Other factors that may have influenced the reduced participation of smaller businesses include insufficient communication about the Fund reaching SMEs, limited capacity within SMEs to participate in collaborative bids, and the lengthy approvals processes for funding.51 We received written evidence from Universities Scotland, which told us that “insufficient communication and notice of calls severely limits breadth and excellence” of the research and innovation funded by the Fund. This issue i...

Other factors that may have influenced the reduced participation of smaller businesses include insufficient communication about the Fund reaching SMEs, limited capacity within SMEs to participate in collaborative bids, and the lengthy approvals processes for funding.51 We received written evidence from Universities Scotland, which told us that “insufficient communication and notice of calls severely limits breadth and excellence” of the research and innovation funded by the Fund. This issue is particularly relevant to small and medium sized enterprises which have limited resources both in terms of people and resources available for co-investm Type: conclusion | Number: 19 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2021 4.2 UKRI is committed to increasing engagement with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) within the research and innovation system. The NAO report notes t