A CALL has gone out for innovations in the areas of healthy ageing or net zero infrastructure which would merit investment of up to £10million.

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) wants to have a pipeline of priority projects if more government funding comes on stream to help tackle critical global challenges.

The aim is for the county to have a pipeline of priority projects to offer if more government funding comes on stream to help tackle critical global challenges.

Cecilia Bufton, chair of Dorset LEP, said: “We are offering our resources to help applicants write outline business cases now so that together we can act quickly as funding opportunities arise.

“We’re calling for transformational projects that align to the Dorset Local Industrial Strategy, with its focus on growth, productivity and resilience.

“We appreciate the huge amount of work that goes into developing investment proposals.

“That’s why we stand shoulder to shoulder with businesses and organisations, bringing our expertise and knowledge to help them succeed in today’s highly competitive national funding environment.

“Ideally we’re looking for proposals that excite, disrupt the norm and have the potential to generate productivity and create and maintain jobs.”

The LEP says healthy ageing innovations could include products or services concerned with physical ageing, disease, mental illness and wellbeing, and digital products focused on age-friendly urban and rural planning.

Priority net zero projects could involve direct renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar power or other innovations contributing to low-carbon technology or infrastructure.

To help potential applicants understand the process and what to include in their proposals, Dorset LEP is running two online workshops. These include an introductory session on Thursday, September 2, and a writing masterclass on Wednesday, September 8, with a deadline for receipt of outline business cases of 9am on Tuesday, October 5.

The initiative aims to support investment opportunities valued from £2m to around £10m.

Successful applicants will benefit from Dorset LEP support to develop a full business case as government funding becomes available.

Recent support for the low-carbon economy from Dorset LEp included an investment of around £300,000 in a £3m agritech glasshouse growing facility at Stewarts Garden Centres.

In healthy ageing, it recently allocated £2.7m towards diagnostic and treatment services at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and £1.4m to the Institute for Medical Imaging and Visualisation at Bournemouth University.

Each of these projects were co-ordinated through Dorset’s Local Growth Fund.

Details of how to submit proposals are at dorsetlep.co.uk/project-proposals