RIFT R&D End of Year Round-Up 2020

When we look back at 2020, it’s easy to see no further than the disruption and anguish that has been caused to many businesses and families, not just in the UK, but around the world too. However, it is out of these most testing of times where people are forced to rethink and reimagine the future, which is where new paths of discovery are found. The reality is, many of history’s greatest innovations came out of the most disruptive of times, after all, there is no rainbow without the rain.

Working with businesses from all sectors across the UK, we are in a unique position to be able to keep our finger on the business pulse and see the trends as they happen. One thing to take a little reassurance from, is that the current challenges that businesses are facing are often blanketed right across the industry, meaning everyone is finding their own ways around them. Knowing this, something which has been truly inspiring to see is the resounding resilience that companies of all sizes have shown, to keep innovating in the face of a deeply uncertain economic climate. Each one of our clients is uniquely special, innovating to better their understanding of the world around them. It is in times like this where the true value of the R&D scheme genuinely come to light, allowing businesses to reinvest their rewards into innovation and keep striving for better, often against the odds. Because of that, we would like to thank you for the pleasure of letting us join you on this journey and help you maximise your return from the R&D scheme. It really has been a remarkable year.

It’s not just our clients that have been adapting to this new way of working, we’ve made plenty of changes of our own too! We are grateful to have strong and longstanding relationships with our introducers and partners that we work alongside, but 2020 has provided us with a whole new world to navigate. Moving to online meetings and networking events doesn’t quite have the same personal approach that we pride ourselves on, with new online etiquettes very different to what we’ve grown used to in our normal face to face discussions. But despite this, we have still managed to achieve our key aim of helping as many businesses as possible reap the benefits of the R&D scheme, at a time when arguably they are more valuable than ever.

We’ve also seen many of our partners champion the approach for change too, which we have been proud to support them in every step of the way. We’ve seen the Constructing Excellence SECBE Regional Awards and The Chartered Institute of Building Construction Manager of the Year Awards successfully moved online, while keeping all the spectacle and glamour we’ve come to expect from these events in previous years.

The Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce have also led the way with their online conferences, bringing businesses together just as much as ever, providing virtual spaces for collaboration and to share expert knowledge. We were delighted to present at these events, spreading awareness of the financial schemes currently available, particularly around the various COVID related funding streams and how they may impact an R&D claim.

Our friends at Urbano have been as resourceful as always with their approach to keeping people engaged and working together, with a noteworthy schedule of presentations in their Speaker Panel events programme, which we were delighted to be asked to take part in and contribute to.

As we close a year of change and disruption, we can only look ahead to the new opportunities that are to come in 2021. In a new age where face to face and virtual events look set to complement one another, we would like to reiterate that we are here for all of our clients and partners as much as ever, while we continue to raise awareness and help businesses reap the rewards of the R&D scheme for many years to come.

Sarah Collins, Director of R&D, concludes by saying:

‘We’ve recognised how tough this year has been for businesses from all sectors, but we're proud to work with such resilient clients and partners who have truly championed change in these unfavourable times. We would like to thank everyone who has worked with us this year, your determination, inspiration and unwavering support has been truly incredibly! I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and of course, we look forward to working with you again in 2021.’