Overview
David Connell’s self-funded report, Secrets of the World’s Largest Seed Capital Fund: How the United States Government Uses its Small Business Innovation Research Programme and Procurement Budgets to Support Small Technology Firms, was published at the end of the previous CBR reporting period. Since then the report has attracted extensive interest amongst both the academic and policy communities and is expected to have had an important influence on the Review of UK Science Policy being undertaken by Lord Sainsbury.
The report has led to a number of presentations and follows up meetings with Ministers, government officials, and trade associations, as well as further research on the UK SBRI program and US procurement policies.
In conjunction with other members of CBR, funding has been secured for three new projects (described below) on the Commercialisation of Science and Technology. Two new Senior Research Fellows (Dr Jocelyn Probert and Dr Andrea Mina) have been appointed to undertake these and a third Research Fellow is currently being recruited. This team will be in place by autumn 2007 although some work has already begun on the three projects.
It is intended that CBR will build on this activity and there are a number of closely related policy questions we wish to investigate.
See also:
The Integrated Knowledge Centre (IKC) Commercialisation Centre
The Role of "Soft Companies" and Government R&D Contracts in Development of SMEs
Start-up Finance: A Study of Micro Finance amongst Soft & Hard Companies
Project leader
- David Connell
Project dates
2007-2008
Funding
CBR
Output
Reports
Connell, D. (2006), Secrets of the World’s Largest Seed Capital Fund: How the United States Government Uses its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Programme and Procurement Budgets to Support Small Technology Firms, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
Other publications
Connell, D. (2007), Emulating a US Approach to Funding, Library House PCI Briefing, Sep/Oct.
Conference papers
Connell, D. (2007) Cambridge Network Symposium: Strategies for Success; Why Britain Needs a US style Venture Capital Programme, 21 March. Organised and gave keynote presentation.
Connell, D. (2007), Royal United Services Institution; Conference on Innovation in the (Defence) Supply Chain; Why the UK needs a US style SBIR Programme, London 26 April.
Connell, D. (2006) World Bank Knowledge Economy Forum VI Soft Companies and R&D Contracts; the Undervalued Engine of Growth for Knowledge Based Economies, Cambridge, 19 April.
Connell, D. (2006) Cambridge IKC Metrics Symposium (Organised by Alan Hughes); A Venture Capital Perspective, Cambridge.