Bristol innovators having a BIG impact
Bristol innovators having a BIG impact
In November 2019 a group of innovators met at the University of Bristol. Fast forward a year and the group – known as the Bristol Innovators’ Group – has 300 members, hosts monthly meet ups, and is impacting the city through its collaborative approach to social impact.
James Snelgrove, a founding member and Innovation Specialist at Business West, explains, “we wanted to be an open forum for anyone involved in innovation in any sector in Bristol. We’re the only network like this in the city and we’ve attracted entrepreneurs, consultants and start-ups. Bristol is very innovative!”
James founded the group alongside Rob Sheffield from Bluegreen Learning, Charlie Widdows and Aaron Slater from Solverboard, Aimee Skinner at Future Space and digital marketing consultant Hannah Be Digital.
Aimee says, “we’re a big network but we’ve worked closely to shape our purpose. We exist to connect, inspire, and equip innovators to make the city a better place to work and live. This year has been about working out what we want to achieve. We’ve focused on sharing best practice and responding to the ideas and needs of our members.
“It’s been a tough year and when the pandemic hit suddenly everyone was talking about innovation and how the city was going to survive. Before that we’d met twice, but during lockdown the founding group started to meet weekly and then we launched our virtual meet-ups.”
The meet ups centre around three elements: the BIG Conversation, the BIG Breakout, and the BIG Topic. Charlie leads the BIG Topic. He says “we’ve had some amazing speakers including author Elvin Turner, and we hosted a panel discussion on the future of innovation. These conversations spark ideas and lead to collaboration.
“One example is the work Hannah and Rob have been doing with Laptops For Bristol. We’re aiming to get 600 laptops donated to be redistributed to young people in need.”
To join search Bristol Innovators’ Group, or visit https://bristolinnovators.group.
I’m a diversity consultant and a design and communications consultant. I help people and organisations develop vision, communicate and deliver cultural change.