Innovation club proves a winner with bosses

Business chiefs have been paired to visit neighbouring companies and identify ideas that could help their businesses to grow.

In May, all the club's founder members will meet again to share what they have learnt with the wider group.

The club was the brainchild of Dr Nigel Lockett, director of the centre for entrepreneurship and innovation management at the School.

He said: "I've been working with three companies on their innovation processes – Pace, Hallmark and Premier Farnell. They were saying they'd like to meet each other and share ideas, so I organised a dinner and invited half-a-dozen other businesses.

"The response was immediate and overwhelmingly enthusiastic. All the club members are from different sectors and they all manage innovation in different ways. One business has already gone away saying they are going to make innovation a boardroom issue."

The founding members of the group include Arco, Arena Group, Foundation, Foster's Bakery, and NG Bailey.

Dr Lockett said: "I think the strength of this group is its diversity, including a third-sector organisation."