Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre (LORIC) is a department within Bishop Grosseteste University. It was established in 2017 and was part-funded until June 2019 by the European Regional Development Fund.
As part of the initial funded programme, LORIC worked with 39 small and medium-sized enterprises in Greater Lincolnshire. From June 2019 to February 2021 the department delivered a number of commercial contracts to a variety of organisations and undertook a number of projects funded by Research England.
In 2021, BGU was awarded a second round of ERDF funding to reprise the research and business support offer to local SMEs, named the LORIC 2.0 Project, while at the same time working on a range of other externally funded projects. As part of the LORIC 2.0 Project, LORIC has supported, to date, 126 Greater Lincolnshire SMEs with advice, research, and data analysis which has helped them to engage in research and development within their businesses.
In 2023, the LORIC team were awarded two UK Shared Prosperity Fund contracts to deliver fully funded business support to eligible businesses in Greater Lincolnshire. Funding is currently in place to support SMEs in North East Lincolnshire, East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland via the LORIC North East Lincolnshire Project and the LORIC South East Districts Project.
For more information about these projects visit:
The LORIC South East Districts Project | Lincolnshire Open Research & Innovation Centre (bgu.ac.uk)
LORIC is working to promote a different way of thinking about data for organisations across Greater Lincolnshire. University researchers are on hand to guide businesses through using data to grow and innovate.
Experts can help your business to:
• Access and use data and research to help you make insightful decisions
• Design new business strategies based on insight
• Identify gaps in the market through research and insight
• Create new products and develop new business models
• Provide evidence to support investment and innovation
• Become more digital based, preparing you for future digital trends
• Connecting businesses with data specialists and researchers to help uncover insights
• Offering a dedicated space to allow businesses to collaborate and innovate
• Providing knowledge sharing events and seminars free to businesses
• Developing tailored support unique to each business, taking time to understand individual business needs