Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what evaluation or evidence-gathering the Government (a) has carried out or commissioned and (b) plans to carry out into (i) the Grand Challenges programme announced on 17 December 2014 and (ii) the Eight Great Technologies.

All Grand Challenges Fund projects are subject to detailed business cases in accordance with HM Treasury requirements. The projects are evaluated by analytical, finance and project specialists within BIS, and the relevant Research Council.

Evidence underpinning the “Eight Great Technologies” was set out in the Eight Great Technologies pamphlet accompanying David Willetts’ speech of the 24^th of January 2013 [Eight Great Technologies, David Willetts, Policy Exchange 2013].

Projects that form part of the Grand Challenges programme are supported from the £6.9 billion science capital budget, which was subject to a public consultation launched in December 2014.

Innovate UK and the Research Councils work together to explore and develop new approaches for moving potentially high impact technologies more rapidly from the research base into commercial reality.