Innovate UK SMART Grants – July 2022

The latest round of SMART Grants opens on 28th July 2022, with an application deadline of 26th October 2022.

SMART is Innovate UK’s responsive grant funding programme. It has focused eligibility criteria and scope to support SME’s and their partners to develop disruptive innovations with significant potential for rapid, economic return to the UK.

In this round, Innovate UK is investing up to £25 million in the best game-changing, and world leading ideas, designed for swift, successful commercialisation. Ideas need to be genuinely new and novel, not just disruptive within their sector.

Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as, but not exclusively net zero, the arts, design and media.

SMART Grants Eligibility Criteria

To be in scope your proposal must demonstrate:

• a game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products, processes or services
• an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
• clear potential to positively impact the UK’s position, productivity and competitiveness within the global economy
• a clear, evidence based business plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion.

If your project’s duration is 6 to 18 months, it must:

• have total project costs between £100,000 and £500,000
• be single or collaborative.

If your project’s duration is 19 to 36 months, it must:

• have total project costs between £100,000 and £2 million
• be collaborative.

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be an SME if you want to work alone
• be a UK registered business of any size or a research and technology organisation (RTO) if collaborative
• include at least one SME if you are a large business or RTO and wish to collaborate with other UK registered businesses, research organisations, academic organisations, public sector organisations or charities.

For feasibility studies and industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation.

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 25% if you are a large organisation.

Find out if you should to apply

TBAT Innovation Ltd can help you decide whether your project aligns with the competition scope, and whether your business is eligible to apply. You can get in touch via their website contact form.