WEAF Services
Becoming a member of WEAF provides many benefits that support your business and the aerospace industry as a whole.
Representation/influence
- Championing aerospace in the South West and one of the largest aerospace alliances in Europe
- Representing the interests of the South West aerospace community and able to influence key decision makers in industry, government and academia
- Providing a voice for SMEs to ensure effectiveness in the supply chain academia
Support
- Business improvement and professional development services covering business, skills, innovation and technology
- Marketing and support services covering exhibitions, material and administration
- Offering a wide variety of high quality events
- Helping SMEs understand the international and domestic market the industry
Connectivity
- Connectivity and networking through member and business partnerships
- Bringing industry stakeholders together to provide one cohesive community
- Helping to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the supply chain
- An enabler, facilitating the pace and growth of the industry
WEAF Projects
WEAF continually seeks to deliver and support key projects vital to the future sustainability and growth of the aerospace sector, both nationally and in the South West.
Projects are normally either part of the national Aerospace Growth Partnership strategy and agenda, focusing on Technology, Skills, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain Competitiveness, or can be part of Local Enterprise Partnerships funded activities, which WEAF helps to align with the national aerospace strategy.
Currently, WEAF collaborates within the Federation, consisting of ADS and the other Regional Aerospace Alliances to deliver two specific projects in the South West – Supply Chains for the 21st Century (SC21) and the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP).
SC21
SC21 is a continuous recognition and improvement programme for the UK’s aerospace and defence industry.
The programme ensures that all companies use the same business tools and processes, thereby boosting the efficiency of the existing Nadcap and AS/EN9100 accreditations, and raising the performance and proficiency of the supply chain.
In doing so, organisations can aspire to achieve a process-based quality management system, attain a respected industry qualification and win more business as a result.
WEAF supports you every step of the way: from agreeing a set working guidelines with key customers or suppliers and assessing current performance, to creating an improvement plan and implementing the changes.
We work with funding bodies to ensure that participating companies can maximise any financial support that is available. Our offer includes:
- Starter package: 3-6 days depending on company size
- Bronze package: 3-6 days to create a submission for a bronze award
- Silver package: 4-6 days to create a submission for a silver award
- Gold package: Days to be agreed on a company basis
- Mentoring packages: As required, based on individual needs
For further information, please visit: www.sc21.org.uk
SC21 rewards willingness to understand customers’ needs, a desire to boost supply chain productivity and an ability to make your company more appealing to stakeholders.
NATEP
The Aerospace Growth Partnership developed the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) aimed at small and medium sized suppliers to help them develop their own innovative technologies to enhance their capabilities and increase their ability to win new business with higher tier companies anywhere in the world. The programme builds upon the successful NATEP programme run between 2013-2017 and supported by the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.
By continuing to develop an aerospace supply chain with a high rate of innovation, rich in new technologies the UK will be better able to offer the right products and services, at the right time and ahead of competition. This will ensure that market opportunities are exploited with high value manufacturing work retained in the UK.
A new £8m injection of funding from the Aerospace Technology Institute ( www.ati.org.uk ) allows the NATEP programme to support 40 more collaborative technology projects involving up to 100 companies, Universities and Research & Technology Organisations. It will sustain or create 500 high value jobs. It will allow a further three six-monthly Calls for project proposals and support projects until 2020.
Applications for project funding will be considered through three Calls for outline project bids:
Key Dates
| Call Announced | Deadline for Outline Submission | Deadline for Full proposals | Propsal presentations to Industry Panel | Grant Award date | |
| NATEP Call 7 | 26 June 2017 | 11 August 2017 | 27 October 2017 | 1-14 December 2017 | January 2018 |
| NATEP Call 8 | 6 January 2018 | 13 February 2018 | 26 April 2018 | June 2018 (tbc) | July 2018 (tbc) |
| NATEP Call 9 | June 2018 (tbc) | August 2018 (tbc) | October 2018 (tbc) | December 2018 (tbc) | January 2019 (tbc) |
For further information, please visit: www.natep.org.uk
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly
Aerospace and Space – Cluster Growth and Investment Project
Project Overview
WEAF, a private sector company, is the delivery partner with the Cornwall Development Company for an exciting programme of Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) support to the aerospace and space sectors in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, funded by the European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF).
This project comprises a series of sector focused activities, aimed at driving higher levels of activity and investment in RD&I within the space and aerospace smart specialisation sectors in C&IoS.
The project will forge links with key academic institutions and businesses and represents a partnership between the public sector and private sector/industry, with direct links to Further and Higher Education.
Through this ‘Aerospace and Space – Cluster Growth and Investment and Project’, the aim is to deliver aerospace and space RD&I sector cluster growth through targeted activities in the key areas of supply chain and cluster competitiveness (known as ‘SC3’), innovation, technology exploitation, sector and investor engagement and inward investment.
WEAF Delivery – RD&I Activity and Cluster Support
CASTEP: Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Aerospace and Space Technology Exploitation Programme (CASTEP) – based upon the highly successful NATEP model (see above), the RD&I activity aims to enhance Cornwall-based SMEs’ innovation and technology development process, create new mutually beneficial collaborations within and beyond C&IoS, and support growth potential and opportunities
Supply Chain and Cluster Competitiveness (SC3): SC3 is designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the Cornwall aerospace & defence industry by raising the performance of its supply chains through the deployment and sustained adoption of proven Continuous Improvement toolsets such as SC21
Innovation Voucher Scheme: Innovation Vouchers can be used by eligible businesses to source external knowledge providers (recognised R&D agencies, HE/FE expertise) to help them grow and innovate through small-scale internal projects. The expertise sourced may be used to develop novel ideas, to help deliver innovation within the business, or, for example, obtaining specialist/expert advice around key RD&I matters such as Intellectual Property.
Aerospace and Space – Cluster Growth and Investment Project
Project Overview
WEAF, a private sector company, is the delivery partner with the Cornwall Development Company for an exciting programme of Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) support to the aerospace and space sectors in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (C&IoS), funded by the European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF).
This project comprises a series of sector focused activities, aimed at driving higher levels of activity and investment in RD&I within the space and aerospace smart specialisation sectors in C&IoS.
The project will forge links with key academic institutions and businesses and represents a partnership between the public sector and private sector/industry, with direct links to Further and Higher Education.
Through this ‘Aerospace and Space – Cluster Growth and Investment and Project’, the aim is to deliver aerospace and space RD&I sector cluster growth through targeted activities in the key areas of supply chain and cluster competitiveness (known as ‘SC3’), innovation, technology exploitation, sector and investor engagement and inward investment.