Deadline: 27-Jul-22
The Innovate UK Smart Grants programme is now open for applications.
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy.
The project proposal must be business focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth and market share following project completion.
The Smart grant funds a cross-sector portfolio of the best game-changing, and world leading 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.
Scope
To be in scope your proposal must demonstrate:
- A game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products, processes or services.
- An idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialization.
- 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 commercialization, 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 commercialization.
- Awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimization plans for each risk.
- Sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, including the funding of post-project activities.
Themes
- Take customer and user needs into account to deliver more desirable and useful solutions.
- Identify who is ready to buy your innovation.
- Be 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 fit with and complement your ongoing business planning and development, product offerings and organizational structure to maximize chances of success.
Funding Information
- Projects of 6 to 18 months must have total project costs of between £100,000 and £500,000 and can be single or collaborative.
- Projects of 19 to 36 months must have total project costs of between £100,000 and £2 million and must be collaborative.
Ineligible 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 commercialize their innovation as soon as possible post-project completion.
- Where other Innovate UK funding support is available and more appropriate.
- 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.
- That are 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
Lead organisation
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To lead a project your organisation must:
- Be an SME if you want to work alone
- Be a UK registered business of any size or a research and technology organisation (RTO) if collaborative
- Include at least one 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
- If the lead organisation is an RTO it must collaborate with 2 businesses (one SME, and one business of any size) and there must be a credible route to market for the output of the project. Since the purpose of RTOs is to speed up the progress of those using their services, this is expected to be through the partners, rather than through the RTO itself.
- Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
For more information, visit Innovate UK.
For more information, visit https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/1159/overview