Collaboration pays off for companies based at site

SCI-TECH Daresbury has banged the drums for its on-site collaborations between different companies on site with firms who choose to team up reporting a sales and savings boost of £12m during 2020.

A Sci-Tech spokesman said 79% of firms based at the science and research campus had chosen to work together in 2020, the highest rate to date.

He said many collaborations contributed to the global effort against Covid19.

Despite the challenges of 2020, SciTech companies experienced 14% growth during the year, often driven by their products and services being in demand due to the pandemic.

The figures were produced following a survey of companies based at the campus.

Sci-Tech’s spokesman said the numbers show the campus’s “continuing success” in creating a supportive environment to help companies to achieve

● Sci-Tech Daresbury their ambitions and stimulate growth, while nurturing resilience. One example of a campus-based company that benefited from Sci-Tech Daresbury’s supportive ecosystem was healthcare app reviewer ORCHA.

ORCHA, which has been based in Daresbury since 2015, built a Covid-19 app library to ensure easy access to quality digital health information and resources at home.

The app service is used internationally and experienced “huge demand” from governments and private organisations. As a result, the firm instigated a recruitment drive for more than 100 staff plus key board members to drive expansion in 11 countries.

Liz Ashall-Payne, ORCHA’s chief executive, said: “ORCHA is proud to be playing such a pivotal role in this most important of sectors from our home in the Liverpool City Region, especially given the extremely pressing need for reliable, high-quality healthcare apps at present.

“When it came to growing our team and expanding, Sci-Tech Daresbury supported us every step of the way, helping us to attract high-calibre recruits and graduates from the region’s top universities.”

Sci-Tech Daresbury is undergoing further expansion itself with more in the pipeline including a new Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI), supported by £210m funding from the UK government and £38m from IBM.

Paul Vernon, Sci-Tech Daresbury board director and executive director of business and innovation for the campus’s parent group the Science and Technology Facilities Council, said: “Together, through our combined expertise, we will help businesses drive productivity and accelerate growth and job creation through the use of advanced digital technologies.

“As we strengthen our commitment to breaking down barriers to technologies such as AI and quantum computing, we are enabling industry to reduce risk and carry out invaluable research with long-term, tangible benefits to our economy and society.”