CORNWALL Council has agreed to invest £1.225 million to support the creation of new businesses and up to 155 jobs in the research, development and innovation sector.

The money will be used to lever a further investment of £18.307m from partners, to support four projects run by Falmouth University, the University of Exeter and Plymouth University.

Building a strong research and innovation sector within the Cornish economy is vital for encouraging new businesses and well paid jobs, the council's cabinet, which agreed the investment on Wednesday, said.

The council’s investment is expected to support more than 300 small and medium sized businesses across Cornwall.

Bob Egerton, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for economy and planning, said: “This decision reflects our commitment to careful investment to create jobs within a sustainable economy.”

The funding from Cornwall Council will provide match funding to support higher education innovation and research projects:

Launchpad – a £8.4m project led by Falmouth University so that it can continue its work on a proven, innovative post-graduate Incubation and Acceleration programme to create a new generation of Cornwall-based companies..

The initial three-year project period is on course to create 128 new jobs and 32 companies in knowledge-intensive sectors, with the potential to create a continuous flow of jobs and businesses in Cornwall. The funding from Cornwall Council will be used to continue the programme.

EPIC2 – An extension to the £3.769m project led by University of Plymouth. The EPIC (E-Health Productivity and Innovation in Cornwall) project is a collaborative project seeking to help grow eHealth businesses and improve health, wellbeing and enhance the care quality by using eHealth technology. The project develops a user-led approach to digital health market development within the health and care sector through research and innovation.

Smartline 2 - To continue a ground-breaking research project led by the University of Exeter looking at how technology can help people live healthier and happier lives.

Information is collected so that researchers and Cornish enterprises can help design better systems for managing homes in the future and for inventing new products and services to help residents live happier and healthier lives.

ATI (Acceleration Through Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) – funding from the council will extend the University of Plymouth led project to supply high value, high impact interventions and intensive business support to businesses that are ‘innovation ready’ across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The funding will extend the three-year project designed to reach out to the wider business community and help bring forward innovations that are new to the firm or new to the market, and drive up growth and productivity. Pop Up innovation centres are in towns including Bude, Liskeard, Bodmin, Launceston, Looe, Newquay, St Austell, Penzance and St Marys.