Business and management consultancy and related services

Tender description

Description: Newcastle, Sunderland, Northumbria and Durham universities will engage suitably qualified and experienced executives through the DPS as and when required over the DPS period. The specific requirements will be detailed in each individual further competition. The typical brief of an executive will be to: (a) produce a viable business plan; (b) obtain university approval for the venture; (c) act for the company in the spin-out legal process and address all company formation matters; (d) provide to the appropriate university all matters necessary for Research England and ESIF reporting requirements; (e) secure (venture capital and/or other) funding in accordance with the business plan. This will be a cyclical process throughout the entire Research England and a potential ESIF project and other additional available funding providers. Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland and Northumbria universities, in common with universities throughout the UK, have advanced relevant systems and procedures and also dedicate significant public resource to both research and commercialisation of that research. A key route to commercialisation is the creation of a new business (a spin-out company) wherein the intellectual property (IPR) developed is exclusively licenced to a university start-up company in exchange for (founders’) shares in that company. A university spin-out company is centred on unique, often world class, technology. However as a start-up, to be successful, it requires, most critically, top quality business leadership. Due to funding restrictions, universities usually attract managers to this high risk role through a sweat equity arrangement. The universities wish to broaden the attractiveness of this role by contracting executives to develop the business plan, make the company investor ready and raise investment funds to take the business forward. Through contracting highly skilled experts at the pre-commercial funding stage, this will allow the partner universities to attract a suitable person to the venture at an early stage, thus giving university spin-outs a much greater chance at success. The typical brief of an executive will be to: (a) produce a viable business plan; (b) obtain university approval for the venture; (c) act for the company in the spin-out legal process and address all company formation matters; (d) provide to the appropriate university all matters necessary for ERDF and Research England reporting requirements; (e) secure (venture capital and/or other) funding in accordance with the business plan. Stage (e) will produce the funds by which the new start-up company can consider employing the executive going forward. It is expected, and the intent of the scheme, that the Executive will remain with the business following the end of the contract period. However, such appointment will be at the discretion of the board and appropriate university and will be subject to confirmation, typically at Stage (c) above.