A bridge to expert help
David Chapman
WHEN Loch Ness cruise company Jacobite wanted to improve its green credentials, it realised it did not have the knowledge in-house. So it called on the assistance of an organisation which could open the door to the expertise contained in Scotland’s universities.
“We are very aware of the vital link between the beauty of our natural environment and our overall company success,” said Jacobite managing director Freda Newton. “We also believe sustainable tourism is essential for the future of the Scottish tourism industry and the overall economy. It therefore seemed like the obvious next step in the development of our company. We knew exactly what we wanted to achieve but had no internal expertise in the areas of sustainable tourism or renewable energy. I had read an article on the success of Interface and approached them to see if they could help.”
The result is an arrangement with Edinburgh’s Napier University, which is now working closely with the company.
It is an early Highland success for Interface — a public organisation funded by the Scottish Funding Council, which has just opened an office in HIE’s Cowan House headquarters in Inverness. Although the firm has been established in the central belt for some time, senior project executive David Chapman recognises the challenge will be different in the north.
“We are being far more proactive and doing more of our own events and going to other people’s events — we have a selling job to do,” he said. “In the south we get many more inquiries from companies themselves.
“The message we want to get across is that we are not just for large businesses. We are just as able to help one-man-bands working in the tourist industry.”
Interface staff spend time with firms to assess their exact needs. “They may initially ask us for help with marketing, but when you speak to them you might find, for instance, that there are issues with their packaging which means they cannot export,” Mr Chapman said. “Whatever the business problem we will find the expert that best suits them.”
Once contact has been made, Interface — whose services are free — is also able to help find funding to avoid companies having to bear the full cost of projects. Jacobite, for instance, is looking to tap into the innovation voucher scheme under which all universities receive cash each year, specifically to support initiatives with SMEs.
Interface’s Inverness office is initially financed for three years, but Mr Chapman is aiming for a long-term presence. “It’s going to be up to us to prove our worth,” he said.
