Smart Grants from Innovate UK to accelerate your innovation and technology development
Innovate UK’s “Smart Grants” program is an opportunity for individuals with innovative and disruptive ideas in any technology field. The program aims to provide funding for commercially viable ideas that address clear market gaps in any sector, with a focus on business development. Projects at various technological maturity levels are welcome, but they should not have reached commercialization yet. Four to five calls for proposals are made each year, with the next deadline being Wednesday, September 27th, 2023, at 11:00 am. If you’re minded to make an application please don’t hesitate to contact us so we can deep dive into your project and assess its chance of success.
Capti specializes in writing Innovate UK Smart Grants and has assisted over 100 SME start-up businesses in obtaining government funding. Innovate UK, which is a part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £25 million in the most promising innovative or disruptive ideas that have strong commercial potential. All proposals must be focused on business. Applications are welcome from any industry and can be applied to any sector of the economy.
Capti Innovation welcomes projects that overlap with the UKRI Challenge Fund research and innovation areas or where your game-changing innovation aligns with the UK Government’s priority sectors. Please ask us for more details. Capti Innovation may consider total eligible project costs over £2 million (but not exceeding £3 million), subject to the process set out under ‘Eligibility’.
Capti can manage your Innovate UK Smart Grant submission from start to finish, we even upload to the Government portal
Your application must include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). They can be the lead or a collaborative grant claiming partner.
Your project must follow specific rules based on its duration.
Projects with a duration of:
- 6 to 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £500,000. They can be single or collaborative projects.
- 19 to 36 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £3 million. They must be collaborative projects.
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 UK registered businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations or charities. Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone. UK registered businesses or RTOs can only lead on one application. (There are additional rules for RTOs: see the competition page for full details.) All partners can collaborate on any number of applications.
Your proposal must demonstrate
a clear game-changing, innovative, 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. 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 either or both, the UK economy and productivity in a positive way. sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions. Projects can be at different levels of technological maturity, up to but not including commercialisation.
Funding Rates
For Feasibility Studies or Industrial Research you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:
- up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
- up to 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation
- up to 50% if you are a large organisation
For Experimental Development you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:
- up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
- up to 35% if you are a medium-sized organisation
- up to 25% if you are a large organisation
Research organisations collaborating as part of your consortium can share up to 30% of the UK total eligible project costs. (This maximum is to be shared between all participating research organisations).
Eligibility
- Subsidy Control and State Aid funding rules apply.
- Must include at least one SME.
- R&D work must be carried out in the UK a26nd project results exploited from UK.
- Subcontractors must be UK based, with costs justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.
Projects that will not be funded
- Where the technology is available or used in another sector
- Where other Innovate UK funding support is available and more appropriate
- That are dependent on export performance, or that are dependent on domestic inputs usage
Applications must demonstrate:
- A game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products, processes or services
- An idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
- Clear potential to positively impact the UK’s position, productivity and competitiveness within the global economy
- A clear, evidence based business plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
- Why Smart funding is the right potential funding for your project, and the journey you have already been on to reach the point of application
- A team with the necessary skills, and expertise to deliver the project successfully and on time, and to achieve rapid commercialisation
- Awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
- Sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, including the funding of post-project activities
Scope
The Innovate UK Smart grant supports SMEs and their partners develop the best game changing and word-leading innovative R&D projects. It offers funding where other opportunities are not available or appropriate, and where timing is key to ensure swift and successful commercialisation post-project completion. To be in scope your proposal must demonstrate:
- a game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products, proceses or services
- an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
- clear potential to positively impact the UK’s position, productivity and competitiveness within the global economy
- a clear, evidence-based business plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
- why Smart funding is the right potential funding for your project, and the journey you have already been on to reach the point of application
- a team with the necessary skills and expertise to deliver the project successfully and on time, and to achieve rapid commercialisation
- awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
- sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, including the funding of post-project activities
Specific themes
- taking customer and user needs into account to deliver more desirable and useful solutions
- identifying who is ready to buy your innovation
- being developed, planned and resourced beyond the end of the Innovate UK funded project, taking into account the focus of any project partners and their existing commitments
- fitting in with and complementing your ongoing business planning and development, product offerings and organisational structure to maximise chances of success
Current Dates
Competition closes: Wednesday 24 July 2024 11:00 am
Applicants notified: 27 September 2024
Project start date: Start by 1 January 2025
Why choose Capti Innovation?
The problem to solve
The application is divided into three main sections: Project Details, Application Questions, and Finances and Project Impact. These sections contain a total of seven questions, some of which require further explanation through appendixes. The word count for each question ranges from 400 to 600. A comprehensive application should have a minimum of 8,000 words and include supporting evidence such as Gantt charts and diagrams. Furthermore, a full project plan, risk assessment, and project financials are required.
Let's discuss how we can solve this issue by following our successful procedure.
At Capti Innovation, we follow a 65-stage process to ensure that we cover all the areas that Innovate UK is looking for. While some of these areas may not seem necessary to cover, we leverage our many years of experience to increase your chances of success to the maximum possible extent.