Eureka collaborative R&D: Eurostars 3 Call 7

Overview

This competition is for UK businesses that want to apply to the Eureka collaborative R&D 3 Call 7. Please visit the Eureka call for proposals web page if you are not a UK applicant.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £2.5 million to fund collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to support international collaboration on R&D projects that create innovative products, processes or services for commercialisation.

This competition is open in theme and we will fund projects from all sectors, which meet eligibility criteria.

Your project must have high market potential and develop at least one of the following:

innovative products
technology-based applications
technology-based services

Your collaborative R&D proposal must demonstrate:

a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses (and documents) market potential and needs
sound, practical financial plans and timelines
good value for money, which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions
a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
clear, considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
the benefit of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
a clear route to market or have gone to clinical trials within two years of project completion

Eligibility

To apply, you must fulfil the seven Eurostars eligibility criteria:

Your consortium must be led by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country.
The project organisations concerned must be independent from each other.
Your consortium must include organisations from at least two Eurostars countries with a minimum of one organisation coming from an EU or Horizon associated country.
The budget of the SMEs from a Eurostars country, excluding subcontracting, is 50% or more of the total project cost.
No single participant or country is responsible for more than 70% of the project budget.
The project duration is 36 months or less.
The project has an exclusively civilian purpose.

UK registered SME’s can apply for a total grant of up to €360,000 (euro) for each eligible UK project or 60% of total eligible project costs, whichever is less. The UK project partner must fund the remainder of their project costs.

To be eligible for grant funding from Innovate UK your collaboration:

must include at least one UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
must include at least one eligible partner from one of the Eureka Eurostars members countries participating in the competition

Your project can last up to 36 months and is expected to start at the earliest 1 April 2025. The start date depends on the national funding procedures of the Eureka members involved in the selected projects.

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.

Eureka terminology and roles

The terminology differs between Eureka and Innovate UK. In the Innovate UK application the ‘project lead’ is responsible for the entire project but Eureka uses the term ‘main participant’. For partners in the collaboration Eureka uses ‘other participants’.

Even if the project lead is from a participating Eureka member other than the UK, the UK registered partners can still claim funding from Innovate UK. These collaborations must include at least one UK registered SME.

UK Organisations

In the UK, only UK registered innovative SMEs are eligible for funding. More than one UK SME can be involved in each project. Micro entities must have a minimum of three full time staff to be eligible.

These conditions must be met by each of the UK innovative SMEs.

You must:

have registered as an entity at Companies House at least 12 months before the Eurostars deadline
be able to resource your participation and fund the remainder of your project costs

Innovate UK will not fund any other types of organisations, including:

sole traders
academic institutions, including universities
research and technology organisations (RTOs)
charities
large businesses

These organisations can take part but must self-fund or use funds from other sources.

You must follow the Eurostars eligibility criteria and the Innovate UK eligibility criteria, at the application deadline and throughout your project:

The Innovate UK eligibility criteria is that:

UK SMEs will only receive funding for one live Eurostars project at a time, if you have an existing live project, then you must self-fund your participation in this application
UK partners must be separate, non-linked legal entities
UK partners must have been trading for 12 months at the competition application close date
all UK funded work must be carried out in the UK and your project costs must be incurred in the UK
UK subcontracting is capped at 20% of the UK partners’ total eligible costs
a UK-led project must be managed by an innovative SME, you cannot subcontract project management
your labour costs must be on a pay as you earn (PAYE) basis, following the PAYE rules section
overheads are capped at 25% of labour costs

If you require a permit or licence to carry out your project deliverables, you must have these in place prior to the project start date.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition but they must not account for more than 20% of the UK partners’ total eligible costs. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process. Where subcontractors are non-UK based, please justify in your application why you are unable to use a UK alternative.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

Innovate UK would expect subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

Partners not claiming funding

A non-grant claiming UK partner cannot lead on a project.

Your collaboration can include organisations from Eureka members that are not participating in this funding competition provided:

they have secured full funding elsewhere
you describe in your application why and how they will be involved and where they have secured financing from

Overall Eureka project team

The organisations from participating Eureka members must meet the funding and eligibility conditions of their respective national funding bodies. These will be published on the Eureka call for proposals web page when this competition opens.

These organisations must apply through their own funding bodies and not through the Innovation Funding Service.

Each partner must carry out the majority of their funded work within the Eureka Eurostars country from which they receive funding, for example the UK for Innovate UK funding.

There must be a genuine collaboration. No more than 70% of the total eligible project costs can be claimed by a single partner or by all partners from a single participating Eureka member collectively.

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.

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.

Exclusion

Innovate UK will not fund projects that:

work on non-civilian technologies
do not meet Innovate UK’s and Eureka Eurostars eligibility criteria
do not submit all mandatory documentation

Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:

dependent on export performance, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

Funding Costs

Innovate UK have allocated up to £2.5 million to fund the eligible UK partners innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

If 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, UK registered SMEs could get funding for each eligible UK project of up to €360,000 (euro) or 60% of total eligible UK project costs, whichever is less.

The UK registered research organisations in your consortium must provide their own funding.

Back

R&D Tax Credits

Grant Funding

Other Services

Insights

Events