TSB lays out plan

The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has launched a three-year strategy outlining how it aims to invest at least £1bn in making the UK a leader in innovation.

At yesterday’s launch, the TSB announced specific investments in areas including the manufacturing industry, zero carbon building technology, low-carbon vehicles and technology in the creative industries.

‘We will be investing £1bn - a number that we believe will be matched by businesses and others,’ said Iain Gray, chief executive of the TSB.

Originally established in 2004 as an advisory board for the government’s technology strategy, the new TSB is funded mainly by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) with contributions from research councils and regional development agencies.

Also speaking at the event was John Denham, secretary of state for the DIUS. He reiterated the government’s plan to focus on changing procurement methods in a way that it would encourage innovation, as recommended in the DIUS’s ‘Innovation Nation’ White Paper.

‘Each government department will set out a procurement plan. We are going to work in detail in the first two or three years with health and defence, and we are hoping to work with transport.

‘We really can make the UK the best place to run an innovative business,’ he said.

Amongst its proposals, the TSB announced that it would spend £10m in each year of the plan on working towards low-carbon buildings, with an initial investment of £4m to fund collaborative research between businesses and knowledge centres on components and materials, such as improved and more affordable building insulation.