A half-million pound boost from the government will help Forest Research, the Forestry Commission‘s research and development agency, to bring the products of its studies to the commercial market place.
The £495,000 grant was one of 29 totalling £25m from the Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund announced by the trade and industry secretary Alan Johnson on Tuesday.
Announcing the grants, Mr Johnson said: “Public-sector research establishments carrying out cutting-edge research need finance to bring their products and services to wider markets. Without government funding these ideas might never become a real-ity.”
Welcoming the grant, Forestry Commission chairman Lord David Clark said: “Innovation is critical for the future success of UK’s woodlands and forest industries, and it is also critical for the continued growth of the UK’s environmental industries, so I’m delighted that the Forestry Commission’s research agency has been awarded this substantial help to bring the products of its world-class research and development work to the marketplace.”
Professor Jim Lynch, the chief executive officer of Forest Research, added: “Part of the funding will be used to build our expertise in managing our intellectual property. It will also enable us to intensify and extend our existing links with industry.
“We already enjoy good networks with many industrial groups and practitioners in forestry and the environmental industries. However, by focusing new efforts on innovation partnerships, we believe we will be able to significantly increase the impact of our work.”
Forest Research’s grant will sit alongside £225,000 committed by the Forestry Commission, bringing total funding for this area to £720,000.
