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Help getting good ideas to fly
A new programme designed to assist businesses to get products to market with much lower development costs has recently been launched by IRL. The Co-investment Programme will provide businesses with the opportunity to use IRL technology to develop research ideas into prototypes and proofs of concept at a heavily discounted rate.
IRL’s commercial manager Gavin Mitchell says the programme will allow companies to assess new ideas without significant impact on other development and marketing costs and will enable the validation and creation of new IP.
“Businesses now have the opportunity to ‘de-risk’ the innovation process by sharing the risk with IRL to assist them in bringing new ideas to production.”
Despite development grants being made available by government, many businesses cannot get new ideas off the drawing board because they are unable to fund the initial research and development of a prototype necessary to prove the value of the idea and secure grants.
Under the new programme, businesses will contribute only half the costs of the prototype or proof of concept, and those proposals that meet IRL’s selection criteria will receive a dollar-for-dollar contribution from IRL.
In addition, selected companies will have the opportunity to showcase successes and enhance their profiles in front of political, science and other stakeholders at a celebration dinner in October.
Successful proposals that are deemed outstanding may also be awarded prizes over and above the initial funding.
Release Date:
5 October, 2010