Innovation, research and development grants

R&D grants and innovation funding in Northern Ireland

Guide

If you are based in Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) is your first point of contact for research and innovation support. It provides funding, advice, and connections to help businesses innovate and grow.

Invest NI also co-delivers programmes like Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Innovate UK Business Connect in Northern Ireland, helping businesses find collaboration opportunities at home or abroad.

On behalf of Invest NI, Innovate NI works to increase the number of Northern Ireland businesses engaged in innovation. The service offers innovation guidance, resources, and an Innovation Accreditation scheme to support new ideas, improve processes, and boost competitiveness of Northern Ireland businesses. 

Funding for research and innovation from Invest NI

The main funding opportunities include:

Grant for Research and Development (R&D)

  • Purpose: Fund costs for R&D activities, including developing new knowledge, products, processes or services
  • Funding: Dependent on the company's ability to provide match funding
  • Eligibility: Available to Invest NI customers or SMEs that meet the criteria
  • Details: Grant for R&D

Innovation Vouchers

  • Purpose: Enable businesses to access specialist knowledge for innovative solutions
  • Worth: Up to £5,000
  • Eligibility: Open to all sectors; no Invest NI client status required
  • Details: Innovation Vouchers

Business Innovation Grant

  • Purpose: Develop and commercialise new or improved products, services, or processes
  • Worth: Up to £20,000
  • Eligibility: Sole traders, micro-businesses and SMEs that meet the criteria
  • Details: Business Innovation Grant

Technical Development Incentive

  • Purpose: Technical services expertise to help implement innovative solutions
  • Funding: Up to £25,000
  • Eligibility: SMEs engaged in innovation activities
  • Details: Technical Development Incentive

Additional R&D support services from Invest NI

Invest NI also offers two specialist support services to help businesses strengthen their R&D and innovation funding applications:

  • Bid Review Service - provides expert feedback on draft R&D and innovation funding applications to improve quality and competitiveness before submission
  • Innovation Funding Advisory Service - offers tailored advice to help businesses identify suitable innovation funding opportunities and develop stronger applications for national and international programmes

Read more about Invest NI's support for R&D and innovation. If you're ineligible for funding, Invest NI advisers can direct you to other sources of support, including Innovate UK, Horizon Europe, other funders, or research and business partners. Call Invest NI Helpline on Tel 0800 181 4422 and speak to an innovation adviser about your R&D needs.

Innovation support from InterTradeIreland

InterTradeIreland offers several innovation programmes that provide funding to support business growth and cross-border collaboration:

Business Explorer

  • Purpose: Support SMEs in solving business challenges or developing ideas
  • Funding: Covers collaboration with academics or industry specialists
  • Eligibility: SMEs in Northern Ireland and Ireland
  • Details: Business Explorer

Innovation Boost

  • Purpose: Help SMEs develop new products or processes with academic partners
  • Funding: Up to £31,000/€41,100 (12 months); £44,250/€58,700 (18 months)
  • Eligibility: SMEs in Northern Ireland and Ireland
  • Details: Innovation Boost

Synergy

  • Purpose: Foster cross-border collaboration through innovative networks
  • Funding: Supports cluster and network development
  • Eligibility: SMEs in cross-border partnerships
  • Details: Synergy

US-Ireland R&D Partnership

  • Purpose: Support joint research in health, energy, and sustainability
  • Funding: Covers collaborative projects
  • Eligibility: Researchers and businesses in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the US
  • Details: US-Ireland R&D Partnership

Read more about InterTradeIreland's support for innovation and R&D.

Other innovation support in Northern Ireland

There are many other sources of advice and wider support around innovation in Northern Ireland. For example:

Techstart Proof of Concept Fund

Techstart offers proof of concept grants and seed funding, as well as support for early-stage innovation projects. See Techstart grants.

Local universities

Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University offer R&D partnerships, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and access to research centres.

Regional colleges

Northern Ireland regional colleges offer businesses access to technical support, innovation hubs, and skills development. Find out more about what they do below:

Catalyst

Catalyst provides mentorship, accelerators, and investor access through initiatives like Invent, the Co-Founders programme and Springboard. See Catalyst support.

Collaborative networks, innovation hubs and clusters

See also information on Northern Ireland science parks.

Local Enterprise Agencies

Northern Ireland has 27 Local Enterprise Agencies supporting SMEs with advice, mentoring, and workspace. Each agency serves specific areas, helping local businesses grow and innovate. Visit Enterprise Northern Ireland for a full list.

Matrix - the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel

Matrix is a business-led expert panel advising on the commercial exploitation of R&D, science and technology. While it doesn't run specific support programmes for businesses, it produces reports to guide businesses, government, and academia.

Browse our Business Support Finder to learn about the support available. You can also review details of UK-wide support for innovation and R&D.

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    0800 181 4422
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