UK Technology Strategy Board outlines future spending plans

Over the next six months the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is to invest £39.5 million in regenerative medicine, transport and logistics, agriculture and food, infectious diseases and low carbon housing.

The TSB hints at where it will put its pennies

The announcement by Iain Gray, chief executive of the board, is intended to give business an insight into the investment focus over the next six months. “In 2008-9 we invested in around 1,600 companies through our collaborative R&D programme and since we were established we have forged new partnerships right across the business community and the public sector making great inroads into promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration in innovation and technology,” said Gray.

At the same time the TSB announced the formation of a Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform, which will invest up to £75 million over the next five years to support R&D focusing on the development and adoption of new technologies to increase sustainable food productivity, while decreasing environmental impact. This will include crop productivity, sustainable livestock production, waste reduction and management, and greenhouse gas reduction.

Gray said, “We will not only help to solve this problem for the UK, but also give businesses based here a strong advantage in addressing these same challenges around the world.”

The Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform will begin its work by investing up to £13 million to help crop growers to respond to the dual challenges of increasing productivity while reducing the environmental impact of crop production. The ‘Novel Approaches to Crop Protection’ call will open on 18 January 2010.