Apply for People Centred and Systemic Design Projects (UK)

The Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £2 million in innovation projects that use people centred and systemic design methods. These will be to influence, inform and de-risk their future research and development (R&D) activity.

The aim of this competition is to help businesses use people centred and systemic design methods. These will lay foundations for innovative ideas that can deliver significant benefits to people, the planet, and society as a whole. The ideas can be for new or significantly improved products, services, places or business models.

Themes

• Your project can focus on one or more of the following:
  • net zero
  • artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • other emerging or advanced digital technologies
  • health and wellbeing
  • food and agriculture (except primary production)
• This list is not exhaustive.

Funding Information

• They have allocated up to £2 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.
• Your total project costs will be 100% funded. Total grant funding request and total project costs, detailed within your application, must not exceed the maximum project size of £80,000. If your total project costs do exceed the maximum, then your application will be made ineligible.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your project
  • Your project must:
    • have a grant funding request that matches your total project costs
    • last between three and six months
    • carry out its project work in the UK
    • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
    • start by 1 June 2025
    • end by 30 November 2025
  • Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean they need to delay your project start date.
  • You must only include eligible project costs in your application.
  • You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.
• Lead organisation
  • To lead a project your organisation must:
    • be a UK registered business of any size
    • collaborate with at least one other grant claiming UK registered organisation
  • Lead organisations must agree to contribute a minimum of one day and up to two days, in support of Innovate UK activities.
  • These activities are to promote the use of design in business innovation, or to help improve products and services.
  • This activity can include:
    • taking part in interviews
    • supporting the creation of case studies
    • contributing to seminars or showcases
  • You will not be required to share confidential information or intellectual property.
• Project team
  • To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be a UK registered:
    • business of any size
    • academic institution
    • charity
    • not for profit
    • public sector organisation
    • research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • Your project team must include appropriate expertise in people centred and systemic design. Lead organisations without this capability are encouraged to work with designers as project partners or subcontractors.
  • Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.
  • To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
• Subcontractors
  • Subcontractors are allowed in this competition, but they are limited to no more than 80% of the total eligible costs.
  • You can work with multiple subcontractors on your project. Each subcontractor must be named on the application form with a unique and clearly defined role within the project.
  • Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
  • You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use suppliers from the UK.
  • You must also provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you.
  • They expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. They will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.
• Number of applications
  • A business of any size can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.
  • An organisation that is not leading any application, can collaborate on any number of applications.
• Sanctions
  • This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.
• Use of animals in research and innovation
  • Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.
  • Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.
  • Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

For more information, visit GOV.UK.