPs, HE & FE establishments, science parks, incubator units RDA high-growth projects and other IT, digital and digital media groups.We seek to engage with local public and private sector IT industry organisations and our track record shows that we are good at working collaboratively with organisations which are already engaged with IT and digitalSMEs.
UKITA started life as an RDA-funded project but since 2007 we have been self-funding out of membership subscriptions, advertising and sponsorship. This means that although we are keen to raise our profile and build membership levels in your area, we don't need to access public funding to do so. On the other hand, we have recently delivered 3 pubilcly-funded projects: an EU-funded CIP dissemination around RFID, an EU Social Dialogue project and most recently, a Superfast Broadband demand stimulation pilot for a Local Authority.
Our objectives:
- Engage with IT, digital media and internet-based businesses from the simple one-person start-up to the big 19 IT companies
- Connect these businesses to our members and our national and EU networks
- Benchmark IT adoption levels amongst the SME business-base
How we do this:
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.
Tendering through our Self Service Marketplace - customers can post requests for quotes based on type of requirement, geography, accreditation and memberships such as local Chambers, FSB etc. Employment - 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.
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
