This month, we’re thrilled to welcome to our membership two new Diamond Partners West of Orkney Ltd and Highland Wind Ltd as well as SSE Renewables as a Premier Partner. We are also delighted to welcome Colin Campbell Photography and look forward to working with them all.
To discuss membership, please reach out to our Business Development manager, Fiona Levack. You can contact Fiona by email: fiona@caithnesschamber.com. You can read about membership on the website using this link.
If you’re already a member but would like a reminder of how to get the most from your membership, Fiona will gladly go over that with you too.
We are delighted to announce Phase 2 of Point of care diagnostics (if you are interested in Phase 1, the information is here).
In Phase 2, we have £1m and expect to fund 1-2 projects which will finish at TRL5. We are looking for innovations that enable front-line clinicians to diagnose and treat individuals exposed to biological or chemical agents in approximately 1 hour. The technology should also be able to be used in proximity to the patient and in demanding austere locations. We have the following requirements:
- Minimal or no requirement for manual sample preparation (blood, serum, plasma, saliva etc).
- Provide a rapid (c. 1 hour or less) time to answer, to facilitate delivery of timely information to clinicians to inform treatment options.
- Provide high confidence information outputs.
- Flexible and adaptable to the integration of new assays for additional analytes to facilitate the identification of a broad spectrum of agents.
We are running a webinar on 03 August, signup is here
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/point-of-care-diagnostics-phase-2-qa-session-tickets-383850797067
The full competition document is here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/point-of-care-diagnostics-at-the-front-line-phase-2
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We are delighted to announce the launch of a new DASA Themed Competition – Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund on behalf of The Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA; Cabinet Office). Projects can be up to 24 months in length, will be <£300k and be within TRL1 to TRL6. There is £2.7m available in total.
This is a little different to ‘normal’ Themed Competitions, so read the Competition Document carefully.
Private businesses – Standard DASA terms and conditions will apply
Academia, charities and Public Sector research institutions – OVA has its own terms and conditions. For academics – grants worth 80% FEC will be awarded. Match funding must be secured and described in the application. Details are here
Everyone will apply using the DASA online submission service. However, applications will be shorter than normal. We usually provide Assessors with 90-minutes to assess your application (my estimate 7500-10000 words). However, for this competition, Assessors will only have 30-minutes to assess applications.
There are four Challenges:
- Challenge 1: Digital, data and technology
- Challenge 2: Surgical technology, bioengineering and rehabilitation for blast injuries
- Challenge 3: Public Health, pain management, hearing loss and visual impairment
- Challenge 4: Initiatives to help identify and/or provide solutions to disparities in female veterans’ health and healthcare
More details are here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-affairs-health-innovation-fund
Dunnet Bay Distillers has been granted Planning Permission to refurbish the 200-year-old Mill and surrounding land at Castletown, near the distillery’s headquarters.
The Caithness-based company which owns the multi-award-winning Rock Rose Gin and Holy Grass Vodka brands, acquired the historic Mill in 2021. The restoration and fit-out of the refurbished building could cost up to £4million.
The plans involve a full refurbishment of the dilapidated, listed Mill building, with a view to creating further resources for the rapidly expanding business including a visitor centre and a whisky distillery.
Dunnet Bay Distillers products sell globally, enjoying strong sales throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK as well as being distributed in 24 countries across the world.
The eco-friendly spirits company was established in 2014 by husband-and-wife team, Claire Murray and Martin Murray.
Claire Murray, co-founder and co-director of Dunnet Bay Distillers, said: “We are delighted that we now have planning permission to convert the old Mill and thank Highland Council for its decision. We have been working hard with our plans and are looking forward to sharing them in the coming months. The warehouse building has already commenced work and we hope to open a temporary café and small visitor area soon.”
Earlier this year, the company was granted permission to develop a temporary visitor centre, café, and shop near the site of the Old Mill.
Martin Murray, co-founder and co-director of Dunnet Bay Distillers, added: “We’re excited at the prospect of regenerating this fine old building which has lain empty for many years. The Mill will become a Caithness landmark once again and its development will transform our already successful business.”
The company earlier this year asked anyone with connections to the Mill to get in touch to tell their personal stories about the building. The company intends to embed the story of its history into the fabric of the building as they create a new destination on the north coast of Scotland. “We aim to make it into a local destination distillery and so the history is something we wish to remember,” said Martin Murray.
Andrea Wise, Director of Organic Architects, said: “This is a rare opportunity for a thriving local business to regenerate this landmark building which has been unable to find a user for decades. The distillery will be powered by green electricity, making it one of the most sustainable distilleries in the UK industry.” The designs will be contemporary whilst respecting the fabric and style of the old building.
The company has not yet announced when work will commence.
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS
Image link: https://we.tl/t-PA9iKV7EPI (expires in 7 days’ time)
Jo Jacobius
Dunnet Bay Distillers Press Office
c/o Axiom Communications
+44 (0)7850338998
+44 (0)208 347 8206
We are delighted to announce the launch of two new Themed Competitions. There is some cross-over, if you are unsure which competition to consider please get in touch. Please note that you cannot submit the same proposal to both competitions.
1. Engineering Biology – closes midday on the 25th of August
We have £750k for 12-month Phase 1a projects finishing at TRL3. We expect to fund 7-8 projects.
We have included the possibility that innovators can also signal their interest in a follow-up 12-month Phase 1b project to take their work to TRL4. We have done this to try to facilitate the retention of staff. There will be a decision point towards the end of Phase 1a and only projects deemed successful will be kept on for Phase 1b. Phase 1b also has £750k available.
The Challenges in this competition are wide-ranging but fall under the areas of:
- power and energy,
- materials and
- sensing.
We are running a virtual Q&A day on the 5th of July and there is an opportunity to book a virtual 1-1 session on the 7th and 11th of July. Please book asap – we expect these virtual sessions to be popular.
More information is here
2. Beyond the smartwatch – generation-after-next (GAN) wearables – closes midday on the 25th of August
We have £750k for 12-month projects finishing at TRL2-4. We envisage funding 4-5 projects.
The Challenges in this competition are:
- biocompatibility,
- assay development and
- applicability of accessible bodily fluids to the measurement of particular biomolecules.
We are running a virtual Q&A day on the 6th of July. There will also be the opportunity to book 1-1s but these dates have not yet been released in the document – I know they will be the 19th (0900-1100) and 21st of July (time TBC). Please book asap – we expect these virtual sessions to be popular.
More information is here
DASA are pleased to announce the launch of a new themed competition on behalf of DSTL. Up to £800k is available to fund advanced technology which can underpin a future cooperative missile. Cooperative missiles can communicate with each other, share situational awareness and organise themselves to ‘work together’ efficiently to achieve a common objective
The competition has the following four challenge areas:
- Challenge 1: Distributed target detection and identification
- Challenge 2: Data processing onboard and between missiles
- Challenge 3: Enhanced navigation through cooperation
- Challenge 4: Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The closing date for this competition is midday 2 August 2022.
Full details can be found using this link
Responding to the expected delay in Scotland’s Roadmap, as suggested today by the First Minister, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The statement from the First Minister today, which outlined that the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Scotland is likely to be delayed at the next review by three weeks to the 19th July, will be frustrating and painful for many Scottish businesses who were gearing up to make the most of a boom in summer trade over the coming weeks.
“A delay next week will dampen hopes for many businesses, particularly for those sectors that remain closed and may be forced to wait even longer to reopen, placing them and the jobs they support at risk.
“Scottish businesses understand the need for restrictions to protect public health and it’s clear that the vaccine programme is the silver bullet that will facilitate the reopening of our economy. Any delay must be used to expand the vaccine rollout and deliver the crucial second doses that will move us out of lockdown restrictions faster.
“After months of uncertainty, businesses have been demanding greater clarity and we welcome today’s confirmation that the long-awaited publication of the Scottish Government review of the unviable social distancing rules and more detail on plans for taking Scotland beyond the levels system, will finally be published next week.”
Responding to the June 14th UK Government Coronavirus Briefing, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Businesses who have been patiently waiting for restrictions to ease will be deeply frustrated by the Prime Minister’s announcement confirming the delay of the planned June 21st lockdown lifting in England and the subsequent prospect of further delay in Scotland.
“After an incredibly challenging 15 months, businesses were finally daring to hope that we were now on the path towards the full re-opening of our economy. The continuation of restrictions will be a significant setback.
“It’s essential, if restrictions in Scotland are extended, that the Scottish Government implement a fair balance of targeted restrictions that allows the gradual reopening of the economy to continue whilst tackling the growth of the Delta variant.
“We must also see the vaccine programme accelerated wherever possible – dedicating all available resources to this – while looking at opening up areas of Scotland with low levels of transmission and high levels of vaccination.
“If such confidence, reassurance and support is not provided by the government, then we will see more jobs and livelihoods placed under immediate threat. For businesses who have come so far over the past year, all possible action should be taken to prevent job losses and business shutdowns.”
The (work)force is strong at ILM Highland this May the 4th, as they welcome three new team members to support their growing service provision.
The new recruits will join ILM Highland as part of the UK Government’s Kickstart Scheme, which provides funding and support to create new job opportunities for 16- to 24-year-olds.
Connor Brown, Martin Muir and Luke Kennedy will gain access to training and support to help them further their careers, as well as gaining experience in electrical recycling, repairs and sales teams. These operations support charitable services, providing support to the elderly and those living with a disability in the Highlands.
Martin Macleod, CEO of ILM Highland, said: “We’re excited to welcome Connor, Martin and Luke to the ILM Highland family, and look forward to working with them over the coming months. The job market over the last year has been particularly competitive, so to be in the position to be able to create new jobs to help young people get their feet on the career ladder after such uncertainty is fantastic.”
Connor’s role as a domestic engineer assistant will see him join the ILM Highland electrical repair team – working on refurbished appliances that will be sold in their shop in Alness and online.
Martin will take on the title of recycling operative assistant, working on extensive electrical recycling operations – which includes the collection of small and large electricals across the Highlands, as well as providing WEEE disposal services to businesses in the region.
And Luke’s new position as shop sales and admin assistant will allow him the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of running a successful social enterprise and support the organisation’s fundraising efforts in its Alness retail shop.
Martin Macleod added: “Throughout the pandemic, we are proud to have continued to be able to offer our Handyperson and Care & Repair services to support vulnerable people to live at home across the Highlands. These are funded by the hard work of the teams that Connor, Martin and Luke will be working in. We’re delighted to have them on board to help us continue to provide these lifeline services to those that need them the most in our community.”
