Northern Accelerator is a collaboration between four North East universities to commercialise research and boost the region’s economy.

Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland universities are working together to make a step change in delivering research to the marketplace and to develop entrepreneurship amongst their academics through an ideas impact hub and associated proof of concept support.

The project builds upon and take its name from, the pre-existing Northern Accelerator programme – a collaboration between Durham and Newcastle universities that has built a network of entrepreneurs who are embedded at the earliest stages in the universities’ spin-out companies.

Northern Accelerator also aims to establish an ongoing North East University Investment Fund (NEUIF) to support research-based spin-out companies in the region long-term after the CCF funding comes to an end.

The project focuses on four key areas of regional strength – advanced manufacturing, the chemicals and process sector, life sciences and healthcare and digital. It was established after receiving £4.9m in government funding – an award from the Connecting Capability Fund, made by Research England and announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.