Access to information is critical to the success of your business or organisation. This is increasingly the case since The European Council established the Lisbon Strategy in 2000 declaring that Europe should become “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”. With Europe struggling to develop a competitive edge through education, R&D & innovation, it is crucial for businesses to establish reliable sources of business intelligence.
In the words of Lister from Red Dwarf: "Knowledge is power...Who said that?"
In this blog, I'm going to outline some of the more accessible sources of business intelligence that are currently available.
The British Library
First on the list is The Business & IP Centre, at the British Library in London, which has all the business and IP (intellectual property) information you need as an innovator and entrepreneur. The Business information collection is divided up into four main information areas: market research; company information; trade directories; and journals. It is available for free in hard copy and online via approximately 30 subscription databases. You must have a reader pass to access the collection and the databases.
Enquiry Service
If you're looking for something more focused, check out Clear Intelligence. This is an enquiry service that provides confidential access to hard-to-find information – you won’t find this data via Google. A team of experienced research staff provides specific market & business intelligence - rather than reams of data - to help you develop your business and reduce the risk of failure. However, this isn't a free service unless you're a business located within one of the East Midlands Incubation Network (EMIN) partner incubators * in which case you have an allowance of 3 queries per month.
Ask the Expert
If you have a specific business question, it might be worth trying the Ask the Expert service available via the East Midlands Incubation Network (EMIN) website. A panel of experts are available to answer business questions relevant to their field & there's no charge for this service. Of course, you need to be registered on the website to ask a question but it's a fairly simple process.
Technology opportunities
The technology catalogue provides details of hundreds of new technologies & partnering opportunities from all over the UK & Europe. The technology catalogue also contains details of organisations seeking technology solutions which you may be able to provide. This is a very useful service if you are looking for strategic partners for manufacturing, distribution licensing, joint venturing or technology development.
Tenders & contracts
As a business, you may have a specific interest in tenders & contracts. EMIN Tenders is a feed that offers pre-filtered UK and European tender opportunities, daily, into the following categories: Civil Engineering/Communication/Design and Print/Environmental/ I.T./Professional Services. The service also providestender support documents & market analysis facilities to help you identify: market trends, who buys what, who wins contracts & who is going to purchase what in the future etc. To access EMIN Tenders, you need to be registered on www.emincubation.co.uk. Log in, go to the My EMIN page & select the link to EMIN Tenders.
'Essential intelligence on tomorrow's companies'
Library House is the essential source of comprehensive information on the fastest growing, most innovative ventures.
Library House discovers, compares and monitors private high-growth companies throughout Europe as they progress through their lifecycle from initial investment to partnering, trade sale or public offering. Library House also produces free research reports covering different areas of European venture backed business.
Funding
GRANTnet is the UK’s leading free-to-use funding database. GRANTnet is a straightforward free-to-use service that helps users to identify suitable funding for their activity or project. It enables small businesses to search across a huge range of funding sources.
* : EMIN partner incubators include: The Innovation Centre at De Monfort University; Bank's Mill, the iD Centre & Network House at the University of Derby; the University of Leicester; Sparkhouse Studios at the University of Lincoln; Portfolio Innovation Centre at the University of Northampton'; The Hive at Nottingham Trent University.
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