The aim is to fund single and collaborative research and development projects as part of The Sustainable Innovation Fund, helping all sectors of the UK rebuild after the effects of COVID-19.
COVID-19 has affected R&D across all sectors, and the aim of this Innovate UK competition is to help all sectors of the UK recover, grow, and create new opportunities from the aftermath of the global health pandemic.
Proposals must show evidence of key challenges as a direct consequence of COVID-19, and how the applicant can help solve them, while taking into account the impact on climate change and/or environmental sustainability. Other factors to consider include equality, diversity, and inclusion and your approach to innovation.
Specific themes to focus on include decarbonisation, circular economy and/or biodiversity, climate change and environmental sustainability, geographic or regionally targeted innovation and follow-on international opportunities that help the UK lead the world.
All projects must be led by a business and proposals can only be from a single business. The total eligible costs must be a minimum of £50,000 and no more than £100,000.
To help potential applicants understand about this round of funding, Innovate UK is running a formal briefing on 30th July from 15.30-16.30. To register click here.
The following day, 31st July, KTN is running an informal Q&A session with Innovate from 9.30 to 10.30am to answer questions such as what sort of innovation project would be suitable, what pitfalls to be aware of, and whether or not this is the right competition for a particular project.
This will be followed, from 11am to 12noon, on the same day, with a session from Enterprise Europe Network. Writing a Compelling Grant Application to Increase Success is an online session aimed at helping to understand The Sustainable Innovation Fund grant application process. It will cover the scope and eligibility criteria, how to write a compelling grant application, integrating the competition into the overall strategy to stabilise and grow the business, and support available for future commercialisation.
The competition is open for applications until 11am on Wednesday 2nd September. For more information, go to Funding.
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