Innovation funds are grant funding programmes that offer financial backing to organisations and groups that are looking to research and develop a process, product or service, test innovative ideas and/or collaborate with other organisations.
Grants are the best kind of funding available for innovative firms. You don’t lose any equity, and you never have to pay the money back. These are provided by a variety of funding bodies such as Innovate UK to support innovative ideas and business growth, including those from the UK’s world-class research base.
If your business has a focus on innovation or you are trying to bring a new product to the market, innovation grants could be a good option to explore.
Some of these funds require you have a registered office in the UK while others might require you to be based in the EU. Funding may be more likely for businesses with multiple employees and for innovation grants those that have an original solution which uses innovative technology to solve a substantial problem will be most likely to attract funding.
Not after innovation funding? Find out more about other types of business grants you may be eligible for.
£100,000 - £500,000
check Funding requiredMultiple rounds
access_time Closing date
max £500,000
check Funding required31/12/2025
access_time Closing date
£100,000 - £350,000
check Funding requiredMultiple rounds
access_time Closing date
£50,000 - £500,000
check Funding required13/10/2023
access_time Closing dateThe call is open to a wide range of proposals across the existing supply chain and beyond, to fund projects that will lead to an increase in UK content, jobs, turnover and/or exports in the offshore wind sector.
£50,000 - £100,000
check Funding required04/10/2023
access_time Closing dateThe aim of this grant is to support ambitious, early-stage growth businesses in developing net zero products or services to meet demand.
Your project must focus on the development of your product or service and demonstrating it in a relevant market.
£750,000
check Funding required06/12/2023
access_time Closing dateThe aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) net zero and sustainability projects focused on industrial research, for innovative proposals developed between the UK and Singapore.
UK registered businesses must collaborate with at least one Singapore registered business applying under the equivalent Singapore programme.
A word from Andrea
"Grants are one of the best kinds of funding available for innovative firms. If your business has a focus on innovation, or you are trying to bring a new product to the market, innovation grants could be a good option to explore."
The Swoop platform has over 400 business grant options for UK SMEs of different sizes and sectors – check your eligibility and apply quickly and easily.
At Swoop we will work to understand your business and aspirations so that we can best match your project to the most suitable grant funds. Your chance of securing grant funding improves the more precisely your project fits with the scope of the relevant grant fund.
If you need some help with your application or just some finishing touches, we will match you to the best grant writers who will use their experience to deliver and submit the grant application as well as helping negotiate due diligence and any future grant funding needs.
Our grant writers will save you hours of time and energy in writing an application that is as strong as possible while keeping in regular contact with you to update you on the application progress.
Ensure you get the maximum value out of your grant funding through continued support and advice on best use of your grant.
Innovate UK are a governmental agency and the main channel for businesses to secure UK innovation funding. The Innovate UK Smart Grant is the government’s flagship grant programme, with £125 million to give to British businesses each year.
The Smart Grant is Innovative UK’s ‘open grant funding’ programme which seeks ‘the best game-changing and commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas’ from almost any industry. All proposals must be business focused.
Horizon Europe is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness. It provides research and innovation funding for multi-national collaboration projects as well as for individual researchers and supports SMEs with a special funding instrument.
The Arts Council are looking for organisations, artists, events, initiatives and others to apply for funding and help us achieve their strategy.
Let's create.
Timing. Ensure you are applying at an appropriate stage and have a clear opportunity to take advantage of.
Define this opportunity and make sure you have done thorough market research and can show this.
Have a defined project and outline the specific problem or need for this project.
Outline your costs involved in the project and ensure you justify why they are needed and how much is needed to cover these costs.
Staff costs can be included here but must be justified and can be a percentage of the relevant staff’s time.
Outline a timeline and projections of progress expected to be achieved as these will be monitored closely if you are successful.
Innovation is defined as the process of trying something new or different that has the potential to address an identified need or problem.
An innovation grant is a fund given by an entity, typically a government or grant funding institution, to a business for a specific innovative project that is linked to public benefit. Unlike business loans, grants are not to be paid back.
The Smart Grant is Innovative UK’s ‘Open grant funding’ programme which seeks ‘the best game-changing and commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas’ from almost any industry. All proposals must be business focused. The competition usually runs three to four times a year and project costs range from £25,000 to £2 million.
If your business has a focus on innovation or you are trying to bring a new product to the market, innovation grants could be a good option to explore. These are provided by a variety of funding bodies such as Innovate UK to support innovative ideas and business growth, including those from the UK’s world-class research base. e.g. NHS Future hospitals initiative, Innovate UK Smart Grant, European Space Agency grants, and Horizon Europe.
Innovation grant funding covers a variety of cost centers including staff costs, at a rate of up to 70% if you are an SME. This intervention rate from the funder is in the form of a non-repayable, non-dilutive grant – you don’t have to give away any hard-earned equity or pay back any interest.
One of the potential downsides of grants is they typically take six months from applying to deliver funding at the start of your project.
Some of these funds require you to have a registered office in the UK while others might require you to be based in the EU. Funding may be more likely for businesses with multiple employees and for innovation grants, those that have an original solution which uses innovative technology to solve a substantial problem will be most likely to attract funding.
Grant funding is a competitive and often time consuming application process. To ensure a successful approach you need to have a defined project before commencing the bid writing process.Register with Swoop to speak to an innovation grants expert and give yourself the best chance of success.
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