What Is The Catapult Network? The Catapult Network is part of Innovate UK and is a Government backed set of 9 leading innovation centres covering high-tech sectors in 65 locations across the UK. Each Catapult has an industry speciality with a central research hub and supporting local hubs in various strategic locations. Catapults contain cutting … Read more
What Opportunities Can UK Universities Provide for Businesses? According to recent research, it is estimated that UK universities will provide over £11.6bn worth of support, funding and services to start-ups and SMEs over the next 5 years. This includes specialist one-to-one advice, providing access to the latest research equipment and facilities to help push cutting … Read more
Innovate UK has recently rebranded its highly successful Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) to Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation as part of a drive to include even more businesses of all sizes to participate and apply for funding. What are Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation? Public sector organisations who are looking to address a specific … Read more
Recent figures from a government report show that there has been a 9% drop in the number of UK companies actively innovating, down from 45% in 2018-2020 to 36% in 2020-2022. As always, the detail is important as there are sector and size nuances which we will come back to, but overall this trend coupled … Read more
What Is Business Innovation Funding? Business innovation grants can help fund enterprises of all sizes who want to carry out research and development activities, such as feasibility studies or developing prototypes. As a general rule there are also a few loans available, particularly from industrial bodies and regional investment agencies to carry out sector specific … Read more
After a period of uncertainty post-Brexit, the UK has secured its association with the Horizon Europe programme, the European Union’s flagship research and innovation funding scheme. This means UK researchers and businesses are now eligible to apply for a share of the €95.5 billion (£82 billion) budget allocated across work programmes for 2021-2027 dedicated to … Read more
The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of pioneering inventions and ideas, from the steam engine to the world wide web. However, in a world marked by rapid change, maintaining this edge requires ongoing innovation. This is where Innovate UK, the government’s dedicated agency, plays a crucial role. Innovate UK’s Mission: Driving Economic … Read more
One of the primary hurdles for innovation grant consultants is finding suitable prospects for new innovation grants, a challenge frequently discussed in our client meetings. To tackle this issue, we are working on a solution to construct a business profile of successful Innovate UK grant winners based on the characteristics of past similar grant recipients. … Read more
In the third and final part of this 3-part blog we look at grant funding amounts, Innovate UK sectors and the types of businesses for projects started in 2021. How much funding are businesses getting? Projects that received funding of between £100,000 to £250,000 were the most common at 31.2% of the total in 2021. … Read more
In the second part of this 3-part blog we look at regional funding picture for projects started in 2021. Which regions are getting the most or least funding? London, the South East and East of England were the top three funded regions in 2021 with 572, 509 and 314 projects respectively. London and the South … Read more