Innovation is essential for business survival and growth, and the United Kingdom is committed to offering companies a competitive environment to pursue Research & Development. Funds are available for companies who want to access the knowledge pool of Britain’s universities, or take an idea of their own to market. Please browse the range of downloads and links to find more information about the schemes outlined below.
The Grant for R&D (information from YF and BLSY) is aimed at individuals planning start-up businesses and existing SMEs and is designed to encourage R&D for technologically innovative products and processes. Four different types of grant are available depending on the scale, value and significance of the project, ranging from up to £20,000 (at 50% funding) for prototypes to £500,000 (at 35% funding) for projects with strategic importance to their industry.
The Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme (SFLG) offers small companies funds for almost all business activities, including R&D for commercial purposes, while the Yorkshire Forward Industrial Research & Development award (YFIRD) offers R&D funds exclusively for large companies. Funds are available for large companies undertaking industrial research with commercial benefits. It is expected that projects involved may have a total project value between £650,000 to £2.5million and a timescale of between one and two years.
The R&D Tax Credits scheme (information from the DTI and HMRC) provides relief on funds spent on research by both large and small businesses and is one of the most generous tax credit schemes offered by a G8 country.
Alternative R&D funding in the UK and Europe includes:
- Collaborative R&D - funds are available for projects which help bring the industry and research communities together. The funds are targeted on drawing knowledge from the UK’s science, engineering and technology base into business and projects must involved at least two collaborators, at least one of which is from industry.
- EUREKA - a pan-European network that aims to improve the competitiveness of European industry through cross-border, market oriented innovation. Funding is available for short-term market ready projects and long-term strategic initiatives.
- Beta Technology can assist SMEs to access funding for collaborative R&D under the EU's Framework Programme 6 (FP6) scheme. FP6 is an EU funded programme to stimulate investment in R&D by SMEs in a range of key themes; Yorkshire Forward and the DTI can provide more information on the latest round of funding available.
- NESTA provides a range of funding targeted at highly innovative companies and are the UK’s largest single source of early stage seed funding through their Invention & Innovation Programme. This provides funds to turn ground-breaking ideas into innovative products, services or techniques with commercial or social potential. Additionally the programme offers access to professional advice and support.
If you are looking people or research centres with specific know-how Knowledge Transfer Networks have been set up for a wide range of specialist areas to increase the commercialisation of research and accelerate the speed at which ideas are brought to market. Crucially they provide a networking hub for business, researchers and government. On a local level, Knowledge RICH puts companies in touch with resources available in the Yorkshire's universities.
The Knowledge Transfer Partnerships scheme enables companies to bring the knowledge available in universities quickly and directly into their businesses to work on a strategic business issue of their choice. The scheme matches a recently qualified graduate who can bring their academic knowledge into the work place to take on a distinct project, under the management of the university and the commissioning company.
Finally, Melt is an R&D funding programme explicitly for companies to develop content pilots or proposals involving new digital media such as 3G mobiles and games consoles.