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Slow take-up rate for small firms scheme
Sunday, October 19, 2008 By Emma Kennedy
Only six out of ten third-level educational institutions and research facilities have so far participated in a scheme aimed to drive innovation among small Irish firms, according to new figures released by Enterprise Ireland.

The innovation voucher scheme, which was a recommendation of the Small Business For um, was first introduced by the government in March of last year to help support small businesses.

Under the scheme, small businesses can apply for vouchers of €5,000 which can be used for research on their behalf in universities, institutes of technology and other organisations.

The scheme, which is operated by Enterprise Ireland, follows a similar initiative in the Netherlands.

Of the 38 knowledge providers - an umbrella term given to research centres and educational institutions - registered with Enterprise Ireland, so far only 23 have worked with companies who wanted to cash in their vouchers.

The scheme has recently been extended to include the North, and a link-up with Invest Northern Ireland will offer companies access to an additional ten ‘knowledge providers’ in the North.

According to Enterprise Ireland figures, a total of 802 applications for innovation vouchers had been approved up to the end of August. However, so far, only 110 of these vouchers - just under 14 per cent - have been cashed in by companies.

Carlow Institute of Technology has worked with the most companies to date, having completed a total of 19 innovation voucher research projects. St Angela’s Food Technology Centre in Sligo ranks second, having completed ten research projects to date under the scheme.

Next in line comes the Cork Institute of Technology and the National University of Ireland in Cork, with eight completed projects each.

The figures indicate a greater uptake of the scheme by institutes of technology than universities.

The next round of the innovation voucher scheme opens on November 1, and closes at midnight on November 30.

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