Funding competition MyWorld Collaborative Research and Development: Round 2
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £2 million for innovation projects in creative technology.
- Competition opens: Monday 9 October 2023
- Competition closes: Thursday 23 November 2023 11:00am
This competition is now closed.
Competition sections
Description
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is delivering this competition on behalf of MyWorld, in partnership with Digital Catapult, to invest up to £2 million in innovation projects. This is funded by the UKRI Strength in Places Fund and builds on the West of England’s strengths in creative media production, technology and research.
MyWorld is a 5 year programme that presents opportunities to create, deliver and understand experiences in creative technology, driving forward the future of media in the UK and beyond.
The aim of this programme is to help the UK to grow and maintain a position as an international leader in advanced media production. MyWorld is combining research excellence, industrial stakeholders and a history of collaboration in the Bristol and Bath region.
The aim of this competition is to support business-focused research and innovation in the creative industries in the West of England.
Your proposal must demonstrate a positive impact in the West of England area.
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 £100,000 and £200,000.
Who can apply
Your project
Your project must:
- have a grant funding request between £100,000 and £200,000
- start by 1 July 2024
- end by 31 December 2025
- last between 12 and 18 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the West of England area
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 UK registered business of any size, not for profit organisation or charity
- must collaborate with one of the four universities in the West of England region
- can collaborate with other UK registered organisations
- must intend to exploit the results from or in the West of England area
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
The lead organisation can be based outside of the West of England area. Justification must be made in your application as to why the project could not be led by an organisation from the West of England area. You must explain how the project outputs will be exploited for the economic benefit of the West of England region.
Project team
You must collaborate with at least one of the Universities based in the West of England:
- University of Bath
- Bath Spa University
- University of Bristol
- University of the West of England
You can also collaborate with additional organisations. These organisations 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 partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs 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.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
If you use subcontractors from outside of the West of England area you must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the area. You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential regional contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unsuitable for your project. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use a subcontractor from outside the stated area.
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, charity or not for profit can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.
If a business, charity or not for profit is not leading any application it can collaborate in any number of applications.
An academic institution or research and technology organisation (RTO) can collaborate on any number of applications.
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 £2 million has been allocated to fund 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 feasibility studies and 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
Your proposal
The aim of this competition is to support business-focused research and innovation in the creative industries in the West of England. MyWorld supports the generation of innovative ideas and solutions for the creative industries. It addresses the need to develop diverse technologies associated with:
- the capture, manipulation, distribution and consumption of experiences, as defined in the specific themes section
- the understanding of audiences responses to, and interactions with, those experiences
This includes the requirement to deliver adaptive audience experiences efficiently, at scale and optimised for quality across a multitude of devices.
Your project must:
- provide solutions that tackle new or emerging challenges or needs of the Creative Continuum, as defined in the specific themes section
- demonstrate a realistic potential to deliver business growth, scale-up, and job creation
- actively share knowledge and outputs with the MyWorld programme and wider creative technology industry
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects, we call this a portfolio approach.
The criteria for selection of the portfolio are:
- balance of research partner participation (research organisations involved)
- technologies and technological maturities
- markets
- geographic regional balance
- industry sector and technical research area
- economic impact
- social value
Specific themes
Your project must focus on screen based and immersive technologies within the creative sector industries including one or more of the following:
Creating experiences
How acquisition, production and delivery relate to narrative, aesthetic and content types or formats in modulating experience, leading to new intelligent acquisition and production methods that facilitate immersion.
For example:
- utilising machine learning for virtual human capture
- rigging and animation
- low light video acquisition and restoration
- creation and testing of automated physical platforms for cameras
- refining motion capture data with machine learning and large datasets
Delivering experiences
Platforms, network technology and representations that support new forms of content delivery and interactivity and delivery processes that ensure the preservation of immersive properties during transmission.
For example:
- developing mobile edge computing (MEC) to support enhanced location accuracy
- improved latency
- media aware network slicing
- exploiting the potential of deep learning for enhancing video compression
Measuring experiences
Perceptually robust means of assessing media quality and immersion that inform creative practice and editorial decision making and that differentiate the impacts of technology and narrative.
For example:
- creation of new tools and platforms for audience assessment
- assessment of existing tools and platforms
We define screen based and immersive experiences as multisensory narrative or interactive experiences mediated through technologies including, but not limited to:
- ambisonic and binaural sound
- application of Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to creative technology
- audience assessment, measurement tools and platforms
- distribution technologies, 5G, EDGE,
- filming and post production tools, including virtual production studios, drones, robotics,
- haptics and other sensory interfaces
- virtual, mixed and augmented reality (VR and AR)
- other creative, content and screen experiences and interfaces, including but not limited to, public displays, live events, theatre, cinema, hybrid performance, emerging devices, for example, AR glasses
The industry sectors this may address include:
- advertising and marketing
- design: product, graphic and fashion
- broadcast, film, TV, video and audio
- computer games and services
- heritage, museums, archives, galleries and libraries
- immersive installations, live events, music, performing and visual arts
- sports and esports
- creator platforms, tools and services, including user generated
- production and consumer electronics
Research categories
Projects we will not fund
We are not funding projects that:
- do not demonstrate the potential to positively impact on the economy of the West of England area
- do not demonstrate clear advancement of technology and potential application or novel application of existing technology to solve challenges
- request substantial funding for 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 idea or concept to lead to significant return on investment (ROI), positive economic impact, growth and scale-up of the business
- do not commit to sharing their knowledge and outputs with the MyWorld Programme and wider industry
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
- 9 October 2023
- Competition opens
- 10 October 2023
- In person briefing event (Bristol Tech Festival): watch the recording
- 19 October 2023
- Online briefing event: watch the recording
- 23 November 2023 11:00am
- Competition closes
- 5 February 2024
- First Portfolio panel
- 9 February 2024
- Portfolio questions sent to applicants
- 19 February 2024
- Deadline to submit responses to portfolio questions by 5pm
- 27 February 2024
- Second Portfolio panel
- 1 March 2024
- 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
- that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)
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 3 sections:
- Project details.
- Application questions.
- Finances.
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 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Portfolio review questions
If your application passes the first stage of assessment it will progress to the next stage for review by a portfolio panel and you may be invited to answer further written questions.
The portfolio review panel may require further clarification or detail from your written application and you can also use the opportunity to address concerns raised by assessors in their feedback.
Before the portfolio panel and by the deadline stated in the email, you:
- must send a written response to the questions within the word count specified
- can send a written response to the assessors’ feedback
Written response to assessor feedback
This is optional and is an opportunity to answer the assessors’ concerns. It can:
- be up to 2 A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document
- include charts or diagrams
After the portfolio panel
The panellists will individually score your answers and these will be averaged for your overall interview score. This score will not alter the one you received from initial assessment but will be considered by the panel as part of their review.
We will notify you whether you have been successful or not by email and you will receive feedback on your submission within a week of notification.
1. Project details
This section provides background for your application and is not scored.
Application team
Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations 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 to 4. 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. 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 partners or subcontractors working on your project.
We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.
The location of all partners will be taken into consideration when selecting the portfolio of projects to be funded. If you are based outside of the West of England make it clear why you should be involved in, or lead your project. Clarify exactly how the project outputs will be exploited for the economic benefit of the West of England region.
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long
Question 2. Awareness of funding opportunity (not scored)
How did you become aware of this funding opportunity?
Please indicate the primary channel through which you heard about this competition:
- Innovate UK portal
- Knowledge Transfer Network
- MyWorld website, newsletter, LinkedIn or Social channels, for example, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
- Digital Catapult website, newsletter, LinkedIn or Social channels, for example, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
- MyWorld promotion or events
- other LinkedIn channel
- other Facebook, Instagram or Twitter
- other
Your answer to this question can be up to 100 words long.
Question 3. Social value (not scored)
This question will not be scored but this will be taken into consideration when assessing the portfolio of projects selected. MyWorld will expect successful projects to demonstrate and report on the social value they create.
Describe how your project will deliver social value, making reference to impact in the West of England and on your project team.
Explain:
- how your project team defines social value and will deliver social impact
- any additional activities that contribute to social value that you will deliver through this project
- your commitment to delivering social value and what difference this grant would make to your ability to achieve your targets
- the desired impact of this commitment beyond the lifetime of your project
Examples of social value might be, but are not limited to:
- a commitment to creating sustainable employment in the region
- delivery of skills and training activities
- building your businesses and products in responsible and resilient ways
- any activity that addresses how we create a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable future
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
You can submit one appendix that demonstrates your work in this area, for example case studies or social value plans. 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 4. 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 5. The business need or opportunity
What is the business need for your innovation? What creative, technical and commercial opportunity could your proposal unlock? What is the challenge it seeks to address?
Explain:
- the main motivation for your project in terms of the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity
- who would benefit from your innovation in the immediate and longer term
- any work you have already done to respond to this need and how this project fits with your current product, service lines, offerings, or activities
- the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
Question 6. The 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
- the nature of the outputs you expect from your project and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified
- how your innovation delivers new production or delivery processes, products, or services, or how it improves on the nearest current state of the art or competitors’ products, processes or services
- whether the innovation will focus on the application of existing creative practice and technology in new areas, the development of new technology for existing areas, or a totally disruptive approach
Your answer can be up to 600 words long.
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 7. 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 and role of any owned intellectual property, rights or a cultural brand that your collaborators contribute to your project
- the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
- the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project
- any gaps in the team that will need to be filled or any roles you will need to recruit for and how you will promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
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 8. Market awareness
What does the market or markets you are targeting look like?
Describe:
- the markets and audiences you will be targeting in your project 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 audience segmentation, major players and competitors
- 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
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
Question 9. Route to market
How are you going to grow your organisation as a result of the project?
Explain your route to market for your project outputs including:
- how near to commercialisation you are
- what extra steps need to be taken for the project outputs to be commercialised
- the structure and dynamics of the target markets and your current position in these markets
- your target customers or end users
- your proposed business model and route to market
- how you are going to profit from the innovation, for example, increased revenues or productivity gains in both the short and the long term
- how you will use this project to attract further investment
- how you will protect and exploit your project outputs to maximise your market potential
- how you will actively engage in knowledge dissemination to use the results generated from your project in further research or development
- activities to support the West of England economy and society in general
Your answer can be up to 600 words long.
Question 10. Wider impact
What is the economic impact that your project outputs will have beyond your project team?
Describe the economic benefits from the project to:
- external parties, including audiences and customers
- others in the supply chain
- broader creative industry sectors
- wider industry
- the UK economy
Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:
- the economy of the West of England, for example, job creation, increased productivity, inward investment, further collaborative grant funding, new businesses and spin-outs
- the UK economy, for example, new international partnerships and translation of creative technology to projects outside the creative industries
- the creative industries, for example, new production processes, products or commissions, new international partnerships, reaching new audiences, either business-to-business or business-to-consumer (B2B or B2C) or to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
Your answer can be up to 600 words long.
Question 11. 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
Your answer can be up to 600 words long.
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 12. Risks
What is your approach to the identification, management, and mitigation of risks to deliver your project?
Explain:
- the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks
- how you will mitigate these risks throughout your project
- any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, networks 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
- any limitation on sharing project outputs due to existing or potential agreements outside of the consortium
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
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 13. Added value
What added value would this funding mean for your project?
Explain:
- why you are not able to wholly fund your project from your own resources or other forms of private sector funding
- what would happen if your application were unsuccessful
- the difference that public funding would make to your project
- the likely impact of your project on the partners involved, including increased R&D activities or spending
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
Question 14. Funding requirements
How has your project been costed and how will it be funded?
You must:
- indicate the total eligible costs for your project and the balance of costs across your project partners
- provide a full breakdown of the costs and justify them
- include detail of budget provision for communication and showcasing activities throughout and at the end of your project
- clearly state the grant funding requested by each partner
- explain how each partner will finance their own contributions to your project
- explain and provide rationale for any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project
- explain how this project represents value for money for you, your project partners if appropriate, and the taxpayer
Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.
3. Finances
Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.
For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance. You can also view our Application Finances video.Background and further information
About MyWorld
MyWorld is a creative technology programme in the UK’s West of England region, funded by £30 million from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Strength in Places Fund (SIPF).
MyWorld is built on the production, technology and research strengths of the West of England region to create a globally unique proposition for creative technology research and innovation.
The MyWorld Offer: Discover - Learn - Build
The MyWorld programme provides opportunities for businesses of all sizes to:
- Discover: access pre-market trends in technology via an extensive research programme in our partner universities
- Learn: access MyWorld skills development training or create a talent pool ahead of the market through academic and industry short courses
- Build: accelerate product and process prototype development through access to innovation funding and production facilities
All of this in one, world leading, collaborative, interconnected region in the West of England.
West of England
What do we mean by the West of England?
The simplest definition is ‘the area administered by the West of England Combined Authority’ (WECA) as shown in the map of the region. Primarily we are looking for clear evidence of project impact within the region.
The regions are:
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bristol
- North Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
Accessible knowledge & facilities
MyWorld has access to an ever growing bank of facilities and a breadth of knowledge and experience. View the register of the current offers and how to access them. We encourage you to consider how these resources could be best utilised to support your project.
Data sharing
This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, the Digital Catapult and MyWorld (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 Digital Catapult and MyWorld 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, the Digital Catapult and MyWorld 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, the Digital Catapult and MyWorld 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.
Find a project partner
If you want help to find a project partner, please contact Digital Catapult at myworldinfo@digicatapult.org.uk.
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
- a collaboration agreement
- 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
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