The Government recognise that MicroNanotechnologies (MNT) have the potential to deliver enormous benefits for society and the economy from the development and manufacturing of new materials and devices, and are committed to supporting industry in harnessing the commercial opportunities offered by such new and emerging technologies, as outlined in our 10-year Science and Innovation Investment Framework, published in 2004.
The delivery mechanism for such support is now the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), which is a non-departmental public body reporting to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. The TSB, comprising mainly experienced business leaders, identifies the new and emerging technologies critical to the growth of the UK economy into which government funding and activities can be directed.
Over the period 2005 to 2008, £320 million is available to businesses in the form of grants to support research and development in the technology areas identified by the TSB. This includes £90 million already invested in MNT via the following three mechanisms:
Collaborative R&D projects of which there are 49 so far with combined eligible project costs of £61 million and grant support totalling £35 million.
MicroNanoTechnology Centres of which there are 24 so far with a total budget of £172 million and grant support totalling £55 million. Of the 24 facilities, 10 fall specifically under the umbrella of “Nanofabrication”.
The MicroNanoTechnology Knowledge Transfer Network, which was launched in May 2007 to take forward the work of the MicroNanoTechnology community.
Future decisions on technology and funding priorities will lie with the TSB.