Eager readers (Ed. both of you) will recall how I recently requested a look at the winners of a recent £80,000,000 round courtesy of the Department for Trade and though the round closed in March, it remains instructive. The fear has always been expressed that seeking grants in the UK is in itself a full-time job, which is why it invariably goes to firms who can draw on funds elsewhere to fund the application.
This is borne out by the first of the sixteen pages, where for instance Shell would hope to be in receipt of £30k of taxpayer revenue, having only made £24 billion in the last financial year in the UK.
The way grants often work is that third parties whom the government insist handle applications sprout like mushrooms and consume the bulk ~ or all in the case of individual applicants ~ of the funding.
Simple fact is, the individuals key to the advancement of the Industrial Revolution that began here would be most unlikely to qualify. They were however invited to participate in competitions like the Rainhill Trials at their own expense, although by the time Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine, even that had been quashed.
