Technology, Market and Company Journeys: How Can We Help Them Succeed? - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 202

funds for pilot and demonstrator programmes, and increase the speed and reduce
the costs for access by business to university facilities in order to support
innovation.
This programme is also available to support spin out companies that may have
been created within the university. They have particular value in supporting
demonstrator programme that are concerned with bringing technology closer to the
market.
4.1.3 Knowledge Transfer Networks
In the UK there are currently (2011) 16 KTNs which operate in specific fields by
linking people who are concerned with driving a specific technology across
industrial sectors and encouraging commercially based solutions to be founded by
companies.
4.1.4 Small Business Research Initiative
This programme supports the need for the UK governments, like most govern-
ments in the world, to reduce the cost to the public purse of R&D. It has been
organised to help early stage, high-technology Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) gain greater access to R&D opportunities while supporting the future
procurement needs of Government Departments by offering competitive R&D
contracts that aim to:
• Provide opportunities to those existing small firms whose businesses are based
upon providing R&D—by increasing the size of the market;
• Encourage other smaller businesses to increase their R&D capabilities and
capacity—to exploit the new market opportunities;
• Create opportunities for starting new technology-based or knowledge-based
businesses.
Part of the thinking behind the SBRI is that it enables government departments
and other UK public sector organisations to procure new technologies faster and
with managed risk through a phased development programme, and it provides paid
contracts for the critical stage of product development.
4.2 Innovation Vouchers
These are a mechanism aimed at small and medium-sized businesses which can
use the vouchers to buy support from an academic institution to explore potential
opportunities for future collaboration.