InfoLab21

We will be supporting businesses in Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire & Warrington

 

1. The work required is Transformational ICT.
   By “transformational ICT” we mean ICT implementation that changes the way a business operates. This means making changes to the organisation and business processes, resulting in a major improvement enhancing productivity, competitiveness and growth that could not happen without the use of ICT.
   See Transformation ICT Page for more information and examples
2. SME Location
   ISIS can assist SMEs based in the Northwest of England- i.e. anywhere within Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire & Warrington, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
   Postcode restrictions from previous rounds of funding no longer apply.
3. SME Sectors
   Most sectors are eligible but the project has a specific focus on the High Growth sectors:
   • Biochemicals
   • Food and Drink
   • Energy & Environmental Technology
   • Advanced Engineering
   • Financial and Professional Services
   • Digital & Creative Industries
4. SME Size
   Predominantly 10 employees or over, up to 250, 5-9 considered on a case by case basis.
   
5. Companies must demonstrate that the support will result in increased jobs/job safeguarded and increased GVA.
   The befit of this is that our support will have a clear significant and measurable impact on your business. For more information on how and why we measure the impact of our support, see the FAQs section.

If you are not sure, please contact us to check.

We are unable to work with the following through ISIS:

• Those businesses that fall outside the remit of an SME
• The retail sector
• Personal services, for example hairdressers, therapists, cafes, etc
• Companies only operating in a local market, for example local builders, plumbers, etc. Local services by their very nature compete against each other and are not therefore eligible for support due to potential distortion of the market
• SMEs involved in the production and promotion of agricultural and first-stage food processing, synthetic fibres, motor vehicles, coal, steel and shipbuilding
• Public services, banks and insurance companies

We are not able to provide the following through ISIS:

• Simple brochure websites
• Design work
• Physical network installation
• Basic CRM systems

Why do we have eligibility criteria?

ISIS is delivered by InfoLab21 and part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was established by the European Commission in 1975 to stimulate economic development in less prosperous regions of the European Union (EU).

As EU membership has grown, ERDF has developed into a major funding stream to help redress regional imbalances.

In the Northwest, with a total of £521million (dependent on exchange rate) of ERDF funding between 2007 and 2013, the ERDF Programme will enhance the competitiveness of the region’s economy by supporting growth in employment and enterprise.  Managed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), this is the largest ERDF programme in England.