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£8 million scheme to drive SMEs’ tech solutions for the high street

An £8 million initiative has been launched to support technology-lead solutions to challenges facing UK high streets.

The Government funded scheme, run by the Technology Strategy Board, is seeking firms that can build technological responses to challenges in retailing, logistics and traffic management.

Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts, launched the scheme today, and said: “Technology plays a vital role in people’s everyday lives and has the ability to influence our movements and shopping habits. By developing innovations to regenerate the retail sector we will be able to breathe new life into the UK’s high streets.

“This competition will encourage exciting new developments that could change the way business is done across our high streets. Giving shoppers and businesses real time information that they can use to their advantage will make a real difference in helping to boost the UK economy.”

Technology Strategy Board chief executive Iain Gray said: “There is real appetite among business and consumers to come up with new ways to regenerate our high streets.

“This competition is aimed at encouraging businesses of all sizes to come up with innovations that address key challenges, such as ways we can combine both physical and virtual shopping or develop real-time parking information.”

Up to £2 million will be available for feasibility studies in phase 1 of the competition called Re-imagining the high street, and those successful projects will then compete for a further £6 million in phase 2.

Funding opens on January 13 and the deadline for registrations is noon on February 26. More information on the scheme can be found here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .