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SMART is Innovate UK’s open funding programme that offers R&D grants for game-changing innovations of up to £2 million project cost – but how much grant to apply for? The temptation is to apply for the maximum possible but is that the right strategy for the best outcome? SMART is massively oversubscribed to applications. A […]
Innovate UK imposes a limit on academic partner financial involvement in collaborative R&D projects. Typically, in a SMART R&D grant project, academic partner costs are limited to a maximum of 30% of project costs. Other limits can apply in thematic R&D grant competitions. In some cases, this 30% project cost limit is not enough for […]
Innovate UK is launching a new £20M open funding round of SMART R&D grants for UK SMEs on Monday 18th February. Offering up to 70% grants towards a project costing up to £2 Million, it offers SMEs an opportunity to submit any disruptive innovation including ideas from arts, design, media or creative industries. The open […]
Recent Innovate UK R&D grant competitions have favoured collaborative projects. In many of these, it’s mandatory that larger value projects are collaborative. So – what’s the difference between subcontractors and collaborators when it comes to an R&D grant competition? The key issues are commitment to project outcomes and value-for-money. A subcontractor, providing services to an […]
Recently, Innovate UK made it compulsory for larger value R&D grant applications to be collaborative. So who do you collaborate with in order to get a higher value R&D grant – and how do you encourage them to participate? Firstly – who to collaborate with. Probably the best collaborators are potential commercial end-user organisations as […]
When is the best time to apply for R&D grant funding when researching or developing a new technology? It’s a good question and the answer is… it depends! It depends on whether you are applying for an Innovate UK R&D grant or a European Horizon 2020 grant. Experienced scientists and technologists will know that a […]
H2020 Grants, Innovate UK, R&D Grants
European grants, experimental development, feasibility study, industrial research, Innovate UK, R&D grants
Innovate UK R&D grant competitions are known to be ultra-competitive with very few winners. Only the best proposals secure funding – so how innovative does a technology need to be? It’s true that Innovate UK is interested in clear game-changing and/or disruptive innovations. We know that disruptors are innovators, but not all innovators are disruptors. […]
The Brexit referendum took place on 23rd June 2016 and changed the future overnight. Major changes like this often have both positive and negative impacts. So – what impact does Brexit have on UK SME businesses when it comes to benefiting from generous European Horizon 2020 R&D grants? Clearly, while the UK remains a member […]
Have you ever wondered how some businesses get grants and some never do? R&D grants are notoriously difficult to get – and it doesn’t help that online applications are mercilessly inflexible. Here I offer you ten practical tips that will enhance your R&D project proposal enabling you to present a compelling application that gets you […]
One of the essential skills we bring to writing R&D grant applications is our ability to write clearly and succinctly. You typically get 600 words per question to convey your business pitch – and it doesn’t help that the application forms mercilessly cut off words over the limit. When writing your first Innovate UK R&D […]
