About the Feasibility Studies

About the Technology Strategy Board's feasibility studies competition for technology-inspired innovation

In January 2010, 64 small and medium sized businesses were successful in receiving funding from this feasibility studies competition enabling them to financially de-risk the initial steps of product development that they otherwise would not have undertaken.

The feasibility studies needed to match one or more of the technology areas below and were required to align closely with the Technology Strategy Board's strategies in the respective areas.

• Advanced Materials
• Biosciences
• Electronics, Photonics and Electrical Systems
• High Value Manufacturing
• Information and Communications Technology
• Nanotechnology

The process began in September 2009 when the Technology Strategy Board launched a competition to invest in feasibility studies lasting up to 3 months and costing no more than £33,000 in total and with the Technology Strategy Board funding up to 75% of this cost.

The purpose was to stimulate innovation across the Technology Strategy Board's defined technology areas to help ensure that UK businesses are well-equipped to respond to the challenges presented by the current economic conditions.

The feasibility studies supported under this competition may develop into submissions to a follow-on competition, which is planned for later in 2010. This will have a budget of around £25m for collaborative R&D projects and is likely to be open to all types of organisation. Further details will be available in the spring.

The competition focused on feasibility studies:

• in technology areas closely aligned with the prioritised 'pillars' of the Technology Strategy Board's various technology strategies
• that contain an element of technology innovation
• that are both led and undertaken by small and micro companies individually or in partnership, and where the single company or collaborative partners spend most of the funding in-house.

The original technology-inspired completion flyer can be found here

The Technology Strategy Board also ran a feasibility studies competition under its Digital Britain strategy. Visit here if you are interested in attending the Collaboration Nation event focused on innovations applicable to access to public services and public services data, enabling technologies for the internet, online applications and services, and deployment and operation of digital infrastructure.