UK Technology Strategy Board
Speaking at the Innovate07 conference in London, Denham announced a new competition for proposals for collaborative research and development, representing a Government investment, through the Technology Strategy Board, of around £100 million. The competition, which covers eight technology areas and which will be phased over six months, is designed to generate innovative proposals in which businesses work together and with research communities on research and technology projects to deliver successful new products and services.
Proposals with potential applications across several business sectors, which build on links between academic and business research and which involve SMEs would be especially welcome.
The eight technology areas for which submissions are invited are:-
Phase 1, opening 8 November 2007Materials for EnergyHigh Value ManufacturingCell Therapy
Phase 2, opening 19 December 2007Low Carbon Energy TechnologiesAdvanced Lighting, Lasers and DisplaysTechnologies for Health
Phase 3, opening 30 January 2008Gathering Data in Complex EnvironmentsCreative Industries
Also at the conference, Denham announced that the total value of investment in collaborative research and development generated by the Technology Strategy Board had topped £1 billion since the programme started in 2004.
The programme is investing directly in new and emerging technologies and has been designed to help businesses work with each other or with academic partners and research organisations to develop technologies that will underpin products and services of the future. Regular competitions for Technology Strategy Board co-funding for collaborative R&D projects have been held since 2004, and by this month a portfolio of over 700 projects have been supported.
The £1bn figure was reached following the announcement of the results of the Technology Strategy Board's Spring 2007 competition, which approved investment of £101.55m in 76 new collaborative research and development projects, covering seven technology priority areas. This included £5.4m from the Research Councils and £3m from the Ministry of Defence. Taking into account contributions from business, this will result in collaborative R&D expenditure in the region of £200m.The seven technology areas are:Networked EnterpriseOil & Gas TechnologiesPlastic Electronics, Materials Processing and Systems IntegrationSmart, Bioactive & Nanostructure Materials for HealthLow Carbon Energy TechnologiesDesign Engineering & Advanced ManufacturingLightweight Materials and Structures.