Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1

To lead a collaborative project, or work alone, your organisation must be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

For collaborative projects: to collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

In a collaboration, you must ensure that no single partner accounts for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. Subcontractor costs must not be more than 50% of the total project costs.

A business can only lead on one application, but they may collaborate in two further applications.

All organisations or businesses who are not leading an application may collaborate in a maximum of three applications.

Your project must:

• have total costs between £100,000 and £500,000
• last between 9 and 12 months
• start by 1 January 2027
• end by 31 December 2027

Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK.

If your project is a collaboration, you must ensure that no single partner accounts for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.

The aim of this competition is to support early stage innovation in the intersection of high growth potential Createch and the Industrial Strategy Frontier industries. This funding is to develop innovations beyond proof of concept, de-risking future investment and supporting long term sector growth.

Your project must:

• be from the frontier industries as set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan
• focus on innovation in high growth commercial digital platforms and services
• demonstrate a clearly innovative and ambitious idea, addressing an industry challenge and unlocking significant growth
• be a significant improvement on what is currently on offer in your existing business, with a demonstrable impact to your growth plan
• create a new revenue stream, for example, new products, services or IP
• be market ready within 12 months of project completion
• demonstrate value for money
• consider its potential positive social and environmental impacts

Your project must focus on commercial digital platforms and services in one of the following frontier industries:

• video games
• advertising and marketing
• film and TV
• music, performing and visual arts

We welcome cross sector applications that combine one or more of the frontier industries with other creative industries sectors. For example, podcasting draws on technologies, business models and creative practices from both the Music and Publishing sectors.

We welcome entries from design businesses with createch innovation contributing to any of the four frontier sectors.

If your project spans a frontier industry and another creative industry sector or design innovation, contact us before starting your application. We will be able to confirm whether your project is within scope and eligible for support under this competition.

Innovate UK Business Connect will hold an online briefing from 10am-noon on Friday 3 July: click here to register for a place. A recording will be available afterwards.

If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Creative Industries team.