4 research outputs found

    Value Chain activities of Small and Medium Food Manufacturers in Wales, United Kingdom: The KITE Project

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    The Knowledge Innovation Technology Exchange (KITE) Feasibility Project (2008-2015) was implemented in Wales, to improve food science/technology knowledge and sustainable innovation in food manufacturing small to medium enterprises (SMEs). From this model, the study aimed to identify the salient features of such a paradigm to contribute to ‘value-added gains’ for competitive advantage. Cumulatively, >90 KITE interventions in 43 Welsh SME partners, were evaluated according to mappable value chain ‘primary activities’ and ‘support activities’. Findings from case study purposive samples conducted in 13 out of 43 KITE partner SMEs, identified added value activity across manufacturing and processing activities that positively impacted the food sector

    Stakeholder Growth Platforms for the Development of Food Sector Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs): A case study experience from Wales, United Kingdom

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    Project HELIX 2016-2020 was developed and implemented in Wales, to improve technical/ safety/science knowledge; and sustainable innovation in food manufacturing small to medium enterprises (SMEs). The paper aims to place Project HELIX within the wider context of regional and food sector development and then examine the project's rationale and delivery methods in relation to this. It reflects on the effectiveness of the project (or otherwise) in constructing regional advantage from knowledge transfer and knowledge spillovers. Finally, the paper identifies areas of further research both in terms of the firm level and in relation to other food sector initiatives more generally

    The comparative role of policies in low-tech industry development – evidence from Wales, Ireland, and Denmark

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    In this paper, we specifically ask what the global COVID-19 pandemic caused firms to do in terms of coping with the crisis and sudden changes in demand. In doing so, we explore firm-level strategies to alleviate the pressures on the firms in the industry stemming from the fact that Covid caused a significant reduction of sales to pubs, bars, taprooms, and cancellations of festivals and similar events. We research the possible changes in collaboration, distribution, internationalisation, products, sales etc., and we investigate the possible recovery of these activities as well as their possible lasting effects on business models of the microbreweries. We pay special attention to what the Covid crisis did to the links between key actors in the beer industry and between this industry and related industries, food, and tourism. Additionally, we elaborate on the possible role of regional policy in supporting the re-establishment of these complementary activities and links between actors as well as their pure survival

    Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

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    AbstractThe evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.</jats:p
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