Supplementary memorandum by the Department
for Innovation, Universities and Skills, with input from the Technology
Strategy Board and the Research Councils
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE INQUIRY
Technology Strategy Board told us that over the
last four years around £35 million worth of collaborative
research and development had been funded through the BREW programme,
but that it would not be re-funded in the future. Is this the
case?
The Technology Strategy Board will no longer
be in receipt of ring-fenced funding from the Defra BREW programme.
Will this type of research be funded through some
other source?
Over the next three years the Technology Strategy
Board has a budget of £711m with which it will support activities
across the whole economy. A further £180 million will be
earmarked by the RDAs and £120 million by the Research Councils
to spend jointly on activities with the Technology Strategy Board.
Within its overall budget envelope, it is for
the Technology Strategy Board to determine priorities and therefore
where the funding is invested.
In the specific area of Waste Reduction, the
Technology Strategy Board will work closely with Defra to explore
opportunities to establish an Innovation Platform. It will also
continue to fund business led research projects addressing key
application areas such as waste management and resource efficiency
alongside research into key technology areas such as "High
Value Manufacturing", "Advanced Materials" and
"Information and Communication Technologies", which
can have a direct impact on the aforementioned application areas.
Furthermore, in taking forward and delivering
its strategy, it will seek to link its work on technology roadmaps
with Defra's product roadmaps for the high environmental impact
areas such as transport, home and food.
Details of how much funding is provided to the
Research Councils for waste-related research.
The Research Councils do not receive a specific
allocation for waste related research. The Research Councils are
responsible for determining the detailed allocations of funding
to specific programmes, projects and activities. Such research
would be funded through, for example, the EPSRC programmes covering
"Process, Environment and Sustainability", "Materials,
Mechanical and Medical Engineering" and the "Sustainable
Urban Environment" ; and the ESRC's "Sustainable Technologies"
Programme or "Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability,
Sustainability and Society" (BRASS).
July 2008
| 
