Funding Competition: Innovate UK Smart Grants

Smart is the new name for Innovate UK’s ‘Open grant funding’ programme.

Applications closed on January 8th.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £25 million in the best game-changing and commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas. All proposals must be business focused.

Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as but not exclusively:

• the arts, design and media
• creative industries
• science or engineering

This competition closes at midday 12:00pm UK time on Wednesday 8th January.

Duration between 6 and 18 months and total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £500,000: can be single or collaborative. Duration between 19 and 36 months and total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £2 million: must be collaborative.

Your project

Your application must include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

Your project must start by June 2020 and end no later than June 2023.

Your project must follow different rules depending on its duration:

1. Projects with durations between 6 and 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £500,000. They can be single or collaborative projects.
2. Project durations between 19 months and 36 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £2 million. They must be collaborative projects.

If you want to submit a project between 19 months and 36 months with total project costs between £2 million and £3 million as a permitted exception, you must email support@innovateuk.ukri.org. You must give full justification at least 10 days before the competition closes. Do not submit your application until we write to approve your request.

Your proposal must demonstrate:

• a clear game-changing, innovative and/or disruptive and ambitious idea leading to new products, processes or services
• an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
• a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses (and documents) market potential and needs
• a clear, evidence based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
• a team, business arrangement or working structure with the necessary skills and experience to run and complete the project successfully and on time
• sound, practical financial plans and timelines
• awareness of all the main risks the project will face (including contractor or equipment failure, recruitment delays, etc) with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
• clear, considerable potential to significantly impact the UK economy and/or productivity in a positive way
• good value for money, which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions

Unless you have already received our authorisation, any application submitted that does not meet the criteria will be marked as ineligible and will not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation

To lead a project you must:

• be a UK registered business of any size or a research and technology organisation (RTO)
• carry out your R&D project activity in the UK
• intend to commercially exploit the project results from or in the UK
• be an SME if you want to work alone
• include at least one SME if you are a large business or RTO and wish to collaborate with other businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations or charities

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Single applicants must claim funding. If the project is collaborative, the lead and at least one other organisation must claim funding and enter your costs as part of the application.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead organisation you must:

• be a UK registered business, academic institution, charity, public sector organisation or RTO
• carry out your R&D project activity in the UK
• intend to commercially exploit the project results from or in the UK
• be invited to take part by the lead applicant

For full details of the funding and to apply, please click here.