NATEC is a funding body which has invested £4 million to date.

Funding is provided as a pump-priming operation with a return expected to NATEC. The business units can then deliver existing knowledge and expertise to local companies on a commercial basis. The majority of the funding is allocated to the set up, staffing and day to day running costs of our business units. Significantly, the funding cannot be used for either experimental or research activities and will be given to those Universities or departments who embrace the principle of Exploitation not Research. NATEC provides marketing and business development support as well as legal and commercial advice.

Successful units are set up in participating HEIs to create a network of responsive, industrially driven knowledge transfer and technology exploitation groups. These units are expected to be semi-independent of NATEC. This can be achieved by receiving funding from both the centre and external sources. Each unit comprises a mixture of full-time and part-time staff including experimental officers and technicians as well as post-doctoral staff.

The work each unit undertakes will be driven by market needs and must focus upon technology exploitation activities associated with external companies, including SMEs. Overall project management is initiated by the NATEC Centre but the ultimate goal is for the units to grow very quickly into self-sustaining, independent, profit-generating enterprises.

Projects that fall into the following technology classifications or capability areas are encouraged to apply for funding

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• Aerodynamics & propulsion systems                         
• Advanced materials (composites)
• Advanced electric drives
• Health monitoring systems
• Diagnostics systems
• Environmental impact of air traffic
• Advanced sensors
• Data processing
• Data transmission
• Systems thinking
• Project management
• Risk management
• Teamwork
• Knowledge management
• Process excellence
• Lean thinking
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Business understanding
• Software systems, modelling & simulation
• Systems design & modelling, advanced manufacturing design & simulation, advanced electrical systems design
• Advanced materials engineering (lightweight, smart, electric and magnetic materials)
• Diagnostic & prognostic techniques