Your Complete Guide to Innovation Funding and Support
Understanding Innovate UK funding and support
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. We help UK businesses to grow through innovation.
By 2035, the UK aims to become a global innovation powerhouse. Our role is to help companies develop and launch new products, processes, and services by connecting them with funding and support. Think of us as your innovation partner, backed by an ecosystem that’s built to be quick, inclusive, and easy to navigate.
We deliver support through three interconnected pillars:
- Inspire: We showcase opportunities that spark innovation and demonstrate what’s possible
- Involve: We foster meaningful connections between organisations, researchers, and innovators
- Invest: We mobilise resources, including direct funding, to turn promising ideas into reality
We do this by focusing on five strategic themes that underpin all our activities and help to reshape Britain’s innovation landscape.
Future Economy
Building the foundations for tomorrow's economic success through targeted innovation support.
Growth at Scale
Providing the tools and expertise businesses need to expand their operations and impact.
Global Opportunities
Creating international partnerships and positioning UK companies as world-leading collaborators.
Innovation Ecosystem
Developing a comprehensive support network that nurtures business innovation at every stage.
Government Collaboration
Working with public sector partners to create an environment where innovation thrives.
The strong foundations are UK assets that can be leveraged in support of business innovation or values to inform our work.
UK science and research
Harnessing the UK's world-class research capabilities to drive business innovation.
Design
Embedding exceptional design principles from concept to commercialisation.
Responsible innovation
Ensuring our work benefits society whilst driving economic growth.
Innovation talent and skills
Building the capabilities needed for tomorrow's innovation challenges.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Creating opportunities for all communities to participate in and benefit from innovation.
Place
Strengthening local innovation ecosystems across the UK.
How we support you find the finance you need
We help companies access the expertise and equipment they need, build key partnerships, and fund their innovation work through grants and loans. We support the best ideas from businesses, as determined through free and fair competition.
There are a host of ways in which Innovate UK can help. The most popular route for businesses is applying for a Research & Development (R&D) competed grant. Competitions are created and implemented by our expert teams to answer a specific challenge or objective which falls within one of our themes, we offer varying levels of support based on your organisation’s size and project type:
Feasibility Studies and Industrial Research
A percentage of funding depending on whether you're a small, medium or large organisation.
Experimental Development Projects
Some of our opportunities offer capital funding, Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) or collaborative R&D opportunities.
Business Development Services
Networking through Innovate UK Business Connect, expert guidance from Business Growth advisors and access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and hardware via Innovate UK Catapults.
Financial Solutions
Innovation loans for near-market projects and government procurement opportunities through Contracts for Innovation.
Academic Partnerships
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) and innovation Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe).
GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT
Finding the right funding for you
This step-by-step guide walks you through each stage of the application process, from identifying the right competition to preparing and submitting your proposal.
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Additional funding pathways
PROGRAMME
Innovation Loans
UK registered SME businesses can apply for loan funding for innovative late-stage research and development projects with strong commercial potential that will significantly boost the UK economy.
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PROGRAMME
Investor Partnerships
A three-year initiative to boost Future Economy-focused SMEs through aligning grant funding for R&D development with investment from partnerships with credible investor partners.
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PROGRAMMES
View all our innovation programmes
We offer a variety of innovation programmes to support businesses and researchers in developing and commercialising new products, processes, and services. These programmes can include related funding competitions, tailored events, networking opportunities, and expert support for specific sectors and stages of innovation.