Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is to invest up to £6 million in innovation projects. These will be outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. The businesses must be active in, or growing their work activities in, the advanced manufacturing innovation cluster centred on Liverpool City Region.
More information on the innovation ambitions of Liverpool City Region and about the cluster, which includes STFC Daresbury, a national science and innovation campus, is provided in the Background and further information section.
This Launchpad pilot competition supports the Government’s goals in the Levelling Up White Paper. The projects will also contribute to Liverpool City Region’s ambitions for local research and development (R&D) spending to reach 5% of gross value added (GVA) by 2030 and achieving net zero carbon by 2040 or sooner.
Your proposal must align to the scope criteria for this competition.
This competition is split into 2 strands:
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.
Eligibility
Your project must:
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 your total project’s grant funding request or 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:
Academic institutions cannot lead an application.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
The contribution of project partners must add to the economic growth of the advanced manufacturing innovation cluster centred on the Liverpool City Region.
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account and enter their own project costs into the Innovation Funding Service.
The lead and at least one other organisation must claim funding by entering their costs during the application.
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. Their contribution must add to the economic growth of the advanced manufacturing innovation cluster centred on the Liverpool City Region.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.
Number of applications
A business can only lead on one CR&D application but can be included as a collaborator in any number of applications.
If a business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.
An academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.
If you apply to the MFA strand of this competition, as well as this CR&D strand, you must make sure each project is clearly distinctive and separate.
We will monitor closely for this separation if you are awarded funding in both competition strands.
The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects by businesses active, or growing their work activities, in the advanced manufacturing innovation cluster centred on Liverpool City Region.
More information on the innovation ambitions of Liverpool City Region and about the cluster, which includes STFC Daresbury, a national science and innovation campus, is provided in the Background and further information section.
This geographical requirement is set because this competition aligns to the Government’s goals in the Levelling Up White Paper.
Your project must contribute to transforming the manufacturing sector, which requires a systems approach that:
Your project must commercialise knowledge through innovation activities, and lead to increased investment into research and innovation. It must contribute to growing business activities and generating economic impact within the advanced manufacturing innovation cluster centred on Liverpool City Region.
We also want you to consider how your team and project will contribute to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity of the innovation cluster.
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different project sizes, duration and themes. We call this a portfolio approach.
We reserve the right to prioritise projects that are shorter in duration, that significantly advance net zero and resource efficiency, or that are led by businesses already based in the targeted innovation cluster.
We may also prioritise projects with greater levels of activity outside the Greater South East. This is in support of the Government's Levelling Up White Paper.
Specific Themes
Your project can focus on one or more of the following:
Projects can also consider key enabling themes:
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