Key Features
UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £20 million to develop innovative solutions to health and healthcare challenges. This funding is from Innovate UK.
Programme: Innovate UK
Award: Share of up to £20 million
Opens: 20th Sep 2023
Closes: 8th Nov 2023
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £20 million in projects to support UK registered businesses to develop innovative solutions to address significant health or healthcare challenges.
Your project can focus on:
This list is not intended to be exhaustive.
The Industry led research and development (R&D) stream of the Biomedical Catalyst programme supports pre-market R&D projects. Applicants must be able to demonstrate existing evidence of commercial and technical feasibility.
Applications must show how they will improve the competitiveness and productivity of at least one UK SME involved in the project.
The aim of this industry-led R&D competition is to support the development of innovative solutions to health and healthcare challenges.
Innovate UK will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.
Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.
Your project can include:
Your project can focus on any health or healthcare sector or discipline including:
This list is not intended to be exhaustive.
Your project must:
Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application. If you have requested an overall grant of over £500,000, and your online application is successful at Stage 1, you may be invited to attend an interview.
Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.
To lead a project or work alone your organisation must be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in the Innovation Funding Service.
Partners must accept terms and conditions (T&Cs) and complete the subsidy question in order for the application to be submitted.
Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will count towards the total project costs.
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
An SME can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications.
If an SME is not leading on any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.
A research and technology organisation (RTO), a large business, academic institution, charity, not for profit, or public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
Innovate UK will not fund projects that:
Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:
Up to £20 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant. You must not claim more than £2 million in grant against your total project costs. A minimum of 50% of your total eligible project costs must be incurred by SMEs, if collaborative.
If the majority of your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.
For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:
For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:
Research participation
The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 50% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 50% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.