Launch of Innovate UK Smart Grants: October 2021

The next round of Innovate UK’s Smart Awards is now open. Businesses can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing innovative and disruptive ideas that can significantly impact the UK economy. Your proposal must be business focused.

Competition for this round closes: 5 January 2022 11:00am.

Funding

If you are looking to fund a feasibility study or industrial research project, you could get funding towards eligible costs of up to:

• 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation
• 50% if you are a large organisation

If you have are seeking funding for experimental development for project which is nearer to market, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
• 35% if you are a medium-sized organisation
• 25% if you are a large organisation

Eligibility

This competition is open to single applicants and collaborations. To lead a project your organisation must be: 

• a UK registered business of any size or UK registered research and technology organisation (RTO)
• able to carry out all your research and development (R&D) project activity in the UK
• intending to commercially exploit the project results from the UK
• involving at least one micro or SME.

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

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a highly competitive process where your chance of success in securing funding will depend on the number and quality of applications submitted. 

Typically, the fund is oversubscribed ten-fold, so a 10% chance, but a well-researched and written application will bring the chance of success to 33-50%.

Project size

Projects of 6 – 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £500,000 and can be single or collaborative. 

Projects of 19 – 36 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £2 million and must be collaborative.