Investing in the future
Over the past decade, the UK market has seen a lot of growth in entrepreneurship. This has happened largely because of agreeable regulations and various different schemes that have been introduced to encourage innovation and development. As a result, this country is now ranked as the fourth most entrepreneurial nation in the world.
Despite this impressive statistic, if you’re an existing SME – or startup not far from launching – that has some type of innovative element involved in your business, then the path to finding funding can still prove somewhat problematic. One such organisation that may be able to help is UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Who are UKRI?
UKRI is a non-departmental public body that was launched back in 2018 to essentially direct research and innovation funding. Inside their network are seven disciplinary research councils, Research England – which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England – and the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Together with these nine councils, UKRI invests in research and innovation to help drive economic growth and create jobs and high-quality public services across the country.
Working with businesses
Along with researchers, universities, charities and other institutions, UKRI can help supply funding for businesses to develop innovative products, processes or services. Aside from this capital, they also provide expertise and specialist equipment you may need for developing prototypes and products.
To apply for funding, you must be looking to do one or more of the following:
• test the feasibility of your idea and make sure it will work.
• create a new product, process or service, or improve an existing one, through research and development.
• work with other businesses or research organisations on collaborative projects.
To qualify, businesses have to be based in the UK – funding ranges from £25,000-£10 million.
There are also innovation loans of between £100,00 and £1 million available to UK SMEs.
Want to know more?
If any of this sounds relevant to you and you’d like to find out more, head over to: https://www.ukri.org/about-us/who-we-fund/businesses/#contents-list where you’ll see all the information you need about applying for funding. Granted Consultancy is an Exeter-based commercial consultancy that helps organsations seeking grant funding to get “grant ready” and assists with grant applications and - after winning - managing those grant projects. https://grantedltd.co.uk/
Another great source of information is the Heart of the South West Growth Hub – https://www.heartofswgrowthhub.co.uk/. It’s a HotSW LEP-funded (voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses) outfit that offer free business advice and support services for startups and established businesses – covering Devon and Somerset.
Do you know of any other type of R&D funding? Have you successfully obtained grant funding? Answers in the comments