Innovate UK – Emerging & Enabling Technologies – Round 3
Competition opens on 5th September 2017
Competition closes on 8th November 2017 at midday
In Round 3 of its Emerging & Enabling Technologies grant funding competition, Innovate UK will invest up to £25 million in innovation projects that inspire new products and services. The aim of the competition is to help UK businesses broaden their innovation activities, disrupt existing markets and find sources of revenue from new products, processes or services.
To be considered, proposals must show significant innovation in one of 4 priority areas:
– Emerging technologies
– Digital
– Space applications
– Enabling capabilities (including electronics, sensors and photonics (ESP), robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), creative economy and design)
Projects must also have outputs that can be applied in more than one industry, sector or market, and they must improve business growth or productivity, or create export opportunities for at least one UK SME involved. Projects will range in size from total project costs of £35,000 to £2 million and must last between 3 months and 3 years.
There is funding available up to:
– £5 million for projects that have eligible costs of up to £100,000 and last between 3 and 12 months
– £10 million for projects that have eligible costs of up to £2 million and last between 1 and 3 years
– £10 million for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding you must:
– be a UK based business, academic or research and technology organisation (RTO)
– carry out your project work in the UK
– intend to exploit the results from the UK
All projects must involve an SME, and only an SME can lead projects below £100,000. Any one business or RTO may lead on one application and partner in a further 2 applications.
If an RTO is the lead on an application they must have 2 business collaborators (one SME, and one other business of any size). If an RTO is not the lead on any application, they can be a partner in any number of applications. Academics cannot lead on an application but can be a collaborator in any number of applications.
Project Types
Your project may focus on technical feasibility (including human centred design studies), industrial research or experimental development.
For technical feasibility studies and industrial research, you could receive:
– up to 70% of your eligible project costs if you are a small business
– up to 60% if you are a medium-sized business
– up to 50% if you are a large business
For experimental development projects that are nearer to market, you could receive:
– up to 45% of your eligible project costs if you are a small business
– up to 35% if you are a medium-sized business
– up to 25% if you are a large business