South West SMART Club is an independent organisation of companies from the seven counties of the South West region, who have won funding under what was the DTI?s SMART scheme, since renamed Research & Development Grants. The Club was formed in the early 1990s to act as a forum and a place to meet those of like mind whose companies faced similar challenges. The main activity is half day meetings three times a year, which address particular topics of interest, but also allow ample opportunity for the all-important ?networking?. Meetings have covered the full range of SME business subjects such as: finance and banking venture capital and 'Business Angels' patents and IPR members' interaction marketing selling to the MOD specialist technical subject such as CE-marking. opportunities for technology transfer. A Members directory is also provided to facilitate networking outside meetings. Experience in the early years showed that companies within the group experienced very similar problems, even though they range across technologies from bio-science to mechanical engineering. Some of these problems are simply things that are particular to the business of science and engineering, and to commercial development, which often set the businesses outside the experience of the established support services of local lawyers and accountants, but which after sharing experience are found to be soluble. Other common problems have proved harder, and have become subjects of continuing debate. The Club has a very active committee, which has been encouraged by the membership to engage in dialogue with the Government, DTI, the Treasury, SWRDA, The National Physical Laboratory, The European Parliament and other public bodies to attempt to generate a solution for some of the more difficult matters of common concern. Topics on which we have campaigned have included: lack of IP protection to UK high tech SMEs given by the UK patent office and DTI - the club is now supporting the formation of a Patent Defence Union difficulty in finding finance in the 'Equity Gap' - the club has participated in the proposals to form Small Business Investment companies on the US model modernisation of HMG suppport services - the club participated in the DTI review the general burden of ?Red Tape?, including the IR35 tax proposals which prevent cross investment within a company from contract income. We have also responded to the Inland Revenue on the R&D Tax Credit scheme, to the Office of Science and Technology (DTI) on the R&D climate within the UK, and made several proposals to the DTI to ease the rules on direct investment into small high tech companies.` It has become clear that there is still quite a lot of change, both in culture and almost certainly legislation, before we reach the ?knowledge based? truly entrepreneurial economy that the government seeks ? but there are now many signs of progress. There is a clear role for an organisation representing the ?front-line?, the companies that are actually doing entrepreneurial technical development. The SW SMART Club is now recognised as one of the most organised of the regional clubs, and we are seeking contacts with the others with a view to forming an over-arching national organisation. We are also looking at widening our membership criteria, and to links with other local groups, so that there can be one representative voice for all high tech SMEs in the region.