Key Features
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £2 million for business led projects that grow activities in the digital technologies cluster in North East England. This funding is from Innovate UK.
Programme: Innovate UK
Award: Share of up to £2 million
Opens: 30th Oct 2023
Closes: 13th Dec 2023
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is to invest up to £2 million in innovation projects.
The funding will support projects across the three Launchpad competition strands that target the innovation cluster in North East England.
The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. Your business must be active or growing work activities in the digital technologies innovation cluster in North East England, consisting of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham.
The geographical requirement is set to align this competition to the Government’s goals in the Levelling Up White Paper.
Your project must focus on digital technologies that can be applied in growing and emerging markets.
Growing or emerging markets, include but are not limited too:
Your project must lead to increased investment into research and innovation. It must contribute to growing business activities and economic impact in the cluster.
Your proposal must explain how your team and project will contribute to equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) in the cluster.
Portfolio approach
Innovate UK want to fund a variety of projects across different durations, locations, and themes. We call this a portfolio approach.
In support of the Government’s Levelling Up goals, we reserve the right to prioritise projects that:
Your project can focus on one or more of the following technologies:
Immersive technologies
Artificial intelligence
These lists are not exhaustive. Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this competition you can focus on other technologies.
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.
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.
Lead organisation
To lead a project your organisation must:
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
The contribution of project partners must add to the innovation led growth of the cluster.
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. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.
To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
Non-funded partners
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
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. Their contribution must add to the innovation led growth of the cluster.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.
Number of applications
A business can lead on only one CR&D strand application for this competition, but can be included as a collaborator in any number of applications.
If an organisation is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.
If you apply to the MFA strand of this competition, as well as this CR&D strand, each project must be clearly distinctive and separate. We will monitor closely for this separation if you are awarded funding in both competition strands.
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
Innovate UK are not funding projects that:
Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.
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