BUSINESSES across the region will have the opportunity to learn to become more productive, efficient and resilient, with the first West Yorkshire Innovation Festival, to be held March 15-19.

Created by the West Yorkshire Innovation Network and coordinated by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the festival will showcase the role of innovation in our region by bringing together businesses, expertise, resources and support programmes.

With a week of virtual events from workshops to talks, masterclasses and knowledge sharing to interviews with innovative businesses, its aim is to help SMEs in across West Yorkshire innovate, discover the support available and build connections.

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This will contribute to the economic recovery by helping businesses to be more resilient, find efficiencies and increase productivity.

Roger Marsh, chair of the LEP and the NP11 group of Northern local enterprise partnerships, said: “This festival is the first of its kind.

"Our partners are coming together to showcase the very best in innovation, while making business support more accessible. Together we want to encourage our SMEs to go beyond their current thinking, to see the possibility and build on their existing potential to develop sustainable businesses for the future.”

The festival will begin with a roundtable discussion on the future of innovation, chaired by Roger Marsh, followed by a range of events throughout the week to showcase the breadth of innovation support available to businesses.

To see the full events schedule visit the West Yorkshire Innovation Festival website.