A CNCP Strategy for 2010-2012

We, at the same time, will be striving to create further jobs and business streams using other forms of support. Therefore, the two key elements of the Steering Group’s discussions were, first, a review of the final batch of new grant project proposals, and, second, consideration and approval of a strategy for the Programme outlining a new approach for the period 2010 to 2012.

The discussions on new grant proposals, which have been the central feature of Steering Group meetings over the last six years or so, went out in style. Fiona Harrison, the Director of the Global Partnership Programme in DECC, chaired the meeting and managed to get through an agenda which included a record number of new proposals across a wide range of technologies from Russia and in the other six Republics. In total the Steering Group approved 29 Full Projects to a value of over Ј1,8 million, promising on completion a total of over 360 new jobs.

With projects approved at previous Steering Group meetings, these approvals mean that the next 12 months will see the largest number of grant supported Full Projects under management since CNCP began substantive work in 2003. This will put tremendous demands on beneficiaries, supervisors, managers and local coordinators, but it should also provide many and various opportunities for new initiatives aiming to increase job creation and strengthen the prospects for long term sustainability for current and completed projects.

Despite the very difficult business conditions, CNCP projects have with few exceptions fared far better through the crisis than anyone could have predicted a year ago. Economic recovery, which is already underway across the NIS, should help projects which have been struggling to get back on track, and at the same time give an extra boost to the development of projects which are just beginning. All of this should translate into more good quality jobs for former nuclear weapons personnel by the end of the Programme – and beyond.

The second component of the Steering Group concerned discussion of the way forward for the Programme in the new conditions which apply post 31 March 2010. CNCP has never depended just on grants. On the contrary, grant funding has been effective exactly because it has been supported by a range of other, complementary, instruments. These include exchange of experience, study tours, training, commercial partnerships, technical assistance, and measures to help built an environment favourable to business growth through the creation of a network of locally rooted support structures. The value that we can add over the next two years will depend on the extent to which we can maximize the impact of these various forms of complementary technical assistance for the benefit of our partner businesses and institutions. The strategy set out for the Steering Group provides a framework for this new phase of work.

Based on the new strategy, the following are some of the areas where we expect to focus particular attention over the next 12 months:

• New initiatives involving the development of commercial partnerships, especially those involving knowledge-based products and services. We will be actively seeking suggestions for building links with potential investors, joint venture partners, contractors and buyers (especially, but not exclusively, involving UK-based companies and institutions). The recent agreement between HTSPE and Cambridge-based Qi3 should give us reach into complex areas of technology which are not already covered by members of our regular team of consultants. And we will be looking for new partners to cover other areas of technology over the coming months. Here we can offer high level technical advice and exchange of experience, together with assistance with fact finding and setting up opportunities for face to face contact with potential partners.
• Reinforcing local efforts to attract inward investors, especially as concerns Russian entrepreneurs who may be interested in investing in Closed Cities such as Seversk and Zheleznogorsk. We need to explore a package of benefits, including assistance with market research and business planning, establishing commercial relations with customers and other partners and support for the training – for example, focused vocational training for ex-weapons complex staff who can meet the needs of an inward investor looking for local recruits.
• Support for networking between CNCP partner institutions involving, for example, transferring experience of successful projects from one location to another. We have already seen several successful examples of this, notably the energy-saving centres concept. There is also some potential to help build projects involving more than one Closed City or institute – the coalition of reactors in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan which are planning to jointly market radioisotopes in and beyond the NIS is a good example.
• Supporting partners in identifying new proposals and taking them through the stages of market research and business planning and identifying possible sources of finance. This should help to ensure that a range of attractive projects are available for potential investors and funders in future and that the skills and momentum created by CNCP are maintained into the future. This activity should provide a foundation for continuing activity by the Business Development Agencies and Commercialisation Units after 2012.
• Involvement in projects funded by international donors such as the European Union and the Asian Development Bank could provide a useful source of experience, contacts and earnings for some of the NIS nuclear institutes involved in CNCP. Most of these institutes already have substantial experience of participating in international scientific collaboration programmes and moving into fee paid consultancy and technical assistance in areas such as energy efficiency, technology transfer and environmental protection could build on this with assistance from CNCP specialists.

Already, a comprehensive network of business development agencies, commercialization units and local coordinators has been built up, covering CNCP’s partner cities and institutes. The next phase will involve developing a set of best practice guidelines with them covering areas as: identifying promising commercialisation projects; market research and business planning; funding, and auditing and monitoring. The guidelines will be drawn up through a series of workshops which will provide an opportunity to compare and exchange experience. This should ensure that they are truly relevant to the needs of the institutions concerned and capable of providing a framework, beyond the point at which CNCP funding comes to an end, for continuing job creation and commercialization activity.

Patrick Gray
CNCP Programme Leader

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