Innovate UK is undergoing a significant transformation in its approach to funding, directly impacting UK SMEs seeking innovation grants. From January 2025, the popular Smart Grants programme has been paused to allow for the development of more tailored support mechanisms. A new pilot programme is anticipated to launch in Spring 2025, specifically designed to assist … Read more
Introduction According to a 2025 report from the National Audit Office titled UK Research and Innovation: providing support through grants – a total of 28,866 applications for competitive grant funding were assessed by the UKRI in 2023-2024. The organisation had a total funding pot of £6bn to award grants and funding in the same time … Read more
Just before yesterday’s Spending Review, an ambitious £86bn in funding was announced for Research and Innovation projects. We were expecting this announcement back in the Spring Statement as part of the Modern Industrial Strategy. Of course the devil is in the details but overall it looks encouraging if your business fits a specific funding profile. This money … Read more
Contrary to what some might believe about the complexities of securing European funding, new data reveals a significant success story for the UK. Since re-joining the EU’s Horizon research funding programme, British scientists have been awarded an impressive £500 million in grants. This puts the UK in a strong fifth position overall among all beneficiaries, … Read more
Introduction According to the 2025 Innovation Barometer by Ayming, a London based innovation funding consultancy specialist, UK businesses surveyed are requesting that the Government provides further targeted support to drive innovation and growth as a lack of funding is holding back research and development (R&D) activities. Currently, only 39% of UK businesses surveyed were able … Read more
We have seen many comments recently on both the work involved and the success rates in applying for Innovate UK grants. It seems that there is some concern over the time and expense involved in putting together applications that receive high scores, but subsequently don’t win any funding. The recent announcement of £948m to Innovate … Read more
Polaron, a British startup spun out from Imperial College London, has secured the prestigious £1 million Manchester Prize for its ground-breaking AI technology that transforms materials development. The company’s innovative approach reduces development time from years to mere days by using microstructural images to rapidly analyse and predict material performance, creating a significant competitive advantage … Read more
Introduction According to new analysis by HSBC Innovation Banking UK and Dealroom, UK innovation businesses were estimated to be worth a combined value of around £1 trillion at the end of 2024. This figure represents a 20% increase year-on-year when compared with 2023 and an overall increase of 9 times (900%) over the past 10 … Read more
Introduction According to a recent research paper from the House of Lords, it is estimated that innovative science and technology activity contributed a total of £91.6bn to the UK economy in 2023. This breakdown includes £71bn for IT and other information service tech activities and £20.6bn for scientific research and development activities across other sectors. … Read more
Introduction In March 2022, the UK Government announced its largest ever research and development (R&D) budget for the period of 2022-2025 at £39.8bn. This means that a significant amount of this money has been made available in the form of innovation grants aimed at businesses who are working in high tech sectors or looking to … Read more