Grant Funding

Innovate UK seek to fund projects that have a clear game-changing, innovative and/or disruptive and ambitious idea leading to new products, processes or services.

Who can apply?

Your application must include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

What is the size and scale of the project?

• Your project must follow different rules depending on its durations:
• Projects with durations between 6 and 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £500,000. They can be single or collaborative projects.
• Project durations between 19 and 36 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 and £2 million. The must be collaborative projects.
• Any applications submitted outside of these criteria without our authorisation will be marked as ineligible and will not be send for assessment.

Grant Pay-outs

• Innovate UK will pay your award by instalments quarterly and in arrears on submission of a claim.
• You can only claim the net eligible costs you have incurred and paid in the 3-month period for which you are submitting the claim.

R&D Grants - multi industry focus

Open to companies based in Scotland with R&D projects in the pipeline, Scottish Enterprise will fund projects that:

• Are game-changing innovations
• Create or safeguard R&D jobs
• Create links into other local companies; i.e. for materials or specialist knowledge
• Create a global market opportunity
• Generate intellectual property

Project awards are at the discretion of Scottish Enterprise and range from early phase (up to £100k) or late-stage development (averaging around £1.28m).

• SMEs may be awarded between 35%-50% of eligible project costs.
• Large may be awarded between 25%-40% of eligible project costs.

Horizon 2020 (H2020) is the current EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. H2020 is the largest EU Research and Innovation programme to date with nearly €80 billion of funding available between 2014 and 2020. H2020 focuses on science, industrial leadership and societal challenges, with specific allocations of funding in each area.

H2020 EIC Accelerator

Horizon 2020 funds high-potential innovation developed by SMEs through the H2020 EIC Accelerator (previously the SME instrument). The EIC Accelerator offers Europe's most exciting companies the change to apply for funding for breakthrough ideas with the potential to create entirely new markets or revolutionise existing ones.

Companies that apply must be established in an EU Member State of a Horizon 2020 associated country.

What is the size and scale of the project?

• Projects will receive between €0.5 and €2.5 million in the form of grants (70% of total project costs). Applicants can request a higher or lower amount when applying but it needs to be duly justified.
• Projects should normally take 12 to 24 months to complete but could be longer in exceptional and well-justified cases.

Grant Pay-outs

• 5% of total grant is paid at start of project
• Horizon 2020 will pay the remaining award by instalments quarterly and in arrears on submission of a claim.