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Dept of Trade and Industry

Answer

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many applications for research and development grants there have been under (a) the Smart scheme, (b) the grant scheme and (c) regional competitions; [175953] (2) what the (a) success rate for applications and (b) value of the average award are for research and development grants under (i) the Smart scheme, (ii) the grant scheme and (iii) regional competitions; [175954] (3) what the timetable is for the next regional competitions for research and development grants; [175955] (4) what the total value is of research and development grants paid out under (a) the Smart scheme, (b) the grant scheme and (c) regional competitions. [175956] Jacqui Smith: The first regional competition deadline for Grant for Research and Development is 28 May 2004. The dates of further competitions will be decided subsequently. Given that we are still accepting applications within this competition round, I am unable to provide figures on the number of applications received under the competitive environment. We have yet to make any offers under the current competition round. The following table covers the number of applications for and the number of offers made under Smart and Grant for Research and Development for the past three years. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Smart1 Grant for R and D1 Number of applications 2 Number of offers2 Number of applications Number of offers 2001-02 1,134 777 -- -- 2002-03 1,556 1,142 -- -- 2003-04 651 618 805 389 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 Following a review of the Department's business support, Grant for Research and Development was introduced on 1 June 2003 to replace and enhance the Smart scheme. Smart remained open to applications up until 31 August 2003 to allow applicants the opportunity to adjust to the new product. Grant for Research and Development has proved just as popular as its predecessor so regional competitions for the grants have been introduced to ensure that expenditure on the product remains under control and to ensure that those research and development projects which best meet the grant selection criteria are supported. 2 Included Technology Reviews and Studies, which closed to applications on 31 May 2003 and replaced by the Investigating an Innovative Idea pilot on 1 June 2003. The following table provides information on the average grant under the `research' and `development' elements of Smart and Grant for Research and Development, taken on figures from the last three years, and how this compares to the maximum grant available. £ _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Feasibility/Research Development Average grant Maximum grant Average grant Maximum grant Smart 41,905 45,000 97,359 150,000 Grant for R and D 62,674 75,000 123,550 200,000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. The expenditure on Smart in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 was £23.7 million, £32.1 million and £42.8 million respectively. The expenditure on Grant for Research and Development in 2003-04 (the product was launched on 1 June 2003) was £3.1 million.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

422 c411-2W;422 c412-3W; 175953;175954;175955;175956

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Applications Grants Research SMART awards

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk