DTI exceptional R & D award recognises strategic importance of Cogniscos work

Cranfield based Cognisco, the company whoís innovative measurement tools recently revealed that the majority of skilled workers possess level of understanding well below what their employers expect, have been awarded an Exceptional Grant for Research and Development from the Department of Trade and Industry.

The DTI grant is for the development of the Cognisco Indexô, an enhancement of their existing assessment product to allow organisations to measure their employeesí knowledge and understanding against employees of other organisations in the same sector.

Small Business and Enterprise Minister, Nigel Griffiths said:

I am delighted that the DTI, through the Grant for Research and Development, has been able to support Cognisco’s innovative work in the field of employee assessment solutions. To obtain an Exceptional Project award, the company has had to show its development project is both of strategic importance to an industry or technology and is likely to generate much wider economic benefits.

The Cognisco Indexô will utilise the Cognisco Milestone 400ô assessment platform and will provide comparative data for each of the key industry sectors. Using National and International generic standards the Cognisco Indexô will complement existing competency frameworks by adding a further dimension to effective performance. Major organisations already use the Cognisco Milestone 400ô product as an integral component of their workforce development and compliance.

Chairman of Cognisco Limited, Firdaus Ruttonshaw said:
ìCognisco will provide industry specific comparative performance data against a number of benchmarks for best practice as a route to overall competitiveness. As a key player in the assessment solutions market, we are enabling the UK productivity and skills agenda.î

Mary Clarke, Managing Director of Cognisco Limited said:
ìThe Cognisco Indexô highlights the need for an organisation to address skill shortages and gaps whilst bundling training into wider human resource practices so as not to inhibit movement towards higher performance. Cognisco Global Assessment Solutions aspire to meet the strategic needs of businesses and the exceptional R&D award recognises our progress.î

Cognisco Limited was established in 1998 to address the needs of the e-training marketplace and has emerged as the ëknowledge based assessment solutionsí provider using its Milestone400ô product.

Cognisco designs, develops and markets Assessment Solutions, which provide organisations with objective measurement of employee understanding. The web based Employee/Division/Company Assessments can be:

Integrated with specialist Learning Management Systems supplied by major integrators.

Supplemented by ëin-houseí specialist question authoring.

Sold directly and through major distributors to small, medium and large sized companies in the home market and overseas.

Cognisco will receive a financial boost from the government for their innovative approach, as well as on going support and advice.

The awards are given for four major types of projects:

Micro Projects - simple low cost development projects lasting no longer than 12 months. Up to 20,000 is available to businesses with fewer than 10 employees

Research Projects - planned research or critical investigation lasting between 6 and 18 months. Up to 75,000 is available to businesses with fewer than 50 employees

Development Projects - shaping of industrial research into a pre-production prototype of a technologically innovative product or industrial process. Up to 200,000 is available for businesses with fewer than 250 employees

Exceptional Projects - technology developments that have higher costs. These projects are likely to generate much wider economic benefits and must be recognised as of ’strategic ’ importance for a technology or industrial sector. Up to 500,000 is available to businesses with fewer than 250 employees.