Image: Peter Shanks [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
The Technology Strategy Board is planning a £50 million boost to its spending on thematic areas in 2013-14, aiming to invest some £300m through 75 competitions.
The investment—in areas including priority fields such as energy, healthcare, built environment, food, and transport—was announced on 14 May in the agency’s delivery plan for 2013-14. This compares with a £250m investment in 60 competitions in such areas in 2012-13.
The delivery plan sets out how the organisation will spend up to £68m on health, partly through the Biomedical Catalyst and the Cell Therapy Catapult.
In addition, up to £63m will be spent on high-value manufacturing and up to £35m will be invested in energy projects. Investment in transport is set to receive up to £35m, while projects related to the digital economy can compete for a pot of £37m.
Overall, the TSB’s annual budget has increased from £390m last year to £440m this year. The delivery plan shows that the agency will spend more on its network of catapult centres and will boost funding for its innovation voucher scheme, though no exact numbers are provided.
However, a fivefold increase in funding for the Small Business Research Initiative promised in this year’s national budget is not included in the TSB’s budget. Instead this funding for the SBRI scheme, which uses government procurement to drive innovation, will come out of the budget of the government departments that are involved.