Recently, I was contacted by Vince Cable inviting me to join his new Entrepreneurs Forum. It is an opportunity to advise the Government on policy relating to the creation of an entrepreneurial environment, and what an opportunity!

It is a chance for me — as the sole representative of Oxfordshire’s high-tech, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the forum — to get a word in the ear of the Government.

I plan to use this opportunity well, to emphasise the huge importance of research and development grants to the UK’s entrepreneurial activities, particularly in our county. I will be able to air our concerns that, in the current round of Government cuts, these grants could be axed.

Oxfordshire has a very high concentration of innovative, research-driven, pioneering businesses — much loved by the Government and vaunted as the future drivers of the UK’s knowledge-based economy and creators of new jobs.

But the Government has to put money where its mouth is. Innovative companies that are trying to grow tend to have limited resources, and speculative R&D projects can be stunted without external financial support. Government help at this stage can be critical to success.

For many years, SMART grants, awarded and managed by the Department of Trade and Industry, offered funding.

The Labour Government replaced SMART with R&D Grants, administered by the Regional Development Agencies, this being the South East Economic Development Agency in Oxfordshire, and recently superseded by Finance South East.

Grants were widened to include a Proof of Market award and a Micro Development award. The key criterion was that projects must involve technological innovation, and the grants came with the great advantage of not being sector specific. Briefly, the R&D grants are as follows: n Proof of Market Award — up to £20,000, and covering 60 per cent of eligible costs.

* Research Award — between £20,000 and £100,000, covering up to 60 per cent of project costs.

* Micro Development Award — between £5,000 and £20,000, covering up to 45 per cent of costs.

* Development Award — between £20,000 and £250,000, covering up to 35 per cent of costs for a medium business and 40 per cent for a small business.

* Exceptional Projects — research grant of up to £250,000 and development grant of up to £500,000, covering 35 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of costs.

Knowledge Partnerships grants, which usually involve collaboration with an academic partner, and grants to fund projects of national strategic interest administered by the Technology Strategy Board can be restrictive and may not meet the needs of an early stage business.

Since the general election in May all applications for R&D grants have been put on hold, pending resolution of the scrapping of the RDAs and their replacement by Local Enterprise Partnerships.

We in the technology sector are very concerned that, with the demise of the RDAs and the depth of cost-cutting measures being announced, the grants will be stopped.

As a serial scientific entrepreneur in Oxfordshire I have found these Government awards vital to the development and success of my companies.

My first business, Cytocell, developed tests for the detection of a wide range of diseases using DNA probe technology. Cytocell was founded in 1991 with a SMART award. We were subsequently granted a Development award for a new range of products.

These prestigious awards were absolutely crucial to funding these projects and they also enabled us to attract funding from business angel members of Oxford Investment Opportunity Network.

The investors knew that if Cytocell had survived the rigorous selection process for a SMART award it must be an innovative firm with a solid business plan, and so a good investment opportunity.

Ultimately, the grants led to rapid growth of the company to £1.2m turnover with 54 staff.

More recently, in 2007, I started GFC Diagnostics based at the DiagnOx Laboratory in Cherwell Innovation Centre, Upper Heyford, with Dr Graham Cope, a scientist from the University of Birmingham and an expert in smoking cessation.

He had developed SmokeScreen, a rapid test to monitor smoking habits used in a number of stop smoking programmes.

However, as a urine test, the product had limited application. We successfully applied for a Micro Development award to fund the development of a more sensitive version of the test to measure smoking using saliva.

The project was successfully completed in 2009 and, following a small clinical trial, was launched this year.

We are currently in discussions with a major pharmacy chain to use the test to determine the optimal amount of nicotine to give as nicotine replacement therapy to help smokers quit.

Without Government grant funding this test would not have been developed.

In accepting my invitation to the forum I will use my position to voice loudly the importance of R&D grants to small high tech businesses in Oxfordshire. I do hope the Government listens!

o Contact: Bruce Savage, GFC Diagnostics, 01869 238308.

Web: www.gfcdiagnostics.co.uk o This page is co-ordinated by Oxford Innovation www.oxin.co.uk