Innovate UK Grants: Eligibility Criteria

Your organisation must be firmly rooted in the UK. This means:

• Registration as a UK business entity (limited company, partnership, or sole trader)
• Primary operations based in the UK
• Commitment to developing innovation within the UK

We particularly focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – organisations with fewer than 250 employees and either annual turnover below £50 million or a balance sheet total under £43 million. However, many of our programmes also welcome larger organisations, especially when collaborating with SMEs or research partners.

Your project should represent genuine innovation that pushes boundaries. We’re looking for proposals that:

• Create new products, processes, or services
• Significantly improve existing solutions
• Address clear market needs
• Show potential for commercial success
• Have a focus on research and development (R&D)

• Different Innovate UK funding calls may have specific focuses (e.g., Net Zero/clean growth, digital technologies, health, healthy living, agricultural technology, manufacturing, etc.).
• Many Innovate UK grants have a limit on the size and duration of the project, Your project must align with the scope of the particular competition or program you are applying for.

• In some funding programs, Innovate UK encourages collaborations between multiple businesses, research organisations, or other entities. These collaborations can help bring together different expertise and share the risks and rewards of innovation.
• If your project involves a consortium, there may be specific rules about the composition of the team, including the balance of SMEs vs. large businesses or academia.
• Establish formal collaboration agreements before applying for a grant.

• Many Innovate UK grants require the business to provide a proportion of the funding (match funding).
• Northern Ireland projects must comply with additional state aid requirements, meaning that Innovate UK cannot provide funding that would unfairly distort competition or give a company an unfair advantage.

• Innovate UK works to Cabinet Office Grant Standards which sets out funding intensity limits by category. These vary according to the grant amount and type of project.
• Research & Development grants typically offer up to 70% funding to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with a lower percentage for large organisations.
• Some competitions allow for MFA (Minimal Financial Assistance) or 100% funding, these are smaller projects and often early-stage development.

Your organisation should demonstrate:

• Technical expertise to deliver the proposed innovation
• Sufficient resources and infrastructure
• Strong project management capabilities
• Track record of successful innovation (where applicable)

Submission rules include:

• Project leads can head only one application but may collaborate on two others
• Non-leading businesses can participate in multiple applications
• Academic institutions, charities, public sector organisations, CICs, and RTOs face no collaboration limits
• Projects receive only two assessment opportunities before becoming ineligible for further consideration

• A well-defined project plan should be provided, including clear objectives, milestones, and expected outcomes (both technical and business).
• Many Innovate UK grants, especially in areas like clean growth, will consider the broader impacts of your project, such as sustainability, economic growth, job creation, and social benefits.