Meetings

This page carries summaries of the main discussions of the Technology Strategy Board (Governing Board) from its inception in June 2007 to date.

Eleventh meeting: October 2008. The Board held its meeting at Honda F1 Racing team Centre at Brackley, Northants and:

Discussed the financial report and 3 year plan
Discussed the report from the Technopolis review of the Knowledge Transfer Networks and agreed to take forward reforms and restructuring to the KTN portfolio.
Agreed to launch a new Innovation Platform in the area of detection and identification of infectious agents.
Agreed to hold back the launch of a new Innovation Platform in the area of sustainable agriculture and food supply chain at this time to do more work to develop the necessary relationship with DEFRA and other stakeholders and to define better the objectives and market management of any such programme.
Agreed to adopt a vision for sustainable innovation whereby "future economic development is delivered through innovations which progressively reduce the impact on the environment, whilst delivering technical, social and economic benefits to business, individuals and wider society" and to develop a detailed policy and operations plan to deliver this vision.
Discussed plans for developing the Board's programme in the context of the next spending review.
Discussed plans for developing the Board's investment portfolio such that the most impact would be delivered for the UK economy.
Visited the Honda F1 Development facilities

Tenth meeting: September 2008. The Board meeting was cancelled

Ninth Meeting: May 2008. The Board:

Discussed its financial position
Agreed to manage large project proposals (large being defined as >£10M) separately from the mainstream Technology Strategy Board competitions and to pursue departmental support for proposals above this threshold.
Discussed the expansion of the KTP programme, to include an increase in the number of classical KTPs and the introduction of shorter-duration KTPs and other flexibilities in the scheme.
Agreed to look into the possibility of investing in studies of how to encourage entrepreneurship.
Agreed that the successful delivery of a reformed and effective SBRI was a very high priority, recognising that there was a need to ensure that the executive had sufficient resource to deliver such a programme. Pilot reformed SBRI programmes were being discussed with the MOD, DoH and DfT.
Discussed with Ian Watmore, DIUS permanent Secretary, the Board's role in delivering the DIUS innovation agenda.
Discussed how the research councils and regional development agencies were aligning their investments with Technology Strategy Board programmes and noted their progress in reaching their targets for such alignment.

Eighth Meeting: April 2008. The Board:

Discussed with Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of UKTI, the respective roles of UKTI and the Technology Strategy Board in the Board's role in supporting UK businesses in the international arena and identified a number of ways the two organisations would start to work together.
Discussed the general priorities for Technology Strategy Board international strategy, recognising the importance of helping UK business to access EU support for innovation, the potential of the emerging economies (BRIC) and the dominance of the established markets (EU/USA)
Discussed its financial position and how this impacted the draft Delivery Plan.
Discussed its strategy to engage with UK business.

Seventh Meeting: March 2008. The Board:

Discussed the Tasking Framework Letter received from DIUS.
Agreed its final input to the Strategic Plan - Connect and Catalyse - which was due for publication and launch shortly.
Discussed its financial position
Agreed the main items in the draft Delivery Plan

February 2008. The Board replaced its regular meeting with a workshop which focussed on developing the content of the Strategic Plan.

Fifth Meeting: December 2007. The Board:

Discussed the Monthly finance report and the findings of the Audit Committee
Discussed the forthcoming review of Knowledge Transfer Networks
Agreed a plan for implementing the Technology Strategy Board's responsibilities emerging from the Sainsbury review but recognised the potential resource implications
Discussed the first draft of the Strategic Plan and agreed that innovative, new media, ways of presenting the plan should be investigated
Discussed and approved the communications strategy

Sixth Meeting: January 2008. The Board:

Received presentations (in confidence) from Shell UK on energy Scenarios out to 2050
Received presentations from ETI and agreed the main points of the working relationship between Technology Strategy Board and ETI
Discussed the initial response by business to the first tranche of calls in the Autumn CR&D competition.
Discussed the direction of the Strategic Plan
Commissioned a review of Micro and Nanotechnology centres.

Fourth Meeting: November 2007. With its new CEO, Iain Gray, the Board:

Discussed the forthcoming Innovate 07 conference
Discussed a judicial review request from an unsuccessful applicant.
Discussed the Technology Strategy Board risk register
Discussed the Monthly finance report
Approved the Technology Strategy Board whistle blowing procedure
Discussed the structure and main points to be included in the Strategic Plan.
Agreed that the Technology Strategy Board should take a lead in setting the innovation agenda, going wider than the current exclusive focus on technology.
Agreed to consider proposals for new innovation platforms

Third Meeting: October 2007. The Board

Discussed the wording of the Technology Strategy Board vision
Discussed the emerging objectives to be included in the Strategic Plan
Discussed the Monthly finance report
Discussed the Sainsbury report on Innovation "The Race to the Top" which it saw as very positive and represented a platform for Technology Strategy Board growth
Agreed a set of respective roles for the non-executive Board and the Executive Directors.
Agreed the launch of the Autumn Collaborative R&D Call and that it should include work in the area of the creative industries.
Started the process of reviewing the main Technology Strategy Board business support products.
Discussed the 2007/8 delivery plan

Second meeting: September 2007. This was a 2 day "awayday" for the Board to consider how it should operate and start to discuss its strategy. Ian Pearson and Iain Gray attended the dinner. The Board:

Discussed the parameters within which it was required to operate
Received training on the role of NDPBs from the National School for Government
Discussed the ways it wished to operate as a Board.
Discussed the wording of the Technology Strategy Board vision
Development of metrics for measuring Technology Strategy Board success
Discussed the emerging objectives to be included in the Strategic Plan
Agreed appointment s to Audit Committee and Remuneration sub-Committee
Discussed the emerging conclusions from the Sainsbury review
Requested that work begin on a web site

First Meeting: June 2007. The Board:

Amended and agreed the Budget delegation letter
Amended and agreed the Management Statement and Financial Memorandum
Asked the Interim CEO (David Evans) to produce a Delivery plan for 2007/9
Asked the Interim CEO to bring forward proposals for an Audit Committee and a remuneration sub-committee
Discussed members' code of Practice and declarations of interests
Agreed to meet 9-10 times in the coming 12 months