Funding competition Eureka GlobalStars Japan Round 2

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million to develop innovative proposals in partnership with Japan and other participating Eureka members.

This competition is now closed.

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Competition sections

Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Japan, and other participating Eureka members to invest up to £2 million in innovation projects.

This competition is for UK businesses that want to apply to the Eureka Globalstars Japan call. Please visit the Eureka call for proposals web page if you are not a UK applicant.

The EUREKA members confirmed as participating in this competition are:

  • Canada
  • Czech Republic
  • France
  • Netherlands
  • Singapore
  • Spain

The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This competition will be for innovative proposals developed between the UK, Japan and the other participating Eureka members. Innovate UK will be funding the UK partners only.

Your project must have high market potential and develop at least one of the following:

  • innovative products
  • technology-based applications
  • technology-based services

Projects must be co-ordinated by a lead partner from the UK and a lead partner from Japan as a minimum requirement. Any additional partners from each Eureka member should also nominate a lead from that country.

UK participants must complete the UK application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) and provide all documents required by 11am UK time on the deadline stated.

In addition, the EUREKA application form must be submitted using the new application platform available through the Japan Global Stars call page on the EUREKA website by 23:59 CET time on the deadline stated.

Your application will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.

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

Funding type

Grant

Project size

UK applicants can apply for a maximum grant request of up to £600,000 for each project.

Who can apply

Your project

Your UK project must:

  • have a grant funding request of no more than £600,000
  • start by 1 August 2024
  • end by 31 July 2028
  • last between 12 and 48 months

Please note: Canada, Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands and Spain can only fund projects with a duration of up to 36 months. Any projects which include a collaboration with these countries will only be able to have a project duration of up to 36 months.

The start date and funded period depends on the national funding procedures of the Eureka members involved in the selected projects. Projects must be collaborative.

There must be a genuine collaboration. No more than 70% of the total eligible project costs can be claimed by a single partner or by all partners from a single participating Eureka member collectively.

The consortium must include as a minimum at least one business registered in Japan that is a separate, non-linked entity.

Overall Eureka project team

The organisations from participating Eureka members must meet the funding and eligibility conditions of their respective national funding bodies. These will be published on the Eureka call for proposals web page when this competition opens. These organisations must apply through their own funding bodies and not through the Innovation Funding Service.

Each partner must carry out the majority of their funded work within the Eureka member from which they receive funding, for example the UK for Innovate UK funding.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application.

Under current restrictions Innovate UK 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.

Eureka terminology and roles

The terminology differs between Eureka and Innovate UK. In the Innovate UK application the ‘project lead’ is responsible for the entire project but Eureka uses the term ‘main participant’. For partners in the collaboration Eureka uses ‘other participants’.

Even if the project lead is from a participating Eureka member other than the UK, the UK registered partners can still claim funding from Innovate UK. These collaborations must include at least one UK registered SME.

UK Lead organisation

To lead a UK project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business of any size
  • be or involve at least one grant claiming UK registered SME
  • partner with a Japanese registered business, which must be a separate non-linked entity to the UK project partner

You have the option to partner with other participating Eureka members in addition to Japan.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

UK Project team

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

  • business of any size
  • academic institution
  • research and technology organisation (RTO)

UK research organisations cannot lead or work alone. They must be able to show how they will exploit the results of the project to grow the wider sector in the UK.

Each UK 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 and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

Only UK registered partners must be listed in the Project Partner section of your application on IFS.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition but they must not account for more than 20% of the UK partners’ total eligible costs. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK. Where subcontractors are non-UK based, you must justify why you are unable to use a UK alternative.

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

Partners not claiming funding

A non-grant claiming UK partner cannot lead on a project.

Your collaboration can include organisations from Eureka members that are not participating in this funding competition provided:

  • they have secured full funding elsewhere
  • you describe in your application why and how they will be involved and where they have secured financing from

Number of applications

A UK registered business can lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.

If a UK registered business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to three applications.

A UK registered academic institution or 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:

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding for UK applicants 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

We have allocated up to £2 million to fund UK applicants undertaking 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 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 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.

UK Research participation

The UK registered research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total UK eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one UK research organisation, 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

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This competition will be for innovative proposals developed between the UK, Japan and the other participating Eureka members.

The EUREKA members confirmed as participating in this competition are:

  • Canada
  • Czech Republic
  • France
  • Netherlands
  • Singapore
  • Spain

This competition will support industrial research with Innovate UK funding the UK partners only.

Your collaborative R&D proposal must demonstrate:

  • a clear game changing 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
  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines
  • good value for money which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK 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 economy or national productivity
  • the benefits of participants from the UK, Japan and any other participating Eureka members working together and how this adds value
  • a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants
  • a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion

Your project must demonstrate an effective collaboration between the UK partners and Japan.

Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies and UK geographical locations. We call this a portfolio approach.

Research categories

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

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund projects that:

  • are in the nuclear or pharmaceutical sector
  • do not include at least one UK registered SME and one eligible Japanese registered business as a minimum
  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
  • do not submit all mandatory documentation
  • work on non-civilian technologies
  • request grants of more than £600,000 from Innovate UK

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

23 October 2023
Competition opens
24 October 2023
Online briefing event: watch the recording
31 January 2024 11:00am
Competition closes
30 April 2024
Applicants notified

Before you start

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

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

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

As well as submitting an application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS), the overall project lead partner must complete the EUREKA project application on behalf of their project using the new application platform. This is available through the Japan Global Stars call page on the EUREKA website.

The UK lead partner must submit an application through IFS and upload the EUREKA project application form, completed by the overall project lead partner, in question 2.

If you do not submit all required documentation your application will be ineligible.

After the competition deadline Innovate UK will check your application is eligible and in scope.

More information about the application process for participating partner members is on the EUREKA calls for projects website once the competition opens.

Non-UK led consortium

If your consortium is led by an organisation from a non-UK participating Eureka member, one of the UK grant claiming partners must be the Innovate UK lead applicant. They will submit the Innovate UK application. Only include UK organisations in the application.

More information about the application process for non-UK Eureka members is provided on the Eureka call for proposals web page once the competition opens.

What we ask you

The UK application is split into four sections:

  1. Project details.
  2. Application questions.
  3. Finances.
  4. 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.

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 details

The UK lead applicant must complete this section. Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Application team

Decide which UK organisations will work with you on the project. Invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

You must not invite your Japanese partner or any other Eureka partner organisations into this UK Innovation Funding Service application.

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 3. 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 the names and full registered addresses of all your UK, Japanese and any other Eureka member project partners and subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all participants of a project and to confirm the involvement of an eligible project partner in Japan.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 2: Eureka application (not scored)

You must upload a copy of your completed Eureka application as an appendix. It must be in a PDF format. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Type ‘Eureka application attached’ as your answer.

Question 3. 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:

  • UKRI website
  • Innovate UK Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X or newsletter
  • Innovate UK employee
  • Eureka website, newsletter, LinkedIn or Social channels, for example, Facebook, Instagram, X
  • Eureka promotion or events
  • Gov.UK website
  • Innovate UK KTN
  • Innovate UK EDGE
  • Northern Irish, Scottish or Welsh government agencies
  • Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
  • third party website
  • events
  • other LinkedIn channel
  • other Facebook, Instagram or X
  • other

Your answer to this question can be up to 100 words long.

Question 4. 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

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 5. 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

Your answer can be up to 400 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 6. 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
  • the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project
  • any roles you will need to recruit for

Your answer 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 7. 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

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 8. 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

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

  • your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale
  • how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 9. 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

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 10. 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 400 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 11. 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

Your answer 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 12. 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 the R&D activities of all the organisations involved

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 13. Costs and value for money

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

In terms of your project goals, explain:

  • your total project costs
  • the grant you are requesting from Innovate UK
  • how each UK partner will finance their contributions to your project
  • how this project represents value for money for you and the UK taxpayer
  • how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
  • the allocation of total project costs for all UK, Japanese, and any other participating Eureka member project partners
  • any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

3. Finances

Each UK 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.

4. Project Impact

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

Each UK partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

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

Background and further information

EUREKA is an intergovernmental network launched in 1985. Its aim is to support market-oriented R&D and innovation projects by industry, research centres and universities across all technological sectors. It is composed of 43 full member states including the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and 4 associated members:

  • South Africa
  • Chile
  • Argentina
  • Singapore

With its flexible and decentralised network, EUREKA offers project partners:

  • rapid access to skills and expertise across the world
  • national public and private funding schemes

Extra help

If you need help with the EUREKA project application, contact EUREKA directly.

If you need more information, email us at support@innovateuk.ukri.org or call the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357 between 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK (UK) and the following organisations who are each an “agency”:

  • New Energy and Industrial Technology Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan
  • National Research Council Canada (NRC), Canada
  • The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MSMT), Czech Republic
  • Banque publique d'investissement (bpifrance), France
  • The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Netherlands
  • Enterprise Singapore, Singapore
  • The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), Spain
  • the Eureka Secretariat

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 each agency 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 each agency 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 each agency 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 UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles. The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Please find other privacy policies below:

Eureka: Eureka | Legal (eurekanetwork.org)

NEDO Japan: Privacy Policy | NEDO

NRC Canada: Privacy and security - National Research Council Canada

MSMT Czech Republic: Basic information about personal data processing by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, MŠMT ČR (msmt.cz)

Bpifrance France: Personal data - Bpifrance.com

RVO Netherlands: Privacy (rvo.nl)

Enterprise Singapore Singapore: Privacy Statement (enterprisesg.gov.sg)

CDTI Spain: Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (cdti.es)

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK KTN or register at the b2match virtual marketplace.

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.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by up to 5 independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria.

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 which must include your UK and Eureka participating country partners
  • an exploitation plan

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

The bank account which grant is to be paid into must:

  • be a business account in the same name as the organisation listed in IFS
  • be from a UK bank regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
  • have a cheque and credit clearing facility

Online accounts are eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.

Innovate UK will accept most banking societies apart from:

  • Viva Wallet
  • Intesa Sanpaolo
  • Equals Money UK Limited

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. Once approved we will send you an email with permission to start your project on your confirmed start date.

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

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.

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