4.32pm 9th March 2015 and I saw an email arrive from Jenny. At long last, I thought, an answer regarding our application! With the amount of hard work that I had put in over the last 3 months in preparing the application I thought there could only be one out come, success! As I read the email from Jenny a dark cloud descended over me. Our application had been turned down as the idea we were suggesting did not contain enough innovation. I could not believe what I was reading. I am a born optimist but never once had I contemplating this application failing. I was dumbfounded and wasn’t sure I wanted to speak to Jenny, however she was very keen to discuss the decision with me .
I phoned Jenny and while I was expecting a very desolate phone call she was still bright and optimistic, stating that the application had been successful in many ways but just had not quite got over the line for a few reasons regarding innovation. She clearly understood my disappointment and frustration. She was also extremely disappointed at receiving the decision as she had put in a similar amount of time and effort over the last 3 months. She said the decision was no reflection of the fundamental strength of our application itself and it was still a great project, business case and opportunity and I should consider resubmitting the application. If she was prepared to push forward, I thought, then I should be also.
I decided I was not going to quit now, we could resubmit an application by the end of June 2015 and this time we were going to get it over the line and movement screening was definitely going to become affected by innovation. I though we had plenty of innovation in our original application but our new application would certainly not be rejected for a lack of it. I phoned Professor Iain Spears to discuss how we could really take this project to another level.
Athletic Movement Analysis Tool (AMAT) was going to happen and it would be full of technology and innovation. I was driving between Premier League clubs on Thursday 14th September when I received a call from Jenny. She just said ‘yes, yes yes!’. Our application had been approved. Innovate UK had accepted our application and confirmed that they thought our project of developing a technology based movement screening tool met their innovation requirements.
I had to pull over in my car to think to myself what a fantastic achievement for a small sports science based company with no knowledge of technology to receive a significant amount of innovation support and funding in order to develop a technology based product.