Funding competition Net Zero Living: User focused design

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3.8 million to support them in developing their net zero products or services. This funding is from Innovate UK.

Competition opens: Tuesday 1 August 2023
Competition closes: Wednesday 4 October 2023 11:00am

This competition is now closed.

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Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest up to £3.8 million in innovation projects. These will be to support the net zero agenda.

The Design Council will support the implementation of this competition by providing bespoke support to your project.

The aim of this competition is to support ambitious, early-stage growth businesses in developing your net zero products or services to meet demand.

This support will include budget to hire the expertise of living laboratories to test your products or services with end users, so they better meet the requirement of the target market.

Your project must focus on the development of your product or service and demonstrating it in a relevant market. The user focus can be achieved by testing the product or service in a living laboratory and demonstrating results that will both support the net zero agenda and answer a market need.

In applying to this competition you are entering into a competitive process.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total grant funding request must be between £50,000 and £100,000.

Your project

Your project must:

have a total grant funding request between £50,000 and £100,000
start by 1 February 2024
end by 31 January 2025
last between 6 and 12 months
carry out all of its project work in the UK
intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

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

If your project’s duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request. If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Living laboratories can be added as subcontractors in this competition. You must justify the relevant expertise required for the project and the user focus role. The living laboratories role and budget must be justified in your application.

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

An SME can only lead on one application in this competition.

Previous applications

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

We will not award you funding if you have:

failed to exploit a previously funded project
an overdue independent accountant’s report
failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see our general guidance to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

Funding

Up to £3.8 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

If the majority of 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.

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

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.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to support ambitious early-stage growth businesses in developing net zero products or services.

This competition will support you to utilise design thinking methods to link your innovations with the market. Behaviour changes in both places and businesses will focus on finding a market for a solution and support the uptake to create a valid business model. This includes access to living laboratories and other activities to test consumer response to products or services.

This competition will require a user focus, meaning that you will have to demonstrate how you will take into account the user needs and requirements and include them in your product or service development. This can include testing or demonstrations in a living laboratory. The living laboratory user focus expertise and cost must be justified.

The Design Council will offer bespoke support to each business, assisting the understanding and reception of those products or services to users and those with a significant interest in the supply chain.

This competition will not support the generation of novel propositions based on design research aimed at understanding the needs and challenges of users.

As such, the nature of design contributions in this space will be in assisting companies repeat, refine and importantly pivot if need be, from existing concepts and projections for how the product or service might be commercialised.

We want to fund a variety of projects across different themes. We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following:

power
heat
mobility
product manufacture and usage

Research categories

We will fund industrial research projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

This competition will not fund projects that are at discovery and definition stage of a product or a service to answer a specific problem, as this stage should already have been reached. This competition will only focus on supporting projects that have a product or service that needs to be tested and developed with a user focused design.

We are not funding projects that are:

generating novel propositions based on design research aimed at understanding the needs and challenges of users
not focusing on net zero themes
not able to explain how the user focus will support the development, testing and demonstration of their product or service

We 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

1 August 2023: Competition opens
9 August 2023: Online briefing event: watch the recording
4 October 2023 11:00am: Competition closes
31 October 2023: Feedback
31 October 2023: Applicants notified

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

that all the information provided in the application is correct
your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
all sections of the application are marked as complete

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into 4 sections:

Project details.
Application questions.
Finances.
Project Impact.

Accessibility and inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes providing support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. Watch the video on how we are making our application process more accessible and inclusive for everyone.

You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the most suitable support possible.

You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Application team

Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the project and invite those people to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 and 2. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions. Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.

Question 2. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects who do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

Yes
No
In process of being applied for
Not applicable

Question 3. Need or challenge

What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation?

Explain:

the main motivation for the project
the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity
whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development
any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one
the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations and using our Horizons tool if appropriate

Question 4. Approach and innovation

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Explain:

how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified
how you will improve on any similar innovation that you have identified
whether the innovation will focus on existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas, or a totally disruptive approach
the freedom you have to operate
how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings
how it will make you more competitive
the nature of the outputs you expect from the project, for example reports, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design, and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 5. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Explain:

the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking
the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
any roles you will need to recruit for

You can submit one appendix, with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 4 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 6. Market awareness

What does the market or markets you are targeting look like?

Describe:

the target markets for the project outcomes and any other potential markets, either domestic, international or both
the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available
the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist
the current UK position in targeting these markets
the size and main features of any other markets not already listed

If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:

what the market’s size might be
how your project will try to explore the market’s potential

Question 7. Outcomes and route to market

How are you going to grow your business and increase long term productivity as a result of the project?

Explain:

your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example, why they would use or buy your product
your route to market
how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction
how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term
how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model
your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project
what are your expectations and aspirations for your product or service
how do you see your business developing 12 months after receiving this grant

Question 8. Wider impacts

What impact might this project have outside the project team?

Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:

external parties
customers
others in the supply chain
broader industry
the UK economy

Describe and, where possible, measure:

any expected impact on government priorities
any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative
any expected regional impacts of the project

Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example:

quality of life
social inclusion or exclusion
jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them
education
public empowerment
health and safety
regulations
diversity

Question 9. Project management

How will you manage your project effectively?

Explain:

the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one
your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
the management reporting lines
your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Explain:

the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks
how you will mitigate these risks
any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets
any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and other requirements identified, and how you will manage this

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long, and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 11. Added value

How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved?

Explain:

what advantages public funding would offer your project, for example, appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market
the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved
what other routes of investment or means of support you have already approached and why they were not suitable
how any existing or potential investment or support will be used in conjunction with the grant funding
what your project would look like without public funding
how this project would change your R&D activities

Question 12. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

In terms of your project goals, explain:

your total project costs
the grant you are requesting
how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer
how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project

Question 13. End user focus

How will the end user focus will be achieved?

Explain:

the user focus methodology and testing environment relevant to your targeted net zero market
the expected impact of your product or service and how the user focus will change the design and support for future development, funding and market access
how roles are justified if you plan to use a living laboratory
how you will give independent feedback with end user focus, if you are not using a living laboratory

3. Finances

You must complete your own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application.

For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance. You can also view our Application Finances video.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

You must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit your application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

Background and further information

Net Zero Living Programme

The Net Zero Living programme’s objective is to help places to open markets by removing the non-technical barriers to demand. It also aims to drive widespread business growth and innovation across the economy and unlock significant additional private investment to enable true levelling-up, both between and within places.

The programme has 2 challenge areas:

Thriving Places: providing support to local authorities, their partners and communities to overcome non-technical systemic barriers to the scaling and adoption of net zero solutions
User Focused Products: supporting business to better understand and respond to the needs, opportunities and barriers that are preventing the large-scale roll out of net zero solutions

This competition forms a part of the ‘User Focused Products’ challenge area.

The wider Net Zero Living programme will include a community of over 50 Local Authorities and organisations such as businesses, public sector and the third sector, who are tackling net zero challenges based on place, across the UK.

Successful projects through this competition will have opportunities to present their project outcomes and networking opportunities with the Net Zero Living community of organisations.

Net Zero Living data guidance

Innovate UK has developed a Net Zero Living data guidance which is a set of 12 principles to improve data governance, this guidance will be used for the Net Zero Living Programme.

Project publications

You must publish at least one end of project summary report giving an overview of what was undertaken, learned and achieved during the project. This report must be openly published and accessible. Guidance for what this must include will be provided at the kick-off monitoring meeting.

The Design Council

The type of design support will need to be tailored to meet these outcomes, ensuring that any expertise and guidance is pitched at a suitable level while recognising the maturity and investment in project concepts. In addition, the design support will look at targeting opportunities to optimise routes to commercialisation based on the insights generated from the project.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, and the Design Council (each an “agency”).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to the Design Council and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
scoring and feedback on the application
information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK and the Design Council are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, and the Design Council will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application. Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy is accessible here.

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of GDPR, and is committed to upholding the data protection principles, and protecting your information. The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK EDGE

If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK EDGE. This service forms part of our funded offer to you.

These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale.

We encourage you to engage with Innovate UK EDGE, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you.

Next steps

If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your Innovation Funding Service (IFS) Set Up portal, the tool that Innovate UK uses to gather necessary information before we can allow your project to begin.

You will need to provide:

the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
a redacted copy of your bank details
an exploitation plan

In order for us to process your claims, you must make sure you have a valid UK bank account. It is possible that it can take several weeks for a new account to be created. We would recommend starting this process as early as possible to avoid any delays to you project start date.

The bank details you give to us must relate to a UK high street bank that is regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The account must have a BACS clearing facility and be in the same company name as your application.

If you have any doubts that your bank account will not meet Innovate UK's funding criteria, you can use the sort code checker. If you input the sort code and find a tick next to the ‘BACS Direct Credit payments can be sent to this sort code’, this will give you an indication that the bank account you hold is acceptable.

Finance checks

We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project.

You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays.

Failure to complete project setup may result in your grant offer being withdrawn.

Your Grant offer letter (GOL)

Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your GOL.

The GOL will be made available on your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this for us to approve before you can start your project.

If your GOL is approved on or before the fifteenth of the month it will be dated from the first of that month. If your GOL is approved after the fifteenth, it will be dated the first of the next month.

You must not start your project before the date stated on your GOL. Any costs incurred before your agreed start date cannot be claimed as part of your grant.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Need help with this service? Contact us