Media Cymru: Greening the screen fund

Key Features

UK registered organisations can apply for a grant funding request between £75,000 and £250,000. The funding is to scale-up products, services or processes that will reduce the carbon footprint of the screen industry in the Cardiff Capital Region.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £250,000

Opens: 18th Sep 2023

Closes: 1st Nov 2023

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

Greening the Screen Cymru Scale-Up Fund is delivered by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), on behalf of Media Cymru and Ffilm Cymru Wales. Media Cymru is a consortium of 23 organisations led by Cardiff University. This competition is funded by UKRI Strength in Places and will invest up to £600,000.

Media Cymru’s aim is to turn the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) into a global hub for media innovation with a focus on green and fair economic growth.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to support UK registered organisations to scale-up sustainable products, services and processes that will green the screen industry in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR).

Informed by BAFTA albert’s Screen New Deal research, projects must reduce the negative impact the sector has on the environment. BAFTA albert’s Screen New Deal focuses on delivering a zero-carbon and zero-waste future through key impact areas:

  • energy and fuel
  • transport
  • circular economy and waste, including catering
  • data capture and dissemination, for example, expertise, technical insight, production planning, and reporting across the supply chain

Your project must:

  • implement solutions to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the screen sector informed by the BAFTA albert’s Screen New Deal
  • demonstrate realistic potential to deliver a scalable commercially viable business model where applicable
  • actively share knowledge and insights with Ffilm Cymru Wales, Media Cymru and wider creative industry
  • influence and encourage sustainable production in Wales
  • align with Media Cymru programme outcomes and relevant policies such as the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, UN Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation Strategy for Wales, Beyond Recycling, and the Creative Industries Sector Vision

An assessment panel which includes representatives from Ffilm Cymru and Cardiff University as well as other research and industry representatives will select and fund projects from the applications received.

Specific Themes

Your project can align with one or more transformational opportunity areas identified in the BAFTA albert’s Screen New Deal route map to sustainable film production:

  • production materials, for example, responsible procurement and reuse
  • energy and water, for example, alternatives to diesel, transport and generators, renewables, reduction, studio and equipment efficiency
  • studio buildings and facilities, for example, repurposing and smart building management
  • studio sites and locations, for example, changing modes of transport, reducing waste including catering and circular production
  • production planning, for example, digital collaboration tools, virtual planning and production, and shared infrastructure

This list is not exhaustive.

Innovate UK will fund industrial research projects and experimental development projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Eligibility

Your project must:

  • have a primary focus within the film and media sector
  • demonstrate significant environmental benefit to the media industry, particularly the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
  • demonstrate a commercially viable business model or potential for long term financial sustainability
  • have a total grant funding request between £75,000 and £250,000
  • contribute match funding towards project delivery
  • last between 12 and 24 months
  • start by 1 April 2024
  • end by 31 March 2026
  • carry out at least 75% of its project work in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR)
  • intend to exploit the results in the CCR

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 or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes or goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.

The lead organisation may be based outside the CCR but justification must be made in your application as to why the project could not be led by an organisation from the CCR. If the lead organisation is based outside the CCR, you must collaborate with an organisation in the CCR.

To lead a project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business of any size, community interest company (CIC) or not for profit
  • be based in the CCR or collaborate with at least one UK registered business, research organisation, public sector organisation or charity in the CCR
  • carry out the project work in the CCR

Collaboration is encouraged within the following sectors and with micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the supply chain:

  • film, television and media
  • academia
  • technology, for example, IT, software, electronics and computer services
  • energy and fuel
  • transport
  • circular economy services and waste management, for example, production space and infrastructure, costumes, catering
  • manufacturing and materials, for example, set materials and props

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

  • business of any size
  • academic institution
  • charity
  • not for profit
  • public sector organisation
  • research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account and enter their own project costs into IFS.

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.

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 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.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Number of applications

A business, community interest company (CIC) or not for profit can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.

If a business, CIC or not for profit is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to three applications.

An academic institution or research and technology organisation (RTO) cannot lead but can collaborate on any number of applications.

You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

Exclusions

Innovate UK will not fund projects that:

  • are early-stage research and development or feasibility studies
  • do not demonstrate the potential to positively impact on the environment of the CCR and Wales
  • do not demonstrate clear advancement of product, service or process such as technology and potential application or novel application of existing technology to solve environmental challenges
  • have disproportionate involvement of non-UK based partners or subcontractors
  • do not meet the competition eligibility or scope
  • do not address the size, potential and access to market for the innovation
  • do not evidence the potential for their project to have significant positive environmental impact
  • do not evidence the potential for their project to have significant positive economic impact, growth and scale-up of the business, product, service or process
  • do not commit to sharing their knowledge and outputs with the Ffilm Cymru Wales, Media Cymru and wider industry

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

A total of up to £600,000 is available to fund projects in this competition. Awards will be between £75,000 and £250,000 per project. 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, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 25% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% 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 30% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic
  • 100% of your project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.