Innovate UK Smart Grants: April 2024

Up to £25 million is available to fund innovation projects

Innovate UK has opened applications to another round of its Smart Grant funding for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovations.

Innovations must be genuinely new, with significant potential for a rapid economic return to the UK.

Proposals must be business-focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth and market share following project completion. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy.

Projects of 6 to 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £500,000 and can be single or collaborative. Projects of 19 to 24 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £1 million and be collaborative.

Your application must include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) as the lead or a collaborative grant-claiming partner.

To be in scope your proposal must demonstrate, among other things:

• a ground-breaking and innovative idea for brand new products, processes or services
• an idea that is significantly different from already available products, processes or services globally
• an idea that is set for rapid commercialisation following project completion
• clear potential to positively impact the UK's position, productivity and competitiveness

Read the full eligibility criteria and scope for Innovate UK Smart Grants.

Under the Smart Grants programme, Innovate UK will fund feasibility projects, industrial research projects and experimental development projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

First published 30 April 2024