Looking for funding for your business innovations?
We’ve rounded up the relevant public funding and competitions that have been announced and are open for applications in December. You can also find out more about public and private funding sources in our online directory
Innovate UK Smart Grants: February 2019
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £20m to deliver ambitious or disruptive R&D innovations with significant potential for impact on the UK economy. Closes 24 April
Biomedical Catalyst 2019 round 1: feasibility and primer awards
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £3m to explore and evaluate the commercial potential of a scientific idea to solve a healthcare challenge. Closes 3 April
Biomedical Catalyst 2019 round 1: early and late stage awards
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £7m to explore and evaluate the commercial potential of a scientific idea to solve a healthcare challenge. Closes 3 April
Digital health technology catalyst round 4: collaborative R&D
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £5m to develop new digital health solutions. Projects can use the services of the NICE DataLab to help with real world data. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Closes 10 April
SBRI Developing a travel network management system for new mobility
Organisations can apply for a share of £250k to develop innovative ideas on how to integrate new mobility options in network management centres. Closes 10 April
Spark: The Home Innovation Challenge
The Design Council is looking to help turn bright ideas into brilliant home improvement products that have the potential to help people facing mobility, dexterity or cognitive issues to do day-to-day tasks and make home life better and more enjoyable. Through its partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, it is looking specifically at products designed to aid people affected by dementia. Closes 12 April
SBRI First of a Kind (FoaK) round 3
This £5.5m SBRI competition fully funds projects and aims to get market-ready technologies from other sectors onto the railways. Round 3 focuses on 4 areas; operational resilience, infrastructure resilience, freight, noise and environmental issues. Register your interest by 17 April
Business Basics 2 – SME productivity (proof of concept)
A share of up to £2m is available to run proof of concept project aimed at how to encourage SMEs to adopt productivity boosting technology or management practices. Closes 17 April
Business Basics 2 – SME productivity (non-business led trials)
A share of up to £2m is available to run proof of concept project aimed at how to encourage SMEs to adopt productivity boosting technology or management practices. Closes 17 April
Business Basics 2 – SME productivity (business led trials)
A share of up to £2m is available for trials to build evidence on how to encourage SMEs to adopt productivity boosting technology or management practices. Closes 17 April
April expression of interest: UK Aerospace Research and Technology
The UK Aerospace Research and Technology Programme provides grant funding to industrial research and capital projects to encourage innovation in UK civil aerospace. Competition opens 8 April
CELTIC – NEXT spring 2019: innovative 5G infrastructure
UK organisations can apply for a share of up to £1m for 5G collaborative R&D projects in the EUREKA CELTIC programme. Join the briefing event in London on 2nd April to find out more. Competition opens 1 April
Opera Beyond – First Session
First Session, a competition by the Finnish National Opera and Ballet offers a €85k prize pool in the search for the best immersive art concept. The best concepts are invited to come to Helsinki (29-31 May 2019) to develop the idea alongside world renowned mentors. Closes 23 April
Demonstrators addressing cyber security challenges in the Internet of Things
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £6m for collaborative R&D projects addressing major cyber security challenges in the Internet of Things. Closes 1 May
SBRI Developing digital roads and improving air quality
Working with Innovate UK, Highways England has up to £20m, running across 2 competitions, for UK organisations with projects to change the way UK roads are designed, managed and used. This competition is for proven feasibility projects at development stage. Registration closes 1 May
UK and Canada: enhancing industrial productivity
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £5m to develop innovative technologies targeting global markets with Canadian partners. Closes 2 May
Electronics, sensors and photonics for robotics in extreme environments
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £2m to develop extreme environment grade electronics, sensors and photonics for robotics and AI systems. Funded from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). Closes 8 May
Wessex Technology Support Programme
The Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and the NIHR Clinical Research Network, Wessex has launched a new call to identify technologies developed by industry, that met specific NHS demands in the field of cardiology. Closes 17 May
UK and South Korea: joint research and development
Innovate UK and the Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology (KIAT) have announced a £2m joint funding call for R&D projects under the EUREKA programme. UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1m. Registration closes 5 June
New funding for UK organisations to innovate with global partners
Innovate UK has up to £6m to support businesses across 2019. Part of the EUREKA Cluster programme, the funding is spread across three competitions, it will create highly-competitive, groundbreaking technologies, in tiny, micro and nano electronic devices to the next-generation 5G network. The first competition is now inviting ideas for projects – with a deadline of 1st March. Read more
Creative Enterprise Programme
Creative England’s Creative Enterprise programme aims to make the moving image sector sustainable and create new business opportunities through training and building networks. This includes up to £2.5k to subsidise the cost of working with an expert to provide advice or support to your company through its mentoring and consultancy support. Read more