Funding competition Creative Catalyst 2024

UK registered micro or small businesses in the creative industries sector can apply for funding of up to £50,000 with a package of tailored support to grow their business. This fully funded grant programme is from Innovate UK.

Competition opens: Tuesday 23 January 2024
Competition closes: Wednesday 6 March 2024 4:00pm

This competition is now closed.

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Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £10 million for innovation projects as part of the Creative Catalyst.

The aim of this competition is to support the growth of untapped innovative businesses and to increase investment in creative talent. We do this by providing a package of targeted and continuous support to develop projects that will propel business growth plans.

Your proposal must:

have an innovation that clearly demonstrates benefit to the creative industries sector and the wider UK economy
focus on a clear opportunity and the proposed innovation which addresses it
demonstrate the impact funding and support can have to the growth plan of your business within the next 12 months

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

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total costs and grant funding request must be up to a maximum of £50,000.

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 making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Who can apply

Text update 18 January 2024: We have updated the lead organisation section to make it explicit that we will not fund organisations that are not profit driven, or who do not have a commercial focus, in this competition.

Your project

Your project must:

have total project costs and grant funding request of no more than £50,000
start between 1 August 2024 and 1 October 2024
end by 31 March 2025
last between 3 and 6 months

You must carry out all of your project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application.

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 will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of 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.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must:

be a UK registered micro or small business
have not previously received funding from Innovate UK
be from or support the creative industries sector
have a demonstrable ambition for growth
engage with Innovate UK Business Growth to maximise business growth opportunities
have operations and a project team based in the UK

Organisations that are not profit driven or do not have a commercial focus, including Community Interest Companies (CICs) and charities, are not eligible to receive funding in this competition.

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

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

You cannot attribute more than 75% of your project costs to subcontractors. Your 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 also provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you.

We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. We will not accept a cheaper cost, or having worked with them previously, as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

Number of applications

An eligible business can only submit one application.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

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

You can make a maximum of 2 submissions to Innovate UK with any given proposal. If Innovate UK judges that your proposal is not materially different from your previous proposal, it will be counted towards this maximum.

If your application goes through to assessment and is unsuccessful, you can reapply with the same proposal once more.

We will not award you funding if you have:

been previously funded by Innovate UK, or the Technology Strategy Board
failed to comply with grant terms and conditions
an overdue independent accountant’s report

Minimal Financial Assistance (and De minimis where applicable)

Grant funding in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a 3-year rolling financial period.

In your application, you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer.

To establish your eligibility, we need to check that our support added to the amount you have previously received does not exceed the limit of £315,000 in the ‘applicable period’.

The applicable period is made up of:

(a) the elapsed part of the current financial year, and

(b) the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year.

You must include any funding which you have received during the applicable period under:

Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights)
De Minimis Regulation

You do not need to include aid or subsidies which have been granted on a different basis, for example, an aid award granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

EU Commission 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, you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or your legal obligations.

Funding

Up to £10 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition.

You can claim 100% of your eligible project costs up to the maximum of £50,000. The total project costs detailed within your application and your grant request must match.

If your total project costs or grant request do exceed the maximum of £50,000 then your application will be made ineligible.

If successful, your grant will be released in two payments:

your total grant request minus £15,000 will be paid on the return and validation by Innovate UK, of your signed grant offer letter
you will need to provide evidence to show how your grant was spent to your Monitoring Service Provider (MSP), they will be allocated to you by us to support you so your final payment can be released
the remaining £15,000 will be paid at the end of the project, on receipt and approval by Innovate UK of a statement of expenditure (SOE), agreed with your MSP

If successful you will also be given a package of phased non-financial support to grow your business. This includes:

priority access to Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme, with potential to visit emerging international markets, to collaborate, build networks and find future opportunities for business
inclusion in the Innovate UK Business Connect peer-to-peer network, which will provide access to events, stakeholders and other scaling companies to engage with, build collaborations and gain insights from
the opportunity to solve problems large organisations are facing through open innovation funding, which will call out to the creative industries for collaborative projects working with our grant awardees on solutions, this will be a collaboration with Creative UK
continued support through Innovate UK Business Growth, which gives one-to-one business growth support, tailored to business needs
access to a programme of specialised support and accelerating opportunities for investment and Innovate UK’s connections to investors

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the Company accounts guidance. This is a change from the EU definition unless you are applying under European Commission De minimis.

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

Your proposal

Text update 18 January 2024: We have updated the projects we will not fund section to make it explicit that we will not fund organisations who are not profit driven, or who do not have a commercial focus, in this competition.

Text update 31 January 2024: Updated guidance on video submission requirements as part of your application.

The aim of this competition is to support the growth of untapped innovative businesses and to increase investment in creative talent across the UK. We will do this by providing a package of targeted and continuous support to help creative industries businesses to develop innovation that will propel their business growth plans.

We are looking to fund and support a diverse portfolio of innovative award holders. Your project must:

be from or support the creative industries in the UK
demonstrate a clearly innovative and ambitious idea which addresses an industry challenge
be a significant improvement on what is currently on offer in your existing business, with a demonstrable impact to your growth plan
create a new revenue stream, for example, new products, services or IP
be market ready within 12 months after project completion
demonstrate value for money

We encourage proposals that can demonstrate benefit to the wider creative industries sector, especially those that are underrepresented in innovation, for example:

architecture
crafts
photography
publishing
radio

This list is not exhaustive and innovations from across the creative industries are welcome.

As part of your application, you must include a short video, up to 2 minutes in length. You must host your video on Vimeo or YouTube.

The information in your video will be considered together with the responses you give in the scored application questions.

In your video, tell us:

the problem your innovation will solve
your solution
your market
why you are best placed to solve it
include any additional information about you, or your team, or your project that will help to strengthen your application

If the assessors cannot view your video or it is hosted on a platform other than Vimeo or YouTube without approval from Innovate UK, your application will be made ineligible.

If you are experiencing any issues with your video you must contact Innovate UK support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes for advice, or to ask permission to use an alternative platform.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of creative subsector projects from across the UK. We call this a portfolio approach.

In support of the Government's Levelling Up goals, we reserve the right to prioritise projects that have greater levels of activity outside the Greater South East.

In order for you to gain maximum impact from this cohort we will share your high-level application data, in accordance with Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy, with Innovate UK Business Connect and Creative UK. This is to enable them to contact you and send you details of the upcoming opportunities and our Creative Catalyst peer network.

You can opt out by emailing creative@iuk.ukri.org

Specific themes

The creative industries projects supported by this fund must focus on one or more of the following subsectors:

advertising and marketing
animation
architecture
arts and culture
crafts
design
fashion
film, TV and video
games
publishing
music and radio
visual art and photography

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

are not led by a UK registered micro or small business
have total project costs and a grant funding in excess of £50,000
attribute more than 75% of their costs to subcontractors
do not fall within the subsectors of creative industries outlined for Creative Catalyst, for example, construction, education, tourism, manufacturing without demonstrable subsector ties
do not intend to use the full award package, for example, requesting just the funding and not the wider support package
come from organisations that are not profit driven or do not have a commercial focus, including Community Interest Companies (CICs) and charities
have previously received funding from Innovate UK
are commissioning business as usual (BAU) activities, for example, a new game or film that do not have an innovative edge to the way your company usually addresses new projects
lack evidence that their proposed innovation is expected to lead to significant and positive economic impact, or that value for money will be achieved
lack research and development or innovation, for example, the creation of information only websites
are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions
are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance

We cannot fund projects that are:

dependent on export performance, for example giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country.
dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example if we give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

Common reasons we must deem a project as ineligible:

£0 is entered in the amount of funding sought
the applicant has not provided a video submission link

We cannot amend applications retrospectively, you must allow enough time to review your submission. Any edits to your application should be made in a timely manner prior to the submission deadline of 11am on 6 March 2024.

23 January 2024: Competition opens
25 January 2024: Online briefing event: watch the recording
6 February 2024: Online grant writing workshop 1: Register to attend
28 February 2024: Online grant writing workshop 2: Register to attend
6 March 2024 4:00pm: Competition closes
10 May 2024: Applicants notified

Before you start

Text update 31 January 2024: Updated guidance on video submission requirements as part of your application.

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

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline. We will not accept late submissions.

We encourage you to view the webinar recordings and resources available before you start your application. It is also important to re-familiarise yourself with the terminology we use around finances.

When you start an application, you will be asked to login or create an account on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). You will need an account to submit your application and track its progress.

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

If your application does not meet the competition’s eligibility criteria it will not be sent for assessment.

You must provide a video to describe your project. The video is mandatory and if you do not provide a link to access your video your application will be made ineligible.

Your video will be considered together with the responses you give in the other application questions.

What we ask you

The application is split into four sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions, including your video pitch.

3. Finances.

4. Project Impact

Accessibility and inclusion

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored. The assessors will not have access to the equality diversity and inclusion survey data.

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.

Project summary

Briefly describe your project.

You must provide a short summary describing your project to help us quickly understand what you are proposing.

Your answer can be up to 135 words.

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 200 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition and how your project will benefit one or more of the creative subsectors. If your project is not in scope it will not be eligible for funding.

To be in scope your project must:

be from or support the creative industries in the UK
demonstrate a clearly innovative and ambitious idea which addresses an industry challenge
be a significant improvement of what is currently on offer in your existing businesses, with a demonstrable impact to your growth plan
create a new revenue stream, for example, new products, services or IP
be market ready within 12 months after project completion
demonstrate value for money

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

Each question will state whether it will be scored. There are 6 unscored questions within this section.

You will not receive any assessor scores or feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

You will receive an email notification to offer grant funding or to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

You must answer all questions. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers other than the link to your video for question 5.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state your registered business address and if different, the address where the project work will be carried out and or benefit.

You must also state the name and address of any subcontractors, if known.

Please use a house number or building name, street, city or town, county, postcode format.

Due to our portfolio approach, we reserve the right to withdraw your award if your location changes before your start date.

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

Question 2. Minimal Financial Assistance declaration (not scored)

You must download the declaration template. You must complete this, declaring any funding received under Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) or De minimis awards, (from any source of public funding) in the applicable period.

You must complete all the fields on your form before uploading.

You must write “declaration attached” in the text box.

You must upload the completed declaration as an appendix. It must be a PDF and the font must be legible at 100% zoom.

You must keep all documentation relating to Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) and other De minimis awards for a period of 6 years and be prepared to release it to any public funding body which requests it.

Question 3. Animal Testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 4. Project subsector (not scored)

Which of these subsectors does your project address?

Select one main subsector:

advertising and marketing
animation
architecture
arts and culture
crafts
design
fashion
film, TV and video
games
publishing
music and radio
visual art and photography

Question 5. Video demonstration (not scored)

You must provide a video to describe your project. The video is mandatory and if you do not provide a link to access your video in this question, your application will be made ineligible.

This question is not scored, but the assessors will use it to understand your project. The information in your video will be considered together with the responses you give in the scored application questions.

In your video, tell us:

the problem your innovation will solve
your solution
your market
why you are best placed to solve it
include any additional information about you, or your team, your project that will help to strengthen your application

You must upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo. The video can be in any style; it will be viewed for its content and not the production quality. It must be no longer than 2 minutes. If your video is over 2 minutes long, only the first 2 minutes will be viewed.

Ensure:

your video is ‘unlisted’ in the privacy settings
your video remains available until 1 August 2024
you give the link and any passwords required in your written answer to this question

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

If the assessors are unable to view your video link, or it is hosted on a platform other than Vimeo or YouTube, your application may be made ineligible.

You can find more information on how to create an unlisted video on YouTube and Vimeo.

Check that your video can be opened with the link and any passwords and can be played before completing your submission.

Your video will be considered together with the responses you give in the other application questions.

If you cannot upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo, you must contact support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes for advice, or to ask permission to use an alternative platform.

The video does not need to be a costly production. It is simply an opportunity to give the assessors clarity in understanding your solution.

Question 6. Problem and need (this question will be scored out of 20)

What is the problem you are trying to solve and why is your proposed approach a good innovative solution?

Describe:

the problem your innovation will solve
how big the problem is
who is experiencing the problem
why you are best placed to solve it

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 7. Approach or solution (this question will be scored out of 20)

How will your solution resolve the problem you have identified?

Explain:

what your solution is
how your solution can be commercialised
who your addressable market is
the size of the opportunity and the route to market

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 8. Team and resources (this question will be scored out of 10)

Who is in the project team?

Describe:

the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team
any advisory board members, board of directors
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

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 9. Competitors (this question will be scored out of 10)

Who are your competitors in the market?

Describe:

any existing solutions
how your idea is different
your Unique Selling Point, for example, positioning, pricing, function, network or solution

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 10. Added value (this question will be scored out of 10)

How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation?

Why should Innovate UK invest in your project and 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
what other routes of investment you have already approached
what your project would look like without public funding

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 11. Project costs (this question will be scored out of 10)

How much will your project cost?

Explain:

your total project costs and what will the funding be spent on
any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project
how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer
wider support you may need during or after the project that you do not currently have access to, for example, domestic and international partnerships, private finance, export advice

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 12. Grant request (not scored)

You must confirm that your project costs and grant funding request are the same and are no more than £50,000.

Question 13. Risks (this question will be scored out of 10)

How will you plan and schedule to achieve project commercialisation?

How will you manage your project effectively?

Explain:

your approach in managing your project effectively
your project plan, identifying any links or dependencies between work packages, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one
your project risks and how you will mitigate them

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 14. Vision and ambition (this question will be scored out of 10)

Why are you passionate about your project and committed to making it happen?

What is your ambition for your organisation and how will the outcomes of this project support these ambitions?

Explain

your big vision and ambition
where you see your company in three years’ time
why you believe in this project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

3. Finances

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

Your projects total costs and grant funding request must not exceed the maximum of £50,000.

You must request 100% grant funding and your funding request must match your project costs. Only eligible project costs must be included.

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 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

Text update 23 January 2024: we have changed the guidance to show the requirement to join the Peer Network.

Last year Innovate UK launched a £30 million programme for the creative industries sector of phased financial and non-financial activities to provide end to end innovation support for high potential businesses.

As part of the programme around £10 million of funding was allocated to innovative projects in 2023, with another £10 million being allocated in 2024.

The aim of the initiative is to accelerate, de-risk and amplify the journey of Creative Catalyst grant awardees, from ideation to commercialisation.

Businesses who receive funding in this competition will be provided priority access to creative industries sector support including:

business growth support through Innovate UK Business Growth
creative innovators peer network with workshops, events and collaboration opportunities through Innovate UK Business Connect
investor partnerships funding
global business innovation programmes focused on relevant territories
open innovation challenges with Creative UK

Further information on the Creative Catalyst is available here.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect and Creative UK (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 Innovate UK Business Connect and Creative UK 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, Innovate UK Business Connect and Creative UK 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, Innovate UK Business Connect and Creative UK will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Creative UK’s Privacy Policy

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.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Connect

Innovate UK Business Connect have a deep expertise within the creative industries sector. They can help to support you in developing your application, networking and connecting to other agencies within the creative industries. You can access Innovate UK Business Connect support whether or not you are awarded this grant.

You can register to attend one of the two online grant writing workshops being run by Innovate UK Business Connect on 6 February 2024 and 28 February 2024.

If you are successful within the Creative Catalyst you are required to join our Peer Network. The Creative Catalyst Peer Network is an exciting community of cross-sector innovators designed to bring you together to connect, collaborate, learn from each other and share expertise across specialisms. This forms part of our funded offer to you

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth

If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an Innovation and Growth Specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth. This service forms part of our funded offer to you.

These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensure that projects contribute to your growth. Working one-to-one, they may work with you to develop an action plan and can help you to identify your best forward-looking strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale.

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

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by one independent assessor based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project.

You will not receive any assessor scores or feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

Creative Catalyst - Assessor Guidance.pdf (opens in a new window)

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 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.

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, we encourage you to utilise this funding finder for creative opportunities within UKRI.

You can also connect with the sector specialists at Innovate UK Business Connect and the business growth specialists within Innovate UK Business Growth to support the growth of your innovations.

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