Procuring tomorrow’s solutions today
Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation, formerly known as The Small Business Research Initiative or SBRI, offer innovative organisations the chance to work directly with the public sector to solve complex challenges. This relationship is mutually beneficial and brings about unique benefits for both parties.
Contracts for Innovation competitions are open to any size or type of organisation, including businesses of any size, academic and research organisations and not-for-profits and charities.
Learn more about Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation
Access public sector opportunities
Contracts for Innovation provides a route to market for new ideas and technologies, a chance to work with the public sector as an early adopter of cutting-edge innovation, and a way to create and retain intellectual property with the aim of commercialising solutions, helping to achieve business growth and success.
For successful organisations, Contracts for Innovation offers 100% funding to a single legal entity to help develop their proposed solution. Working with the public sector, organisations are able to access opportunities and build relationships that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Benefits to business
£127k
Turnover impact per firm per year
9%
Business growth
£290m
Private investment leveraged
Find solutions to improve public services
For public sector organisations, Contracts for Innovation allows new solutions and technologies to be developed, and for these to be quickly adopted, helping meet efficiency targets and improving public services.
To date, over 100 public sector organisations have invested more than £1.5bn through Contracts for Innovation. Public Sector organisations who use Contracts for Innovation include:
- Department of Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
- Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
- Department for Transport
- Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
- Devolved Administrations (DAs).
- NHS
- Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)
- UK Space Agency
- UK Atomic Energy Authority
- Network Rail
A 2022 independent review shows how Contracts for Innovation has helped some of the most exciting and innovative projects that have made the public sector more efficient and effective.
Related Opportunities
Contracts for Innovation: Clean Air, Phase 3
Opens: 19/05/2025 Closes: 25/06/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of £800k to further develop clean air pre-commercial innovations in extended field trials.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: Net Zero Living Tech Trials, phase 3
Opens: 19/05/2025 Closes: 25/06/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of £800,000, inclusive of VAT, to develop pre-commercial innovations that support Local Authorities in meeting net zero goals. Projects must include field trials to test and improve solutions ahead of commercialisation.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: Scaling community initiatives in diet and exercise
Opens: 19/05/2025 Closes: 18/06/2025
Social enterprises can apply for a share of £1.8m to deliver social impact through scaling community based diet and/or exercise initiatives.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: DSbD Advancing CHERI RISC-V Devices
Opens: 14/05/2025 Closes: 18/06/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £10m to accelerate the development and implementation of commercial CHERI-enabled RISC-V embedded devices.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: DSbD Advancing CHERI Tools and software
Opens: 14/05/2025 Closes: 18/06/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £12m to work on maturing and enabling the availability of CHERI Tools and Software components for RISC-V embedded devices that implement the CHERI architecture extensions.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: Quantum Sensors and PNT Missions Primer
Opens: 19/05/2025 Closes: 02/07/2025
Apply for a share of £14m to accelerate the development and adoption of quantum sensors and quantum position, navigation, and timing products and services.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: FOAK 2025 – AI for Complex Processes
Opens: 07/04/2025 Closes: 28/05/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £4.7m across four themes to develop a prototype, conduct field testing and demonstrate their solution.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: FOAK 2025 – Platform Train Interface
Opens: 07/04/2025 Closes: 28/05/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £4.7m across four themes to develop a prototype, conduct field testing and demonstrate their solution.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: FOAK 2025 – Bridge Strikes
Opens: 07/04/2025 Closes: 28/05/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £4.7m across four themes to develop a prototype, conduct field testing and demonstrate their solution.
More Information
Contracts for Innovation: FOAK 2025 – Personal Safety
Opens: 07/04/2025 Closes: 28/05/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £4.7m across four themes to develop a prototype, conduct field testing and demonstrate their solution.
More Information
Innovate UK Tools and Support
SUPPORT
Business Growth
The Scaleup Programme Alumni Community brings together like-minded and ambitious individuals.
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Catapult Network
The Catapult Network provides cutting-edge R&D facilities and world class technical expertise to support UK business growth.
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Innovation Hub
The Innovation Hub brings together the most relevant government backed innovation support.
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Investor Connect
Investment Connect is a community determined to find, fund and amplify solutions for economic growth.
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Innovation Canvas
The Innovation Canvas supports the development of an innovative product, service or process.
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Related Case Studies
Breaking New Ground: How Innovate UK's Contracts for Innovation helped Far-UK expand its market reach
Hygiene Pro Clean: Transforming Decontamination and Cleaning Services Through Contracts for Innovation Award
Hygiene Pro Clean secured a Contracts for Innovation award through the Welsh SBRI Centre of Excellence (CoE) to develop rapid decontamination and deep cleaning solutions using ultrasonic atomisation technology to help the NHS manage increasing pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pioneering Crop Yield Prediction: HSAT's Data-Driven Approach to Mitigating Market Volatility
Heimdal Satellite Technologies (HSAT) received Contracts for Innovation funding to develop groundbreaking solutions for predicting crop yields on a global scale.
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