Nesta's response to Budget 2013

20/3/13

Stian Westlake, Executive Director of Policy & Research:

"There is a £200 million treasure for small businesses tucked inside an otherwise austere Budget 2013: it is called SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative). It works by giving small businesses the chance to compete to solve tricky government problems. The winners get contracts. For a start-up, these are gold-dust, since they provide both cash and a customer; often the business's first customer. This may seem small beer compared to the UK's £1.5 trillion economy. But for start-ups, this is a very big deal: it's nearly 40 per cent more than the UK venture capital industry invests each year.

"The UK is in the middle of a £24 billion innovation strike. Today's SBRI commitment allows the government to boost innovative businesses without boosting public spending. Whilst longer term, Nesta would like to see a larger percentage of procurement budgets spent through SBRI, it's heading in the right direction."