How to win funding Innovate UK grant application
The question that everyone seeking grant funding desires the answer to is, how does Innovate UK choose winning grant applications? In this blog, we’ll be covering just that, as well as imparting the top tips to keep in thought when developing a grant application.
Innovate UK is the best regarded national funding agency investing in science and research in the UK. In 2018, Innovate UK merged with the UK’s Research Councils to turn out to be part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Innovative organisations can apply for furnish funding for the development of projects that match Innovate UK’s funding competitions.
The three-point process
Applications are scored with the aid of a pool of independent assessors. These assessors are selected by Innovate UK and their know-how aligns with the sectoral focus of your proposed project. After your independent assessor has scored the application, Innovate UK completes a three-step sequence. This guarantees the marking and evaluation of applications are fair and that the best initiatives have been chosen.
First, Innovate UK searches for any outliers in the scoring. If there are any outlying scores that feel unjustified and are without assisting comments, the scoring is modified.
Secondly, Innovate UK will analyse the assessors’ responses to the final recommendation questions. These determine whether or not an application is in scope. An application must win a majority vote from the assessors’ to be taken into consideration.
Thirdly, the minimal quality threshold is checked to ensure only the most modern and innovative responses are considered. A high-quality project wishes to have a quality threshold of above 70%.
Top tip: Consider how well your application communicates that your undertaking is within scope. A project that closely adheres to the scope at the same time as demonstrating the greatest innovation and commercial potential is extra likely to win.
Approaches to allocating funds
Once the three-point process is complete, the applications are ranked in a listing with the top-scoring application first. This is known as the panel sheet. Innovate UK utilises a combination of two techniques when it comes to allocating funding from the panel sheet:
A top-down approach: funds are allocated from the top of the panel sheet to the bottom. This is carried out until the funding pot has been depleted and the budget spent.
The portfolio approach: applications are chosen based on a specific spend profile for the competition.
To conclude this step of the process, the final listing is sent to Innovate UK’s funder panel who review the selection in line with the opposition scope.
Top tip: Regardless of which approach is taken, the assistance of an experienced furnish writer can hugely improve your possibilities of submitting a winning grant application. Our team of supply writers have a long history of crafting high-scoring applications that efficaciously secure funding for our clients- over £100m to be precise!
Feedback, appeals, and the two-stage application process
At the final section of the selection, the chosen applicants are approved and notified of the success of their submission. Feedback is provided with your utility results to validate and explain the nature of your success or failure. Some feedback may additionally be conflicting due to multiple assessors marking your application with potentially different opinions and no collaboration.
You cannot appeal against the comments that assessors provide. Both Innovate UK and the assessors are unable to enter into any communications regarding feedback that may be deemed unsatisfactory.
More and extra competitions are adopting a two-stage application process. This means that your approval for funding is also assessed via a second written application or an interview panel. Some competitions may even observe a non-standard assessment approach. Each competition brief will furnish full details on what you can expect from the non-standard assessment strategy being used.
Top tip: Should your application be unsuccessful this time around, you can resubmit the same project once. Using remarks from assessors can help to refine and polish your application before submitting it a 2nd time. Be sure to provide your grant author with any feedback to optimise your next submission.
We can tackle the challenges of applications…
Now you understand the application marking process and have been made conscious of the potential pitfalls, it’s down to you to decide how to prepare, craft, and submit the indispensable documentation. Granted Consultancy’s team of innovation funding experts can manage the whole grant application process, from finding the proper fund to writing a winning application and submitting it through the Innovate UK portal.
Reach Out
If you have a disruptive enterprising project or innovation, why not contact us? A brief chat with one of our innovation consultants will help you determine whether grant funding could get your project off the ground.
Why use grant innovate UK funding experts?
Although there are many benefits to seeking grant funding, the thought of applying can be confusing, time-consuming and stressful. Using the creative and technical skills of a professional Innovation grant writing consultancy will strengthen your business in translating technologies and business models into a language and format assessors understand; increasing the chance of success. If you have a disruptive ambitious project or innovation, why not contact Capti Innovation.