Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £25 million in the best game-changing and world-leading ideas, designed for swift, successful commercialisation. Ideas need to be genuinely new.
The Innovate UK Smart grant has focused scope and eligibility criteria to support SMEs and their partners develop disruptive innovations with significant potential for rapid economic return to the UK. The application process reflects the importance of obtaining economic benefits from public funding, and the potential for successful commercialisation, growth, and exports.
Proposals must be business focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth and market share following project completion.
Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy.
To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:
- be a UK registered SME if you want to work alone
- be a UK registered business of any size, or a research and technology organisation (RTO) if your proposal is collaborative
- include at least one grant claiming 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
Projects of 6-18 months: total eligible project costs £100k-£500k. Projects of 19-36 months: total eligible project costs £100k-£2m. Up to 70% of costs can be covered depending on project type and business size.