Small Business Innovation & Research program

The NSW Government has launched a new initiative for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), which will receive $24 million in funding over its first two years. The Small Business Innovation & Research program will offer competitive grants for SMEs to find and commercialise innovative solutions to NSW Government agencies for five well-defined problems:

  • assisting vision-impaired customers navigate the public transport network
  • increasing the resilience of regional and remote communications networks
  • quantifying the number and extent of koalas in NSW
  • reducing contamination in wastewater and
  • reducing PPE waste in the health system.

This funding program was the first Priority Action recommended in the Turning Ideas into Jobs – Accelerating Research & Development in NSW Action Plan, launched by NSW Premier earlier this year.

NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said research and development was the key to delivering problem solving solutions.

“Like the Medical Devices Fund and Physical Sciences Fund, the Small Business Innovation & Research program is an excellent example of the NSW Government’s commitment to leverage the capacity of SMEs’ NSW-based R&D to address the state’s most pressing problems and provide solutions which deliver a social, environmental, health or economic benefit,” Professor Durrant-Whyte said.

Read more about the Small Business Innovation & Research program.