A Knowledge Transfer Partnership - the development of a Bespoke Enterprise Resource Planning System in the UK

Abstract. A Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a UK-wide programme designed to enable businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance. A KTP achieves this through the forming of a Partnership between a business and an academic institution. The aim is to enable businesses to access skills and expertise from academics and embed this knowledge in their businesses in order to develop the business. The knowledge sought is embedded into the business through a project, or projects, undertaken by a recently qualified person (known as the Associate). Part funding is provided by the government towards the Associate’s salary and towards the release of an Academic supervisor who works a half a day a week at the company. KTPs can vary in length from 6 months to three years, depending on the needs of the business and the desired outcomes. Therefore a KTP enables new capability to be embedded into the business and has benefited and continues to benefit a wide range of businesses across many sectors in the UK, including micro sized, small and large businesses across many sectors. This paper describes a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between the University of Hertfordshire and a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) based in Cambridgeshire, UK.