Innovation grants
Everything you need to apply for an innovation grant
What is a UK innovation grant?
Innovation grants are programmes that offer backing and funding to UK-based organisations and groups. Innovation grants are usually awarded by an entity, such as a government or grant funding institution, for a business. Companies have to be involved in any of the following to be eligible for an innovation grant:
- Looking to research and develop a new process, product or service
- Test innovative ideas
- Collaborate with other companies
With UK innovation grants, you do not have to pay the money back, and your business does not lose any equity.
What are the grants for?
Innovation grants can be used to fund a range of different activities and projects. These include:
- Market research
- Experimental development
- Prototyping products or services
- Early-stage commercialisation
In other words, grants are for projects that offer ‘commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas’, from any industry, for any part of the economy, from the arts, design and media, to creative industries to science or engineering. Essentially, grants are issued to fund new technology that could help the UK economy grow.
How much could my business get?
Most Innovate UK grants offer between £25,000 to £2.5 million. The amount of funding a business can receive depends on the following five factors:
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The scope of the grant competition they are applying for
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What type of work they are doing
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The size of their business
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What type of work they are doing
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What type of work they are doing
Most grants will also require a business to match fund a portion of the overall project costs, so they will need to ensure that the costs can be covered before they apply. The type of work a business proposes to carry out in a project will also affect the level of funding they are entitled to.
Some of the most popular grants available
Who is UKRI?
The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the country’s national funding agency, investing in science and research-based companies. They help bring together the UK’s seven research councils, alongside Innovate UK and Research England. You can learn more about all the grants available on the UKRI web portal.
Who is Innovate UK?
- Innovate UK is the country’s biggest innovation funding agency for businesses, offering multiple grants
- As a part of the UK Research and Innovation, they support business-led innovation across all sectors, helping companies to grow through the development of new products and services
What R&D (research and development) categories do Innovate UK support for grants?
Often undertaken by a research organisation, this is experimental or theoretical work to gain innovative knowledge of underlying phenomena without direct practical application or usage
Analysis and evaluation of a project’s potential, helping businesses to decide whether they will work individually or collaboratively with other organisations
Planned research or critical investigation to gain knowledge and skills that would enable product development, processes or services that improve existing products, processes or services
Acquiring and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills to develop new or improved products, processes or services
When applying for a grant from Innovate UK, you must let UKRI know the research and development category that reflects most of your work or if it will be split across multiple categories.
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