Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, has selected a pool of investor partners. These investor partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in innovative, technology-led businesses that align with our programmes. These programmes will focus on the future economy as described in our plan for action.
The Future Economy investor partnership programme brings together:
This approach aims to provide you with support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations.
Innovate UK provides support for your investment readiness and for engaging with suitable investors via Innovate UK Edge and Innovate UK KTN. In the first instance you should contact Innovate UK Edge for support in understanding your readiness for investment and also to look at your wider strategy for growth.
You should also contact Innovate UK KTN to establish if there are specific programmes for connecting businesses in your sector to relevant investors. Support and connections to sector specific investors may also be provided by the relevant catapult centre.
You will need to establish a relationship and a level of investment traction with one of our approved investor partners before you apply for funding. A full list of selected investor partners is provided at Innovate UK Investor Partners – UKRI and Innovate UK KTN investor partnerships websites.
The investor partner must have confirmed with you that you are in a position to apply for grant funding as you will be asked to identify them in the application.
To be successful, your project must be independently assessed by Innovate UK as fundable and receive investment directly, led or catalysed by the investor partner.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. The competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.
Eligibility
Your project
The eligibility criteria will depend on your research category.
For feasibility studies projects:
For industrial research projects:
For experimental development projects:
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 and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.
If you have not provided information on the investor partner who is leading on your investment or we are unable to confirm the investment position with that investor partner, then your application will not be eligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.
Your organisation
To apply your organisation must:
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
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.
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
You can only submit one application into this round of the competition.
The aim of this competition is to provide you with support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations.
Your proposal must have a clear route to market, a clear link to innovation and evidence that you can create a team to deliver your proposal.
You must be:
You must also demonstrate that if your project is funded, it will:
Broader themes
We are looking to support projects that focus on the future economy areas included in the Innovate UK plan for action. The broad theme areas are:
Innovation and ideas can come from anyone and anywhere. We want to see investments unlocked for the diverse and extraordinary talent in the UK. We are encouraging diverse applicants and inclusive project applications, pushing beyond the status quo.
We encourage innovation involving communities that are typically under-represented, including:
To support this, we also have a targeted theme on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
Specific themes
The investor partnership programme will be focused on specific themes for the future economy areas that include:
Net Zero
Health and Wellbeing
Next generation digital technologies
Knows No Limit (equality, diversity and inclusion)
These programmes are described in more detail in the UKRI investor partnerships and Innovate UK KTN investor partnerships websites.
If your project is not focused on one of the specific themes above then it may be supported if it is in the future economy areas of net zero, health and wellbeing and digital and technologies as set out in the Innovate UK plan for action.
In scope and the specific themes questions, you must explain which theme your project most closely relates and why. If it does not relate to one of the specific themes, but is within the broader future economy scope, then indicate to which broader theme it relates to and why.
Your application will be considered out of scope if you do not answer this clearly.
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies and markets, with a particular focus on future economy areas set out in the Innovate UK plan for action. We call this a portfolio approach. We will also take into account the impact of the grant in attracting investment and the likelihood of the investment completing within a reasonable time.
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