Launchpad: Digital Technologies, North East England – R1 MFA (UK)

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is to invest up to £2 million in innovation projects.

The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. Your business must be active or growing work activities in the digital technologies cluster in North East England, consisting of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham.

Your project must focus on digital technologies that can be applied in growing and emerging markets. Growing or emerging markets, include but are not limited to:

• advanced manufacturing
• agriculture and forestry
• automotive and transportation
• creative industries
• culture, tourism, leisure and sport
• green industries
• health
• offshore industries
• retail and town centre

Specific Themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following technologies:

• Immersive technologies
  • extended reality
  • digital twins
  • games engines
  • virtual production
• Artificial intelligence
  • data science
  • machine learning
  • neural networks
  • computer vision
  • robotics
  • large language models
  • quantum computing

Project Size

• Your project’s grant funding request must be between £25,000 and £100,000.

Projects they will not fund

• They are not funding projects that:
  • do not contribute to innovation activity in the digital technologies innovation cluster in North East England
  • are within scope of the Cluster management strand of this Launchpad competition
  • request grant funding of less than £25,000 or more than £100,000
• They cannot fund projects that:
  • involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture
  • involve primary production in agriculture
  • have activities relating to the purchase of road freight transport
  • are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions
  • are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance
  • are dependent on export performance, for example giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country
  • are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example if they give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

Who can apply?

• Your project
  • Your project must:
    • last between 6 and 12 months
    • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
    • start at the earliest on 1 April 2024
    • end by 30 April 2025
  • 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.
• Lead organisation
  • To lead a project your organisation must:
    • be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
    • be active or growing your work activities in the digital technologies innovation cluster in North East England
    • have a demonstrable ambition for business growth
• Subcontractors
  • Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. Their contribution must add to the innovation led growth of the cluster.
  • Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.