UK and South Korea: joint research and development

Key Features

The UK and South Korea announce a joint funding competition for R&D projects under the EUREKA programme. UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £1 million

Opens: 18th Mar 2019

Closes: 5th Jun 2019

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

Innovate UK and the Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology (KIAT) are announcing a £2 million joint funding call for research and development (R&D) projects under the EUREKA programme.

This will support collaborative, business led research and development (R&D) projects, which should result in a new product, industrial process or service. Projects must be innovative and involve a technological risk.

Scope

Your proposal must demonstrate:

  • a clear game-changing and/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
  • a team, business arrangement or working structure with the necessary skills and experience to run and complete the project successfully and on time
  • awareness of all the main risks the project will face (including contractor or equipment failure, recruitment delays and so on) with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each
  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines
  • good value for money which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK and KIAT 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 and South Korea economies and/or national productivity
  • the benefit of participants from the 2 countries working together and how this adds value
  • a clear definitions of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
  • a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion

Your project must focus one or both of the following:

  • advanced materials for transport (air, land and maritime) with a focus on materials development
  • Internet of Things, with a clearly-identified industry or vertical sector application, not a horizontal or generic platform

For Internet of Things, projects are particularly welcome that are using emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence or blockchain.

Eligibility

Projects must be jointly co-ordinated by the UK and South Korea lead partners.

To lead an application as a UK organisation you must:

  • be a UK based business of any size
  • collaborate with the South Korean lead, who must be a business of any size
  • collaborate with at least one UK-based micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), which must incur at least half of the UK eligible costs
  • carry out the majority of your funded work within the UK

All participants from South Korea must ensure that they comply with KIAT’s funding rules.

Research organisations, public sector organisations and charities can be partners on the project but cannot lead in the UK. They can share up to 30% of the total eligible UK project costs but they are not eligible to receive funding.

Your project can include subcontractors but they must not account for more than 20% of the total eligible costs for the entire joint project.

Every UK organisation must carry out the majority of its funded work within the UK, and South Korean organisations must carry theirs out in South Korea.

Funding Costs

Innovate UK have allocated up to £1 million to fund UK innovation projects in this competition.

Projects can be feasibility studies and industrial research projects.

UK companies could get funding for their eligible project costs of:

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

Total UK grant available is up to £350,000 per project.

Your project must start by 1 January 2020 and be completed within 2 years. Your UK grant claim must be submitted by 31 March 2022.

No individual organisation, or individual country, can claim more than 70% of the total eligible costs for the entire joint project.

Exclusions

They will not fund projects that:

  • have non-civilian applications
  • do not include at least one UK based business and one South Korean based business