Following a recent survey*, results show that 30.7% of respondents feel that the UK Government should make additional funding grants available for inventors. Representatives from Innovate Design feel that the opposite is expected. Alastair Swanwick, MD at Innovate Design, shares his thoughts:

“Although Government funding and grants have been available in the past, for assisting particular inventions, we anticipate that this support will dry up in the future and it is unrealistic to expect it in the current economic climate. Our belief is that this kind of funding has distorted the invention landscape in the past anyway, by increasing the longevity of some ideas which perhaps should never have got past the first few hurdles. If an idea has merit, it should be a success without a huge amount of grant funded financial backing.”

In addition, the survey found that the factors which most prevented people investigating their invention ideas were a shortage of finance (40.8%) and/or a lack of technical knowledge or ability (40.5%).

Innovate Design believes that inventors should not be put off by the fact they do not have the technical skill or vast funds: “Over the past eight years we have helped hundreds of clients who have come to us with their invention ideas in the form of a very basic sketch. They have been unable to win any means of Government funding or grants, but have succeeded in turning their good idea into a successful product at an affordable cost; through sound advice and sheer determination,” commented Alastair Swanwick, “we would like to encourage British inventors not to be disheartened. There is a tremendous amount of useful free information out there to help advise budding inventors how best to develop their idea and achieve great success, at a minimal cost.”

The survey coincides with the launch of the British Library’s ‘Inventing the 21^st Century Exhibition’ which showcases 15 of the most ingenious inventions to come out of the UK in the last decade. Respondents were also asked what invention they would most like to see developed in the future, results showed a serious concern for the environment and the future of the planet, with many calls for environmentally greener cars to be powered by water, air, vegetable oil and solar panels, as well as cleaner energy resources and wireless energy.

For more information on Innovate Product Design please visit www.innovate-design.co.uk or contact 020 7354 5640.

* Commissioned by The British Library and Innovate Design, conducted by OnePoll who surveyed 1,000 people working in the UK’s creative industries.