TSB to guide innovation-centre development

The board will work with industry, stakeholders and wider government, including the Research Councils, Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations, on the implementation of the recommendations in the Hauser review, a report by technology entrepreneur Hermann Hauser.

The report looks at leading technology and innovation centres in other countries and recommends that the UK builds its own network.

The group of centres will help to commercialise the output of the UK's research and will drive economic growth in potential high growth sectors that will emerge from commercialising technologies such as stem cells and regenerative medicine or future internet technologies.

Commercialising these technologies could enable the UK to capture a significant proportion of global markets potentially worth billions of pounds.

Welcoming the report, Lord Mandelson, said it recognised the UK was strong in many technology areas and the centres to be developed would help exploit that commercially.

They would take new discoveries from the point where university researchers recognise the potential for commercialisation and help develop the concepts to a stage where the private sector would be able to commercialise it.

The Technology Strategy Board will set up a management board, as recommended in the report, that will be made up of a range of partner organisations including business representatives and public-sector funders.

This group will advise the Technology Strategy Board on the right areas of focus.

The intention is to report back by the Pre-Budget Report on the process, priority areas, scale of investment required and governance structure.