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Innovation Funding - Are You Missing Out?

9th Jun 2018
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Tax Cloud is an R&D Tax Credits claim portal.

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The UK's Industrial Strategy white paper was launched in November 2017 with Theresa May promising 'We will create an economy that boosts productivity and earning power throughout the UK'.  The white paper identified industries that are of strategic value to the UK economy from artificial intelligence and big data to clean energy and self-driving vehicles. So six months on, we take a look at the various inititiaves that have been put in place to meet the promises of the Industrial Strategy, and in particular we will review the funding support that is being made available to UK businesses to innovate and grow.

Grant Funding | Myriad Associates

The 'Industrial Strategy policy' on the gov.uk website already has twelve pages full of listing which include press announcements, speeches and innovation funding opportunities.  Scolling through each page, it is clear to see that from the end of March 2018, Innovate UK has been given a funding boost and will the key delivery organisation for grants and innovation loans.

Innvoate UK live competitions

In total, Innovate UK currently have 22 live competitions that support the Industrial Strategy, these cover technologies such ass autonmous vehciles, artificial intellgience, immersive (AR and VR) and local energy systems.  A few of the competitions are listed below.  

  • Transforming accountancy, insurance and legal services with AI and data, £12m funding pot to speed up the responsible adoption of AI and data technologies and solutions to transform the accountancy, insurance and legal services sectors.

  • Plastics innovation: towards zero waste, UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £4 million to develop new solutions to reduce persistent plastics entering our environment.

  • Open programme funding competition round 1, competition is open to the best cutting-edge or disruptive ideas or concepts with a view to commercialisation.  These can come from any area of technology, science or engineering, including arts, design, media or creative industries, and be applied to any part of the economy.

  • Smart local energy systems, Innovate UK is looking to dung a diverse portfolio of local smart energy concept and design studies. They must attract future investment and help the UK smart local energy systems industry to grow.

European Grant Funding Opportunities

Horizon 2020 is a European programme that has nearly €80 billion of grant funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020). The goal is to ensure Europe produces world-class science, removes barriers to innovation, and makes it easier for the public and private sectors to work together in delivering innovation. You can find out more on our Horizon 2020 Main Scheme and Horizon 2020 SME Instrument pages.

EUREKA Eurostars is a European programme for innovative SMEs wanting to take part in collaborative research with partners across Europe and associated countries. Innovate UK manages the UK applications. You can find out more on our EUREKA Eurostars page.

How do I apply for an R&D Grant?

Applying for a grant is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. You need to be able to make a very strong case for your innovation, from both a technical and a commercial perspective, for your grant application to be successful.

Each grant application competition has its own rules and requirements. You need to ensure that your innovation meets the competition scope and that you are eligible to apply, so check the guidance for the competition you’re applying for.

Some grant competitions, such as the Innovate UK open competition, require you to complete an online application with restricted word count. For each question, you’ll need to provide answers to the questions using only the space provided.  For some of the questions, such as the project plan you can upload a pdf appendix to support your answer. 

For other competitions, such as the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, there is an overall page limit for the application. You will need to provide the information required within the allowed number of pages, but you can decide how much information to provide for each section.

What type of grant applications are likely to succeed?

Your grant application is more likely to be successful if it:

  • Clearly and thoroughly articulates the business opportunity of the project – the project’s resulting products, processes, or services should have a growth impact for your business and lead to a significant return on investment (ROI).
  • Explains why your business is more likely to succeed with this innovation than a competitor would.
  • Demonstrates a clear understanding of the target markets, including potentially competing products and your concept for commercialisation.
  • Shows why your proposed product, process, or service is a radically new application that produces a step change impact.

Who evaluates a grant application?

Grant applications are usually examined by independent experts in the area of innovation identified in the application. The number of experts scoring the application depend on the grant awarding body.

How long does it take to receive a decision?

Each grant-awarding body has its own timelines for providing feedback and a decision on funding.

What happens if my grant application is successful?

If your application is successful, you will need to provide the information required by the grant awarding body, which may include further documentation and financial checks. Depending on the awarding body, you may be assigned a monitoring officer.

Funding is generally paid in arrears, once the required audits and reports are complete. Each grant awarding body has its own payment rules.

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