DCMS Create Growth Programme Competition 4: small projects

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK registered micro, small or medium size enterprise (SME)
• be registered or operational in one of the twelve Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme appointed regions
• have a demonstrable ambition for growth
• be from the creative industries and focused on one or more of the creative industries sub-sectors

Businesses who have accountants registered in one of the twelve regions but are not operational in one of the appointed regions will not be eligible to apply.

The twelve DCMS Create Growth Programme appointed regions are:

• Greater Manchester
• Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire
• North East of England
• West of England and Cornwall
• South East Coast
• Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Greater Lincolnshire
• Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
• Hull & East Yorkshire
• West Midlands
• West Yorkshire
• Devon
• Hertfordshire

You can check your local council with your post code.

You can only apply for this Create Growth programme Competition 4 once (i.e. in only one strand, not both).

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Note that the closing date for this competition is 29 May and Innovate UK’s offices will be closed 26 and 27 May.

Your project must:

• have total project costs between £50,000 and £200,000
• last between 3 and 6 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• start on or after 1 October 2025
• end by 31 March 2026

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. You cannot allocate more than 75% of your total project costs to subcontractors. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process. All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

The aim of the Create Growth Programme is to provide a package of targeted support to high growth creative businesses, to scale, build investor networks and reach their potential. This funding is designed to help creative businesses explore new innovation projects as a stimulus for growth.

The funding is for twelve regions across England appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) Create Growth Programme.

The twelve regions are listed above.

Your proposal must:

• be from the creative industries
• be a micro, small or medium enterprise registered or operational in a DCMS Create Growth Programme region
• focus on a clear growth opportunity and the proposed innovation to address it
• demonstrate the impact funding and support can have on the growth plan of your business
• demonstrate how your business has either engaged with, or intends to engage with the ongoing regional support provided by the programme

Your project must:

• offer an innovative and ambitious idea which demonstrates a clear growth opportunity
• be new to your business
• have a demonstrable impact to your growth plan, for example, start the process of creating a new revenue stream, such as new products, services or intellectual property (IP)
• demonstrate a route to commercialisation within 12 months of receiving support with a clear plan for attracting additional private finance
• benefit the wider creative cluster or region in England you are based in
• be able to start rapidly
• demonstrate value for money

The creative industries are defined by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Your project must focus on one or more of the following sub-sectors:

• advertising and marketing
• architecture
• crafts
• design and designer fashion
• film
• television
• video
• radio
• photography
• IT, gaming, software and computer services
• publishing
• museums, galleries and libraries
• music, performing and visual art

Creative industry businesses refer to those with a high intensity of creative occupations. You can refer to the DCMS Economic Estimates for a list of the sub-sectors and their associated SIC codes, that DCMS classifies under the creative industries

An online briefing event will be held on Thursday 3 April at 10am: register to attend.

(Briefing recording and slides will be available after the event.)

If you are unsure of which strand to apply for or have other queries, Innovate UK Business Connect’s Creative Industries team can advise.