RUNNING any successful enterprise needs good organisation, good management, and good partnerships. Whether it is a Formula 1 racing team or the local village fte, the result will be better if people work well together.

York's knowledge-based businesses are increasingly working in partnership and we are starting to see the signs of recycling expertise, which is indicative of maturing, successful regional economic growth.

There was a very good example of this last week when a collaboration between York-linked company Authentix and the University of York's department of chemistry won the Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership Programme Award, sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry..

Now, taken at face value, this is just one more accolade for another York business-university partnership.

We are starting to get used to them and this might be thought of as good to have but not especially remarkable.

But it is worth looking a little more closely at how this success was achieved and what it means in the context of Science City York.

Authentix is "the global leader in authentication solutions for brand protection and fiscal recovery". It was formed in 2003 from the merger of three companies, including York's own Biocode.

The award-winning Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) was one of two linking the company with the university, this one being for the development of a device for the detection of tracers in fuels (the other links with the department of biology to develop tracers for the authentification of alcohol).

KTPs have been around for 30 years, previously under the title of Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) Fellowships. They are one of those business support mechanisms that have not, until recently, received the attention and praise they deserve. They really do provide an outstanding and cost-effective way of helping transfer new technology into innovation-led businesses.

Each KTP employs one or more recently-qualified graduate, known as associates, to work on a project aimed at competitiveness and productivity.

Awards are only made where there will be clear and measurable benefit to the business - usually at the bottom line!

The university side of the KTP was led by Prof David Goodall and Dr Ed Bergstrm from the department of chemistry.

The Authentix side of the KTP was led by Dr Ian Eastwood and Dr Erwin Dorland.

Together, both groups supervised the KTP associate, Jordanian Dr Mohammed Al-Jafari, who had already won a Business Leader Of Tomorrow award from TCS two years previously.

The two-year programme led to several key achievements:

The development of a prototype microfluidic testing device

Two new patents

The development of two authentication devices that resulted in two pharmaceutical contracts worth more than £1 million.

Dr Al-Jafari, in the meantime, has returned to Amman, where he is now manager of new technologies at United Pharmaceuticals, supporting the finding that 25 per cent of KTP associates are from overseas.

The fact that this York-based partnership took top honours out of 320 programmes reviewed for the 2005 competition reflects the growing maturity and interactions of the Science City York community.

Other KTP programmes currently running locally range from "clinical validation of food intolerances and food allergies" (YorkTest Laboratories and the department of health sciences) through "developing a user-friendly IT tool to manage the competence base of aspiring new police recruits" (Psyton Ltd and the department of computer science) to "developing and implementing a governance framework and research strategy" (Wakefield Metropolitan District Council social services and health directorate and the department of social policy and social work).

As pointed out by Dr Rukmal Abeysekera, KTP manager for the University of York, "These partnerships are still under-used locally. They really can make a difference to your business; and you get direct government subsidy to make it happen." For more details phone Dr Abeysekera on 01904 435287. or log on to the KTP website at www.ktponline.org.uk.

Updated: 10:10 Wednesday, April 05, 2006