Deadline: 05-Aug-20
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £10 million, including VAT, to help UK businesses and the public sector recover from COVID 19 in a sustainable manner.
Innovate UK will fund organisations to develop and demonstrate new products or services. Your solution must help businesses and/or the public sector in the UK recover from the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic in a sustainable manner, demonstrating the impact and potential of a clean growth led recovery and transition to net zero.
This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition. SBRI programmes fund organisations to conduct challenge-based research and development (R&D) to develop products or services that address a specific unmet public sector need. The intellectual property (IP) for these products and services remains with the applicant and therefore can be commercialised across the UK and internationally.
Funding Information
- The total funding available for the competition can change. The funders have the right to:
- adjust the provisional funding allocations between the phases
- apply a ‘portfolio’ approach across the specific themes identified in ‘Scope’
- Phase 1. Research and development contracts, feasibility study
- The first phase involves research and development (R&D) contracts being awarded to demonstrate technical feasibility of the proposed solution. A total of up to £10 million including VAT, is allocated to support successful projects in this phase.
- It is anticipated that the feasibility study R&D contracts will be up to £60,000, including VAT. This is for each project for up to 3 months. The assessors will consider fair value in making their evaluation.
- In phase 1, to simplify payment processing and make it easier for your project to adapt around the constraints of coronavirus (COVID 19), we plan to make 2 payments against milestones. The first payment (25% of the funding) will be related to the successful completion of the project kick off meeting and the second (75%) on the submission of the project end-of-phase report.
- Phase 2 (only open to phase 1 participants). Research and development contracts, prototype development and testing
- The second phase will award R&D contracts to organisations competitively selected from the successful phase 1 applicants. A total of up to £70 million including VAT, is allocated to support successful projects in phase 2. Up to £3 million including VAT, will be allocated for each 12 monthcontract, in order to develop a prototype and undertake field testing.
- Successful projects may be required to demonstrate progress as part of a showcase at the UN climate change conference COP26 in November 2021.
- The contract is completed at the end of phase 2, and the successful business is expected to pursue commercialisation of their solution.
Specific Themes
Your project must address one or more of the following themes, which are informed by the government’s Clean Growth Strategy:
- decarbonising energy, business and industry
- improving business and industry efficiency
- improving the energy efficiency, heating and cooling of our homes and other buildings
- accelerating the shift to low carbon transport
- enhancing the benefits and value of our natural resources
- innovating for a more sustainable public sector
- climate change adaptation and mitigation
In your application you must select the main theme you are focusing on, but your work can also address other themes.
Research Categories
In phase 1 you must work closely with the stakeholders to develop a solution. In phase 2 the outcome of your project will be a prototype of the solution. Phase 2 is only open to participants in phase 1.
- Phase 1. Technical feasibility studies
- This means planned research or critical investigation to gain new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services.
- Phase 2. Prototype development and evaluation
- This can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real life operating conditions. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set.
In phase 1 the supplier will work closely with the stakeholders to develop a solution. The outcome of phase 2 will be a prototype of the solution.
Projects not Funded
Innovate UK will not fund projects which:
- do not engage with potential future customers to understand needs
- cannot be undertaken within the working restrictions of coronavirus (COVID 19)
- do not address how any potentially negative outcomes (such as on the environment or society) would be managed
- do not evidence the potential for their proposed innovation to generate positive economic and/or societal impact
- would directly duplicate other UK government or EU funded initiatives you have already been funded to deliver
- duplicates existing innovation, or work in progress by others
Eligibility Criteria
- To lead a project, you can be an organisation of any size. Academic institutions and registered charities can apply but must demonstrate a route to market, including a plan to commercialise the results.
- Contracts will be awarded only to individual organisations but you can sub-contract specific tasks if they benefit the overall project. Ideally, subcontractors will have particular insight into the identified challenge area or clean growth agenda or be sector specialists or relevant academic institutions. Any subcontracted work is the responsibility of the main contractor.
- Your organisation must work with identified potential future customers to:
- ‘build back better’ from the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic, creating a more sustainable economy
- help deliver on the government’s Clean Growth Strategy and net zero ambition
- To be successful by the end of phase 2 you must develop and demonstrate new products or services which do both of the following:
- help businesses and/or the public sector in the UK recover from the pandemic
- protect the climate and environment upon which we and future generations depend
- Your proposed solution must:
- be innovative
- be practical and deliverable
- take affordability into consideration
- result in sustainable innovation which, in phase 2, can act as a showcase approach to delivering net zero
- Your application must:
- demonstrate a clear plan for commercialisation and a route to market for affordable, developed solutions
- set out clearly how solutions might be tested in a representative or real world setting as part of phase 2
- address how any potentially negative outcomes (such as on the environment or society) would be managed
- explain how a positive impact on climate change and/or environmental sustainability will be achieved, maintained and measured
- work throughout with at least one potential future customer who might use your solution when it comes to market
For more information, visit https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/654/overview
