Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is to fund up to £6 million in innovation projects. This funding is from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme.
This is the second funding competition for this government programme.
The DCMS Create Growth Investor Partnership programme brings together:
- Innovate UK’s expertise in identifying innovation and using grant funding to change the risk profile of businesses in the creative industries
- Investor partners’ aligned funding and expertise in identifying opportunities and teams that can best use extra investment finance from across the twelve English Create Growth Programme Regions
This approach gives your business access to the investment it needs to develop and commercialise your innovations.
Competition Details
Your project must:
- have total project costs between £100,000 and £750,000
- start by 1 June 2024
- end by 28 February 2025
- last between 6 and 8 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- have an investor named on your application
Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application.
Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.
If you have not provided information on the investor partner who is leading on your investment or we are unable to confirm the investment position with that investor partner, then your application will not be eligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.
Your organisation:
To apply your organisation must:
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME)
- be registered or operational in one of the 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
- have discussed and agreed your proposal with your investor partner before submitting your application
- as part of your agreement with your investor partner, be able to raise the aligned finance needed to draw down the award through the issue of new shares or convertible debt
The six regions in England appointed by the DCMS Create Growth Programme are:
- Greater Manchester
- the West of England with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
- Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
- Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire
- Kent, Essex, East and West Sussex
- the North East of England
The newly appointed DCMS Create Growth expansion regions are:
- Nottingham City Council
- Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- West Midlands Combined Authority (CA)
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA)
- West of England Combined Authority (CA)
- Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Subcontractors:
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
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 project costs.
A micro, small or medium size enterprise, cannot subcontract their own directors, secretaries, or persons with significant control.
Number of applications:
You can only submit one application into this round of the competition.
Up to £6 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Innovate UK funding will be in the form of a grant with aligned investment from or led by one of our selected investor partners.
Innovate UK will decide which projects are eligible and in scope to receive grant funding. The decision will be based on the assessment of your application by independent assessors and on a review of your expected investment following a discussion with your proposed investor partner.
If you are successful, you will:
- receive grant funding to cover a proportion of the costs of your project
- only be allowed to commence once the agreed aligned investment has been confirmed
Your business must have sufficient capital resources, including through investment from the investor partner and the grant funding, to enable you to meet all your project’s eligible costs.
All recipients must act commercially, and your funding request must not exceed the limits specified.
For industrial research projects, Innovate UK will fund:
- up to 70% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations
- up to 60% for medium sized organisations
The investment led by the investor partner must always be at least equal to the grant funding.
For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.
If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.
The aim of the competition is to provide creative business with targeted support for innovations and access to investment to unlock their potential for growth.
Innovation and ideas can come from anyone and anywhere. We want to see investments unlocked for the diverse and extraordinary talent in the UK. We are encouraging diverse applicants and inclusive project applications, pushing beyond the status quo.
Your project must have:
- a clear route to market
- a clear link to business growth
- evidence that you can create a team to deliver your proposal
You must demonstrate that your project will:
- have significant market impact and support the growth plan of your business
- be scalable
- be able to start rapidly
- demonstrate value for money
- be attractive to other equity investors
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across the different creative sub-sectors from each of the DCMS Create Growth appointed regions. We call this a portfolio approach. We will also take into account the impact of the grant in attracting investment and likelihood of the investment completing within a reasonable time.
Specific themes
The investor partnership programme will be focused on the creative industries. 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.
Research categories
We will fund industrial research projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.
26 October 2023: Competition opens
27 October 2023: Webinar briefing event: register to attend
10 January 2024 11:00am: Competition closes
22 February 2024: Applicants notified
You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:
- that all the information provided in the application is correct
- your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
- all sections of the application are marked as complete
You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.
What we ask you
The application is split into three sections:
- Project details.
- Application questions.
- Finances.
Accessibility and inclusion
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes providing support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. Watch the video on how we are making our application process more accessible and inclusive for everyone.
You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the most suitable support possible.
You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Read more on the application process here.
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research Innovation is working with selected investor partners.
These partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in the creative industries businesses that align with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme.
A full list of selected investor partners is provided at Innovate UK Investor Partners – UKRI website.
Support from your local Create Growth Region
If your application is selected, you must contact your regional support. Their contact details will be included in your grant offer letter. They can signpost you to additional support and services both local and national that form part of the wider Create Growth Programme.
Successful applications will receive a grant offer letter and must start their project on the project start date indicated.
This competition is part of the DCMS Create Growth Programme.
Contact details for the Creative Growth Programme regions:
- Greater Manchester: www.growthco.uk email: info@growthco.uk
- The West of England: westofengland-ca.gov.uk email: creative@westofengland-ca.gov.uk
- Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire: www.newanglia.co.uk email: creategrowth@uea.ac.uk
- Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire: www.llep.org.uk email: admin@llep.org.uk
- Kent, Essex and East and West Sussex: South East Create Growth Programme - Creative UK (wearecreative.uk) email: info@createsoutheast.org.uk
- The North East:https://www.wearecreative.uk/support/regional-growth-programmes/north-east-cgp/
The newly appointed DCMS Create Growth expansion regions are:
- Nottingham City Council: Chris.pook@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
- Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP): growthhub@heylep.com
- West Midlands Combined Authority (CA): CGP@wmca.org.uk
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA): create.growth@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
- West of England Combined Authority (CA): creative@westofengland-ca.gov.uk
- Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP): info@hertfordshirelep.co.uk