With the budget 10 days away, George Osborne is under scrutiny to show that he is more than a one-trick chancellor. Cuts are all very well, but the coalition needs a growth agenda to show it can make Britain's recession-blighted economy bloom again. Government insiders were alarmed by news that GDP contracted by 0.6% in the final three months of last year, even before the steepest budget cuts in a generation started to bite.  Unrest in the Middle East has dealt another blow to the prospects of a spring bounce for the economy, creating what environment minister Chris Huhne has called a 1970s-style oil shock, squeezing firms and consumers hard. Ministers have been hauled before Osborne, business secretary Vince Cable and David Cameron's blue-skies thinker Oliver Letwin to explain what they can do to kick-start economic growth, in a process Cable says has been as rigorous as last year's spending review.  The results, to be published alongside the budget in a "growth review", must bear fruit quickly if the coalition is not to lose the public's trust in its ability to manage the economy. Unemployment has been rising, yet the government wants the private sector to pick up many of the thousands of workers who will be laid off from the public sector in the coming months. But surveys suggest that most firms are still too nervous about fragile demand to start hiring.  CBI boss John Cridland has called for an "all-action" budget on 23 March to put the recovery on a secure footing: "I think they should focus on what I call the 'squeezed middle of companies': those are the businesses that create jobs."  The CBI wants the government to help create a new bond market, aimed at financing these middle-sized firms. "We have lots of short- and medium-term capital that's expecting a quick turnaround; but if these businesses are going to export to China, India, Brazil, they need the chance and the space."  Some business demands will be wearyingly familiar to Whitehall officials scrambling to finalise Osborne's "budget for growth" - cut red tape, reduce the tax burden, cancel the rise in petrol duty - but many make more unusual suggestions. The Observer asked a selection of entrepreneurs, chief executives and business lobbying groups to come up with more imaginative - and less well-worn - plans for restoring Britain's economy to health.  SIR JaMES DYSON  Inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner  It's time to invest in hi-tech Britain, supporting start-ups with potential but few means to realise it. This will sustain, and ultimately grow, Britain's export capability. Each year tens of thousands of ideas and inventions are developed here. Too few are transformed into commercial success. R&D is inherently risky, but we have to think long-term. George Osborne has to make it easier for startups to access capital.  an enhanced R&D tax credit will encourage more companies to undertake the risk of inventing in the first place, and in turn ensure a flow of exportable technology to narrow the trade abyss. Singapore's stands at 250%. The government should raise ours to 200%.  LEE HOPLEY  Chief economist at  manufacturers' group EEF  We need changes to the capital allowances regime. Manufacturers, even small ones, are mobile. They are already reliant on overseas consumers and the question for them is: do they serve those customers from the UK, or do they go elsewhere?  It's things like a strategic approach to environmental taxes. at the moment there's a climate change levy on heavy energy users, carbon reduction targets, and an EU emissions trading scheme. In addition, the government recently said it wants to put a floor under the carbon price. There's different things going on in different parts of government. It's about certainty, and also about having a sense of what the overall cost will be.  LaRa MORGaN  Founder of hotel toiletries supplier Pacific Direct  The government is making gestures towards supporting private sector growth. Unfortunately, much more needs to be done. The chancellor should call a halt to legislation targeting heavier taxes on "non-dom" individuals based in Britain but domiciled elsewhere. This forms a barrier to international entrepreneurs. and we need a central platform where everything about enterprise can be gathered so that people don't have to search all over the internet to find the support they need to build businesses.  WILLIaM CHaSE  Boss of vodka exporter  Chase Distillery  The first thing they could do is to help all those who are exporting: give them breaks on their tax or national insurance - different ways to help them. We need to get aggressive and get all our businesses exporting. I did it, and it was really hard. It's painful to start with. The government should put some money in so firms can get the advice they need, but there's nobody in government with any commercial business sense.  aNDREW CaVE  Chief spokesman, Federation of Small Businesses  There's a clear need to incentivise job creation. For the smallest businesses, we would like to see a national insurance holiday for the next two people they take on. This is a policy designed for the returning-to-growth period. It's a very aspirational thing. The average business in the UK has four people; in the US it's six. We are also calling for an increase in the minimum wage for apprentices (currently ? 2.50 for under-19s, and anyone in the first year of their training). We're very supportive of the government's drive to create more apprenticeships, but to make that realistic we need to remove the red tape around taking on an apprentice and also give more value to the apprentices themselves.  MaRK PRICE  Managing director, Waitrose  We're going to see a surplus of young people trying to get into the workplace and there needs to be some imaginative thinking on how to give them better skills and experience. at Waitrose we're developing a scheme to get 16-to-18-year-olds in for a month or two months' experience. The "big society" concept aims to involve business in supporting the broader community and the government should work with companies to make these approaches easier.  I'm also keen on the development of philanthropy. The government might want to think