Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the impact of Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative on Northern Ireland in the last two years.
Answer
Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative (now renamed to Contracts for Innovation) has published an evaluation demonstrating its impact, including:
- £788m awarded through SBRI competitions between 2008 and 2022
- Business applicants from NI made up approximately 3% of applicants
- The benefits to the businesses awarded the funding amount to 1.5 to 4 times the cost of public sector investment