Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

You cannot attribute more than 75% of your project costs to subcontractors. Your subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK.

You must also provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you.

Innovate UK expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. Innovate UK will not accept a cheaper cost, or having worked with them previously, as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

Number of applications

An eligible business can only submit one application.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

Exclusions

Innovate UK are not funding projects that:

• are not led by a UK registered micro or small business
• have total project costs and a grant funding in excess of £50,000
• attribute more than 75% of their costs to subcontractors
• do not fall within the subsectors of creative industries outlined for Creative Catalyst, for example, construction, education, tourism, manufacturing without demonstrable subsector ties
• do not intend to use the full award package, for example, requesting just the funding and not the wider support package
• come from organisations that are not profit driven
• have previously received funding from Innovate UK
• are commissioning business as usual (BAU) activities, for example, a new game or film that do not have an innovative edge to the way your company usually addresses new projects
• lack evidence that their proposed innovation is expected to lead to significant and positive economic impact, or that value for money will be achieved
• lack research and development or innovation, for example, the creation of information only websites
• are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions
• are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance

Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance, for example giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country.
• dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example if we give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

Common reasons we must deem a project as ineligible:

• £0 is entered in the amount of funding sought
• the applicant has not provided a video submission link

Innovate UK cannot amend applications retrospectively, you must allow enough time to review your submission. Any edits to your application should be made in a timely manner prior to the submission deadline of 11am on 6 March 2024.

Funding Costs

Up to £10 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition.

You can claim 100% of your eligible project costs up to the maximum of £50,000. The total project costs detailed within your application and your grant request must match.

If your total project costs or grant request do exceed the maximum of £50,000 then your application will be made ineligible.

If successful, your grant will be released in two payments:

• your total grant request minus £15,000 will be paid on the return and validation by Innovate UK, of your signed grant offer letter
• you will need to provide evidence to show how your grant was spent to your Monitoring Service Provider (MSP), they will be allocated to you by us to support you so your final payment can be released
• the remaining £15,000 will be paid at the end of the project, on receipt and approval by Innovate UK of a statement of expenditure (SOE), agreed with your MSP

If successful you will also be given a package of phased non-financial support to grow your business. This includes:

• priority access to Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme, with potential to visit emerging international markets, to collaborate, build networks and find future opportunities for business
• inclusion in the Innovate UK KTN peer-to-peer network, which will provide access to events, stakeholders and other scaling companies to engage with, build collaborations and gain insights from
• the opportunity to solve problems large organisations are facing through open innovation funding, which will call out to the creative industries for collaborative projects working with our grant awardees on solutions, this will be a collaboration with Creative UK
• continued support through Innovate UK EDGE, which gives one-to-one business growth support, tailored to business needs
• access to a programme of specialised support and accelerating opportunities for investment and Innovate UK’s connections to investors