The Inverness-based innovation alliance, Fusion, has been awarded a three-year funding package worth almost £270,000 by Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The company, which has over a hundred members, is backed by Inverness and Nairn Enterprise (INE) and Inverness and District Chamber of Commerce.  It was set up in December 2000 to promote innovation in the Highlands and provide guidance on protecting intellectual property, research and development, and marketing.

Bridging the gap between the research and education sectors on the one hand and the business community on the other, the network aims to create good business ideas and increase the commercialisation rate of those ideas.  The region's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stand to benefit from access to these opportunities and some new SMEs are also expected to emerge as a result of the activity.

In October last year Fusion was established as a company limited by guarantee and appointed Bruce Morrison as chief executive, its first full-time member of staff.  The alliance now has more than 100 members, 80% of which are in the private sector.

The HIE money will be used to enable the company to deliver a comprehensive and challenging series of membership activities and events.  It is also expected to expand its activities throughout the Highlands and Islands, create several networking groups across the region and hold a high profile innovation conference each year.  A key activity will be to deliver a comprehensive skills development programme that specialises in knowledge transfer.

HIE's head of knowledge economy, Calum Davidson, said:  "We are absolutely delighted at the rapid progress made and growing interest in Fusion, fuelled by the tremendous enthusiasm of its members.  There has been particular progress in the healthcare sector where we already have an established healthcare innovation sub-group, and this is something we are very keen to foster and support.  I very much welcome Fusion's proposals for the years ahead, which will build on its growing list of members and promote the important function that it serves for the Highlands and Islands."

Fusion's Chief Executive, Bruce Morrison, said: "HIE's support for our activities has been tremendous and this new tranche of financial support, together with our members' contributions, provides Fusion with just the resources we need to finance our ambitions for this innovation community. Our ambition is to raise the whole profile of innovation for our SMEs to enter new market places and increase profit margins"