Funding for more customs experts announced
The Treasury and HMRC have announced funding of £16 million to help more businesses become customs experts. The funding will be used to help exporters and importers train staff to enable them to make customs declarations, and for smaller businesses who act as customs intermediaries to invest in IT. Funding applications will close on 31 January 2020, or earlier if all the funding is allocated. To find out more click here
Gigabit Voucher
Gigabit vouchers can be used by small businesses and the local communities surrounding them to contribute to the installation cost of a gigabit-capable connection. Businesses can claim up to £2,500 against the cost of connection either individually or as part of a group project. Residents can benefit from the scheme with a voucher worth £500 as part of a group project.
Closing date - ongoing. To find out more click here
Interreg VA France
The France (Channel) England Programme has five Specific Objectives. If your project idea falls under one of these objectives and is in the eligible region, then please contact us with your idea to see if we can help. Objectives are : Innovation, Social Innovation, Low Carbon Technologies, Natural and Cultural Heritage, Coastal and Transitional Water Ecosystems.
Closing date - ongoing. To find out more click here
CITB Grants
Apply for a grant or project funding, and learn how CITB supports training for the construction industry. Closing date - ongoing. To find out more click here
Forward Enterprise Fund
The fund offers a combination of different type of support, depending on the needs of your enterprise. If successful the Forward Enterprise Fund will work with you to design a package of support to help your organisation develop and grow. Pre-investment business support gives you the chance to work with specialist advisers to grow your business and become investment-ready. Crowdfunder Support: You can get support to set up a crowdfunding campaign through Crowdfunder to raise capital for your business. Loans: You can access loans to assist your business in its development.
Closing date - ongoing. To find out more click here
The Start-up Series: £150,000 of Equity Investment Funding
We aim to pick one business every month to receive investment from an EIS & SEIS fund.
Startups.co.uk are in partnership with experienced investment promoters Worth Capital. The series throws the doors wide open for companies to submit their applications from the 1st to the 14th of every month. From an initial simple application, businesses will be assessed through multiple stages and winners will be offered investment at a fair valuation in exchange for an equity stake in their business (subject to due diligence carried out by the Fund Manager).
Ongoing competition. To find out more click here
Goldman Sachs - 10, 000 Small Business Programme
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is an investment to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing greater access to education, capital and business support services. 10,000 Small Businesses is funded by Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation. Closing date - Ongoing. To find out more click here
The Creative Enterprise New Ideas Fund
The Creative Enterprise New Ideas Fund is a programme designed to help screen-based businesses move away from working project-to-project and develop more sustainable businesses. Through the Fund, Creative England is able to offer small seed funding to sole traders, start-ups and small firms for their creative business ideas. The programme aims to support untapped talent and allow talented people to find finance for their ideas. Investments of between £500 and £15,000 are available for emerging and new screen-based storytelling business proposals, including new business ideas, business proposals and business costs.
Date: Applications accepted on a rolling basis. To find out more click here
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)
Though not strictly a grant funding, we felt SEIS was very relevant to add to this list. SEIS is a tax relief designed to encourage investors to invest in UK companies. In essence, investors can claim eligible investment against their tax bill, significantly reducing capital risk. Many professional investors and business angels now require SEIS at Angel Stage before they even look at a company. You can apply for SEIS status with HMRC here. Funding: The relief allows investors to claim back up to 78% of their investment through tax in the first year (up to £150K, as of Jan 1st, 2014). Once companies are approved for SEIS status, there’s a process you must go through with HMRC to claim on behalf of your investor.
Closing date - ongoing. To find out more click here
R&D Tax Credits
The research and development tax credits scheme allows you to claim back a significant amount of your development costs back in cash each year! If you are a startup heavily focused on development, then this scheme is well worth checking out. The paperwork itself is not too complicated to fill in; there are also a few expert agencies about who can help you with filling it out for a price. You can find guides, more information and how to apply here. Funding: You can claim back up to 32% in development costs each year; this even includes staff/contractor costs. Closing date - ongoing. To find out more click here
SJL Foundation Launches UK-wide Business Start-up Competition
The SJL Foundation has launched a nationwide competition to substantially help entrepreneurs wishing to establish their own business. Participants will present a five-minute pitch to a panel and audience at the House of Commons later this year, outlining why they should win funding.
Winners will be awarded a start-up business grant of £2,000. They will also receive mentoring, legal and HR documentation support and associated PR to boost their profiles. Businesspeople in the UK with a business start-up idea or with a start-up business up to one year old may enter. To enter the competition, entrants need to email foundation@sjlins.co.uk to ask for an application form. The form will be emailed to entrants and applicants will have to answer 8 questions on the form. Each competition entrant must also submit a three-minute video of themselves saying what their business activity does, and how they’d spend the £2,000 grant and how they’d benefit from mentorship. The closing date for entries is the 30th of September 2019. All applicants must be available to travel to London on the 21st of October 2019 and stay overnight, if travel the night before is required due to an early start the next morning, ready to be at the event in the House of Commons on Tuesday 22 October between 0830am-1030am, if they are chosen as a successful finalist.
Closes: Monday 30 September 2019
Enhanced Financial Support Package for UK Exporters
An extensive new financial support package for small to medium-sized business (SMEs) exporting to fast-growing markets has been outlined by the Secretary of State for International Trade. Overseen by UK Export Finance (UKEF).
Dr Liam Fox said: "These announcements are potential gamechangers for our export industry, and will help us to tap a fresh vein of potential from within our economy.
To find out more click here
2019 World of Opportunity Grants Programme Opens to Support SMEs Exporting
The World of Opportunity SME Grants Programme has been established to provide funding for growing businesses in order to help them begin exporting and reaching new markets. Through partnership with the Exporting is GREAT campaign, the sponsor can help prepare each successful applicant for international trade. The programme is offering 20 SMEs the chance to each win a grant of £2,000 to fund trade missions. The money can also be used to help fund a trade show or research into new markets. All residents in the United Kingdom who are aged 18 years or over may apply. Participants should enter the programme for and on behalf of an SME, being a small or medium-sized enterprise with fewer than 250 employees.
Closes : Friday 18 October 2019. To find out more click here
IUK Launches EUREKA: Singapore Open Competition
EUREKA, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore, are coordinating this GlobalStars funding competition for research and development (R&D) projects under the EUREKA programme, which is administered by the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK (IUK). IUK is investing in UK businesses leading collaborative research and development (R&D) projects which will develop innovative proposals with Singapore and other EUREKA countries. Projects should result in a new product, industrial process or service, be innovative and involve a technological risk. Projects must focus on industrial research but can include experimental development activities if IUK considers it appropriate.
Applications must be collaborative. UK-based businesses of any size should lead a project. They must involve at least one UK-based SME, unless the lead themselves is an SME. The lead applicant should collaborate with a lead organisation in Singapore. IUK has allocated up to £1 million to fund innovation projects in this competition. Total eligible costs per project are expected to be between £100,000 and £1 million. This includes costs from all partners, from the UK and all other countries. The total grant available to the UK applicants is up to £350,000 per project.
Closing date: 26 September 2019. To find out more click here
Innovate UK Smart Grants: July 2019
We give preference to applications that demonstrate realistic, significant potential for global markets. Proposals from innovation-based businesses with significant ambition and potential for growth or scale-up are welcome. Where possible, projects should take customer and user needs into account to deliver more desirable and useful solutions. We are looking to fund projects, across a variety of technologies, markets, technological maturities and research categories. Please see the general guidance for further information on these.
Opened: 25 July 2019
Closes: 16 October 2019. To find out more click here
Key technology components for local energy systems
UK Research and Innovation will invest up to £3 million in important technology components that can enhance the efficiency of local energy systems. These should deliver cleaner, cheaper energy services and create more prosperous and resilient communities across the UK. We are looking for specific innovations that are listed in more detail in our ‘specific themes’ section.
Your project must align with the overall objectives of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Prospering from the Energy Revolution challenge. You are also expected to share data with the Energy Systems Catapult’s Energy Revolution Integration Service (ERIS) and the Energy Revolution Research Consortium, EnergyRev. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Prospering from the Energy Revolution challenge.
Opened: 22 July 2019
Closes: 9 October 2019. To find out more click here
Newton-Ungku Omar Fund Grand Challenge 2019: phase 1
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) are working collaboratively under the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund. Together we will invest up to £2 million (RM 11 million) for innovative projects that provide collaborative solutions to the challenges of urban mobility and waste to wealth in Malaysia. Innovate UK will fund the UK partners only and MIGHT will fund the Malaysian partners. The overall programme will be delivered in 2 phases. This application process is for phase 1. Only successful applications from phase 1 will be able to take part in phase 2. Phase 2 will open 15 June 2020. Phase 1 is for collaborative feasibility studies only. During phase 2, your project must provide economical and sustainable solutions to be demonstrated in environments that represent real life operating conditions.
Opened: 8 July 2019
Closes: 16 October 2019. To find out more click here
£100m Initiative to Help UK Firms Capitalise on Offshore Wind Market
The UK is said to be well suited to exploiting wind power, with turbines having been erected in over 30 locations. However, it is widely accepted that the sector has produced too few jobs. By 2030, the offshore wind power market is expected to be worth £30 billion per year, with the UK generating a third of its electricity from wind. The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) is a £100 million initiative designed to help UK businesses maximise opportunities in the global offshore wind supply chain market. Activities will initially focus on helping supply chain companies with strategy and leadership, project management, people excellence, process excellence, health and safety culture, and quality management. It will also work with the offshore wind developers to provide greater long-term visibility of project pipelines that will help supply chain companies to plan and, if necessary, to invest in new capability or capacity.
Support will include a range of services, such as expert advice on manufacturing and commercialisation, as well as funding for innovation. The programme is expected to support over 650 UK companies to access the domestic offshore wind market.
Industry Chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Counci, Benj Sykes, said: "The offshore wind industry is offering multi-million pound opportunities to hundreds of innovative companies throughout the UK in the years ahead – including new entrants to the market, as well as firms already working in this area. To find out more click here
Applications Open for Offshore Wind Hackathon
The Offshore Wind Hackathon is a two-day event, centred around an industrial data-led challenge set by ScottishPower Renewables, with the aim of developing a prototype solution for use in wind farm operations. Teams of up to six people will be working with Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to develop their solution further, along with the opportunity to pitch that solution to senior managers from ScottishPower Renewables. The problem statement for the hackathon will be: "Provide an accurate wind farm Power Available (PA) measure using data that is already available at operational wind farms". PA is the electrical power that can be provided by a wind farm at any given instant and is influenced by both the wind resource in that moment and the status of the assets, including any on-site curtailment. Entrants are encouraged from all backgrounds, including UK-based small businesses, academics, students, consultancies and specialists from data-led sectors. The Hackathon is open to both teams and individuals. The team that develops the ‘Pitched Concepts’ which are judged to be most compliant with the specific criteria shall be awarded a prize of £10,000 to allow the development of the best technical solution.
Registration for the Hackathon is now open. Applications should be made at the earliest opportunity. The event takes place 28-29 October 2019 at the Glasgow Science Centre.
Horizon 2020: what it is and how to apply for funding
Horizon 2020 is the largest ever European funding programme for research and innovation. It has a budget of 79 billion euros and will run until 2020. This guidance is designed to help people in the UK understand and access the funding opportunities available, in order to innovate and grow both in the UK and abroad. What is Horizon 2020? The Horizon 2020 programme was established by the European Union (EU) as a collaborative financial instrument that would help secure Europe’s global competitiveness in research and innovation.
The programme – running from 2014 to 2020 – is seen as a means of putting Europe at the heart of world-class science and innovation, making it more competitive, creating economic growth and new jobs. It offers an open, simple structure for accessing funding in order to remove barriers to collaborative innovation, get new projects off the ground quickly and achieve results faster. To find out more click here
Commercialising quantum technology: large collaborative projects round 1
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £27 million to collaborate on developing quantum products and services. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The aim of the competition is to advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK through the investment of up to £27 million in innovation projects. Projects should focus on one or more of the following technical challenges:
The projects must exploit second generation quantum techniques.
Projects must demonstrate how the technology can be brought to market (as hardware, software or a service) in the UK and how it fulfils an end user need. Projects must include the development, manufacture (if applicable) and application of the technology.
Applications are expected from consortia led by a business but in exceptional circumstances applications from consortia led by research and technology organisations (RTOs) will be considered.
Opened: 5 August 2019
Closes: 30 October 2019. To find out more click here
Commercialising quantum technology: feasibility and industrial research projects round 1
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £6 million for quantum technology innovation projects funded by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The aim of the competition is to advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK. Applications can be single or collaborative and must be led by a business. All applications must include a micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME).
Opened: 5 August 2019
Closes: 30 October 2019. To find out more click here
Driving the electric revolution: accelerated supply chain development, strands 1 and 2
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £19 million across 2 strands in innovation projects to support the creation, development and scale up of supply chains in power electronics, machines and drives (PEMD) in the UK. This is the first competition as part of a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: Driving the Electric Revolution. The aim is to support the transition towards a low carbon future in transport, energy and industry. This competition will fund business-led projects that enable electrification through the development of UK supply chains for PEMD. Your proposal should clearly state how your project will develop PEMD supply chains in the UK. This can be by filling gaps in current UK based supply of PEMD components or scaling up existing supply chains through innovation. This competition is split into 2 strands.
Opened: 29 July 2019
Closes: 25 September 2019. To find out more click Strand 1 and Strand 2
Enabling integrated diagnostics for early detection
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) has a programme in data to early diagnosis and precision medicine. The programme is led by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. Innovate UK will invest up to £17 million in the research, development and evaluation of integrated diagnostic solutions. An additional investment of up to £3 million is available for oncology-focused projects from Cancer Research UK. Integrated diagnostics are disruptive innovations that link technologies, data, care pathways and systems to create new diagnostic and precision medicine solutions. The aim is to detect and diagnose earlier in the disease course, more sensitively and specifically, and with more nuanced information on prognosis and/or therapy selection. This competition aims to accelerate development of innovative diagnostic tools and technologies by multi-disciplinary and cross-sector consortia. Your project can focus on early development of new modality combinations (such as the combination of imaging and genomic information with new algorithms) and their detection technologies, to later stage refinement of more established tools. However, even in earlier stage development you must consider how your proposed solution could be used in clinical practice and be integrated into NHS care pathways. Your project must involve collaboration between industry and the UK’s supporting healthcare and research infrastructure. This will be critical in ensuring new products, processes and services are fit for purpose and solutions can be translated into clinical settings.
Opened: 22 July 2019
Closes: 25 September 2019. To find out more click here
Backing Youth Ambition - New Support for the UK’s Young Entrepreneurs
Almost two thirds of young people have, or would consider, starting their own business but many say a lack of funding and experience is putting them off, according to research commissioned by The Prince’s Trust and Lloyds Development Capital (LDC). Following the publication of this research, the two organisations have come together to launch Backing Youth Ambition, an initiative designed to support youth enterprise across the UK. The three-year programme aims to help over 1,200 young people explore and launch their own businesses through start-up grants and additional funding for The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme. LDC is also providing support through fundraising, volunteering and mentoring activity across its regional offices, employees and investee companies. Young entrepreneurs from across the UK may be eligible for support through the programme.
Applications can be submitted at any time. To find out more click here
Industrial 5G Testbeds & Trials: Manufacturing and Logistics Sectors Projects
The Industrial 5G Testbeds and Trials competition is making available UK Government investment to trial new 5G services and applications in the vertical industry sectors of manufacturing and logistics. The aim of these projects is to demonstrate the value of 5G, beyond enhanced mobile broadband, by targeting industrial uses that can help deliver efficiency, productivity, and other benefits in the UK economy, and help the UK lead the development of enterprise applications for 5G. This competition is aimed at consortia led by private sector companies and requires the participation of at least one small or medium sized enterprise (SME). The application should be submitted by the lead project partner. Leading a consortium will include development and leading the delivery of the project and proactively encouraging participation from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The details of project roles and eligibility are provided in the Competition Guidance and supporting documents. These projects will explore 5G deployment and industrial use cases in the areas of manufacturing and logistics. We are seeking involvement from a range of companies that have the potential to contribute to the testbeds and trials, such as manufacturing and logistics companies, system integrators, mobile and fixed network operators, and equipment suppliers. Public sector, Academic, and Research and Technology Organisations may also be involved.
To apply for DCMS grant funding from this competition please complete the Application Form provided and return to industrial5gtt@culture.gov.uk.
The Competition Guidance, Programme Overview, Application Form and supporting documentation are available below. Instructions on how to apply are available in the Competition Guidance.
The 5GTT Programme is making available funding for this competition, subject to the outcome of the upcoming Government Spending Review. Funding will come from the National Productivity Investment Fund, via the £200 million allocated to the 5GTT Programme.
Opened: 18 July 2019
Closes: 10 October 2019. To find out more click here
Launch of £3m Fund for Businesses Redistributing Surplus Food
The FareShare Surplus with Purpose Fund is aimed at offsetting the costs faced by food producing companies seeking to redistribute their edible surplus comestibles to charities and community groups helping vulnerable people. The programme has an overall budget of £3 million. Businesses could be eligible for up to £50,000 worth of funding. Greater sums can be negotiated, where appropriate, for high volumes of surplus food. The money can be used to cover the additional staff costs needed for packing and sorting edible surplus food, or in building, implementing and managing new processes. It could also cover packaging and transportation costs, or lost income from the sale of surplus to animal feed or anaerobic digestion. Food production businesses in the UK that are seeking to redistribute additional surplus food items may qualify for support.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
Interested parties are asked to complete a form on the funder’s website. They may also email foodoffers@Fareshare.org.uk or call the funder on 020 7064 8911 to discuss participation in the programme. To find out more click here
IUK Announces Developing the UK's Low Carbon Automotive Capability Competition (APC 14)
The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is investing through the ‘Developing the UK's Low Carbon Automotive Capability (APC14)’ funding competition, in partnership with the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK (IUK) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). APC 14 is looking for projects that support the UK’s long-term capabilities through securing long-term R&D investment, or that can be achieved through its associated supply chain in the design, build and manufacture of zero tailpipe emission vehicles. Preferably projects will deliver both, to ensure the UK meets the future demand of vehicle-makers. APC has allocated up to £20 million to match fund innovation projects in this competition. A project’s total eligible costs must be 50% match funded and between £5 million and £40 million. Applicants must request the minimum amount of funding needed for their project.
Projects must be led by a business working in partnership with others and must include an SME and a vehicle manufacturer or tier 1 supplier. To collaborate on a project, an applicant must be a UK based business, academic organisation, or research and technology organisation (RTO). They should carry out the project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
Opens: 19 August 2019
Closes: 16 October 2019. To find out more click here
Mechanising and improving advanced therapy manufacture
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £3.7million for research and development projects to improve manufacturing of advanced therapies. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £3.7million in innovation projects. These will be to allow robust process design for the manufacture of advanced therapies. The aim of this competition is to encourage inventors of advanced therapies to introduce affordable technology during early innovation stages. This technology will enable them to reproduce the manufacture of their product at a commercial scale. Your proposal should describe how new tools will make the manufacture of the product less dependent on human operators. Industry co-funding must be contributed at a rate of no less than 50% of total project costs. Your application must be collaborative.
Opens: 27 August 2019
Closes: 25 September 2019. To find out more click here
CELTIC-NEXT autumn 2019: innovative 5G infrastructure and applications
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is to invest up to £2 million from the CELTIC programme, which is part of the EUREKA Network. This will be in collaborative R&D projects. The aim of this competition is to encourage the development of 5G in an international collaborative environment by helping UK organisations take part in the CELTIC programme. Applications and services must focus on one or more of these use cases: the Internet of Things (IoT), the tactile internet, mission critical applications, infotainment and/or immersive technologies. Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £400,000 and £2.5 million.
Opens: Monday 14 October 2019
Closes: Wednesday 11 December 2019. To find out more click here
Enabling data access in accountancy, insurance and legal services: CR&D
The aim of this competition is to speed up the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and data technologies and solutions in the accountancy, insurance and legal sectors by enabling better access to data. UK Research and Innovation will invest up to £3.5 million to this effect. This is the second stage of a 2-stage competition. It is only open to proposals for research and innovation projects that were developed during the first stage, the Innovation Lab.
Any project you develop at the Innovation Lab can have a maximum grant of £1.15 million. Consortia are expected to contribute at least equal funding to the grant amount claimed.
Opens: Monday 14 October 2019
Closes: Wednesday 20 November 2019. To find out more click here
October expression of interest: ATI programme
The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme represents a £3.9 billion joint government and industry investment to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace. We work in collaboration to deliver a portfolio of projects to meet the objectives of the Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Raising Ambition’. This is an expression of interest competition. There are 3 stages and the whole process takes at least 6 months.
More information is on the ATI website. Total eligible project costs and project duration must be appropriate and in proportion to the planned objectives and prioritisation within the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy.
Opens: Monday 7 October 2019
Closes: Wednesday 23 October 2019. To find out more click here
Innovation loans: September 2019 open competition
Innovate UK is offering up to £10 million in loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Loans are for highly innovative late stage projects with the best game changing and/or disruptive ideas or concepts. There should be a clear route to commercialisation and economic impact. Your project should aim to develop new products, processes or services which are significantly ahead of anything similar in the field. You can also propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. Your proposal can use any technology from any part of the economy. Your project must focus on commercialisation, growth or scale up. We will give priority to proposals likely to lead to growth and gains in productivity.
Opens: Monday 23 September 2019
Closes: Wednesday 27 November 2019. To find out more click here
ISCF healthy ageing trailblazers: stage 1
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is to invest up to £1.5 million in stage 1 of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Healthy Ageing Trailblazers. The aim of the Trailblazers is to encourage businesses and public sector led collaborations, including social enterprises, to develop and demonstrate how products, services and business models which support people as they age will be adopted at scale. This is stage 1 of a 2-stage competition. You can apply for a grant of up to £100,000 to conduct research and develop a business plan. For stage 1 of the competition you can apply as a single applicant. Stage 2 proposals must be collaborative. In stage 2, the delivery stage, we will invest up to £36 million. This is to develop and implement the products, services or business models, with individual eligible project costs up to £6 million. Only projects successful in stage 1 will be invited to apply for stage 2. In stage 1 your project’s total eligible costs may be up to £100,000.
Opens: Monday 23 September 2019
Closes: Wednesday 27 November 2019. To find out more click here
ISCF Future food production systems
Up to £20 million of grant funding is available for projects that disrupt the traditional land-based models of food production. Projects must create integrated, data-driven solutions to drive agricultural productivity as well as target net zero emissions. We will consider a broad range of technologies and systems. Your project must aim to determine the transformation of future food production systems. It must be ambitious, multidisciplinary and systems-focused rather than dedicated to developing a single technology. We are particularly looking to support large-scale, ambitious projects. Your project’s total eligible costs must be greater than £1 million but less than £10 million.
Opens: Tuesday 17 September 2019
Closes: Wednesday 22 January 2020. To find out more click here
SBRI: innovation in automated tunnel examination
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1.5 million, plus VAT, for projects that develop and demonstrate innovation to automate the examination of tunnels. This is a single phase Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition and is open to organisations of all sizes based in the UK, EU, EEA, USA or Canada. Network Rail to invest up to £1.5 million, plus VAT. This will support the development and demonstration of new capability in automated tunnel examination. The competition process is managed by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. The competition supports the objectives of Network Rail’s Control Period 6 (CP6) funding strategy for research and development. The aim of this competition is to improve the accuracy, efficiency and safety of tunnel examinations resulting in a safer and more reliable operational railway. Your project should reduce the time taken to complete examinations through improved automation and increased repeatability and reproducibility of data. It must also mitigate the risks associated with lower quality examinations due to challenging access constraints and human centric bias. Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £350,000 and £500,000, plus VAT.
Opens: Monday 16 September 2019
Closes: Wednesday 6 November 2019. To find out more click here
The Future Leaders Fellowships can help fund your most talented innovators
Future Leaders Fellowships allow early career researchers and innovators from eligible UK businesses to develop their leadership potential through challenging innovation or research projects. Our process requires registration to receive further information and bid writing support, so it is important that you register now to be able to apply later.
SBRI: innovation in rail security surveillance analytics, phase 1
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £968,000, plus VAT, for innovations that demonstrate security surveillance analytics in Network Rail stations. This is a 2-phase Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition open to organisations of all sizes based in the UK, EU or EEA. Network Rail will invest up to £968,000, plus VAT, in phase 1 of this competition. An extra £500,000, plus VAT, will be available for phase 2. This will support the development and demonstration of new security analytics for railway stations. The competition process is managed by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. The competition supports the objectives of Network Rail’s Control Period 6 (CP6) funding strategy for research and development. It intends to find out whether security surveillance systems and associated analytics can work in a station environment without disrupting the rail network. This is the first phase of a 2-phase competition. A decision to proceed with phase 2 will depend on the outcomes from phase 1. Only successful applicants from phase 1 will be able to apply to take part in phase 2. We will monitor changes between your phase 1 and phase 2 submissions. We will not accept unjustified major changes in the consortium or costs. Your project’s total eligible costs for phase 1 must be up to £121,000, plus VAT. For phase 2, the total eligible costs will be up to £250,000, plus VAT.
Opens: Monday 16 September 2019
Closes: Wednesday 6 November 2019. To find out more click here
GCRF demonstrate impact in meeting the sustainable development goals: phase 1
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £9.3 million to demonstrate market-creating innovations in lower income countries and emerging economies. This funding is Official Development Assistance from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) will invest up to £9.3 million in demonstration-stage projects. The projects must have the potential to transform lives in developing countries, through market-creating innovation. We will support projects that address one or more of the global societal challenges recognised in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the development of innovative processes, products and services. These projects should lead to the deployment of those innovations within developing countries. Your project’s total eligible costs for phase 1 can be between approximately £85,000 and £120,000 with a maximum grant award of up to £60,000.
Opens: Monday 9 September 2019
Closes: Wednesday 13 November 2019. To find out more click here
Transforming UK construction round 2: MMC, digital and whole-life performance
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £10 million for collaborative R&D projects that improve productivity, quality and performance in UK construction. Innovate UK, part of UKRI, will invest up to £10 million in UK businesses undertaking collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects. Such projects should go beyond the state-of-the-art in improving productivity, quality and performance of the UK construction sector. This funding is from the Transforming Construction Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, part of the Construction Sector Deal. You should demonstrate how your project will deliver on the Transforming Construction Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund themes and the commitments detailed in the Construction Sector Deal. This must include significant industry investment (some exclusions will apply, refer to Projects we will not fund). Applicants should state how their projects will support the objectives of the Transforming Infrastructure Performance (TIP) strategy or the Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy (TIES) as appropriate. Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £150,000 and £1.5 million.
Opens: Wednesday 28 August 2019
Closes: Wednesday 30 October 2019. To find out more click here
Transforming UK construction: demonstrator projects
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £26 million for practical, demonstrator projects in MMC, digital and whole-life asset performance. Innovate UK, part of UKRI, will invest up to £26 million from the Transforming Construction Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to demonstrate solutions to improve productivity, quality and performance of the UK construction sector. Your project must show how it will deliver on the objectives and commitments detailed in the Construction Sector Deal, including significant industry investment (some exclusions will apply, refer to Projects we will not fund). Applicants should reference how their projects support the objectives of the Transforming Infrastructure Performance (TIP) strategy or the Transforming Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy (TIES) as appropriate. Where applicable, your project should use Project 13 and Gemini Principles. This competition aims to invest in approximately 10 world-leading practical demonstrators. They must establish improvements in productivity, quality and performance of the UK construction sector. Demonstrators are the application of approaches, deployed at scale, that to improve all aspects of a built assets lifecycle. Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £500,000 and £8 million.
Opens: Wednesday 28 August 2019
Closes: Wednesday 6 November 2019. To find out more click here
ISCF Healthy Ageing Investment Accelerator: round 1
Investors can apply to distribute grant funding from Innovate UK with private equity investment into UK businesses to deliver innovation in the healthy ageing market. Grant funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is inviting UK registered investors to partner with us. Together we will distribute a share of up to £12 million in grants to micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and social enterprises registered in the UK, alongside private equity capital. Grant funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The aim of this competition is to encourage early private investment in innovative healthy ageing technologies, including products, services and business models. This is phase 1 of a 2 phase competition. The second phase will be open to SMEs to apply for grant funding and equity investment. You can apply to receive grant capital of between £1 million and £6 million to distribute to SMEs alongside your equity investment.
Opens: Monday 19 August 2019
Closes: Wednesday 30 October 2019. To find out click here
ISCF Commercialising Quantum Technologies Investment Accelerator
Investors can apply to distribute grant funding from Innovate UK with private equity investment into UK businesses to deliver innovation in the quantum technology market. Grant funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is inviting UK registered investors to partner with us. Together we will distribute a share of up to £12 million in grants to micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alongside private equity capital. Grant funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The aim of this competition is to encourage early private investment in innovative quantum technologies, including products, services and business models. This is phase 1 of a 2-phase competition. The second phase will be open to SMEs to apply for funding. Over a further 2 years the investor partner will manage any remaining grant deployment to ongoing projects. You can apply to receive grant capital of between £2 million and £12 million to distribute to SMEs alongside your equity investment.
Opens: Monday 19 August 2019
Closes: Wednesday 25 September 2019. To find out more click here