The government has found some much needed money to support the UK's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
The £75m ear-marked for SMEs is part of a number of government handouts which it hopes will encourage business "innovation".
It is part of the government's Innovation and Research Strategy to support technology innovation.
At last the governemnt has realised that most of the technical innovation that happens in the UK comes from SMEs.
"This new package of measures will help to put these businesses at the forefront of the country's economic recovery," commented Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board which will manage the fund.
So is there anything new in this?
Only if you look really closely.
There is some new money for the SBRI programme, which effectively directs government procurement at UK-based SMEs.
But mostly it is a bit more of what's gone before. For example, the Technology Strategy Board will extend its Launchpad initiative, following a pilot supporting the development of the Tech City cluster in London.
This initiative, which offers funding for approved R&D projects, will be extended to support new and emerging clusters in other parts of the UK.
The Technology Strategy Board will also plan a new innovation voucher programme to support collaboration between SMEs and external knowledge providers, such as universities and the Catapult centres - the new technology and innovation centres.
Around £25m investment is ear-marked for large-scale demonstrators in areas such as integrated systems for cities.
There is also a more vague commitment to invest in R&D in emerging technologies, with an initial focus on synthetic biology, energy efficient computing and energy harvesting;
Full details of the Innovation and Research Strategy will be available to view/download from the BIS website: http://www.bis.gov.uk/
