Up to £2 million available under Innovate UK Smart Grants

Deadline: 27-Sep-23

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovations that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.

The Innovate UK Smart grant supports SMEs and their partners develop the best game changing and word-leading innovative R&D projects. It offers funding where other opportunities are not available or appropriate, and where timing is key to ensure swift and successful commercialisation post-project completion.

Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as, but not exclusively, net zero, the arts, design and media.

To be in scope your proposal must demonstrate:

a game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products, proceses or services
an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
clear potential to positively impact the UK’s position, productivity and competitiveness within the global economy
a clear, evidence-based business plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
why Smart funding is the right potential funding for your project, and the journey you have already been on to reach the point of application
a team with the necessary skills and expertise to deliver the project successfully and on time, and to achieve rapid commercialisation
awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, including the funding of post-project activities

Specific Themes

Your project must focus on:
- taking customer and user needs into account to deliver more desirable and useful solutions
- identifying who is ready to buy your innovation
- being developed, planned and resourced beyond the end of the Innovate UK funded project, taking into account the focus of any project partners and their existing commitments
- fitting in with and complementing your ongoing business planning and development, product offerings and organisational structure to maximise chances of success

Funding Information

Projects of 6 to 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £500,000 and can be single or collaborative.
Projects of 19 to 36 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £2 million and be collaborative.

Projects they will not fund

They are not funding projects:
- that do not meet the competition eligibility or scope
- where the technology is available or used in another sector
- that do not address the size, potential and access to market for their innovation
- that do not evidence the potential for their idea to lead to significant return on investment (ROI), positive economic impact, growth and scale-up of the business
- that do not provide clear and realistic plans to commercialise their innovation as soon as possible post-project completion
- where other Innovate UK funding support is available and more appropriate
- They will not fund commercialisation activities such as marketing and sales.
They cannot fund projects that are:
- dependent on export performance, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
- dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

Eligibility Criteria

Your project must:
- start by 1 April 2024
- end by 31 March 2027
- include at least one micro, small or medium enterprise (SME) as the lead or a collaborative grant claiming partner
- follow specific rules depending on its duration
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
Lead organisation
- To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:
  - be a UK registered SME if you want to work alone
  - be a UK registered business of any size, or a research and technology organisation (RTO) if your proposal is collaborative
  - include at least one grant claiming SME if you are a large business or RTO and wish to collaborate with other UK registered businesses, research organisations, academic organisations, public sector organisations or charities
  - claim grant funding
Project team
- To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
  - business of any size
  - academic institution
  - charity
  - not for profit
  - public sector organisation
  - research and technology organisation (RTO)