Launchpad Funding Competition: Agri-Tech and Food Technology, Mid & North Wales – (UK)

This funding is from Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme which supports the UK government’s goals for local economic growth. This Launchpad is also supporting a consortium led by Ceredigion County Council as the local cluster management organisation.

Aim

• The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses.

Focus Areas

• Your business must be growing your innovation activities in the agri-tech and food technology cluster in Mid and North Wales.
• Your project must focus on innovation in agri-tech or food technology.
• Your project must contribute to growing your innovation activities in the cluster, both during and after your project. This could be demonstrated by:
  • your local innovation activities
  • the value that your innovation activities create in the cluster
  • your engagement with other innovation active organisations in the cluster, such as with this Launchpad’s cluster management organisation.

Themes

• Your project can focus on one or more of the following:
  • Productivity or nutritional content:
    • enhancing yields and other aspects of productivity of primary crops and feedstocks, livestock or aquaculture
    • resource efficiency, including novel approaches for precision farming, circular economy or biotechnologies, excluding biochar
    • enhancing the nutritional content of produce
  • Food processing or markets:
    • novel foods that promote safe, healthy and nutritious diets
    • food manufacturing and processing, packaging, and safety
    • adapting produce to create new market opportunities
    • supply chain resilience and responsiveness; mitigating risks, interruptions or disruptions
  • Sustainability or biodiversity:
    • livestock health
    • approaches that reduce emissions, food loss and waste
    • regenerative approaches that could lower biodiversity loss or mitigate against resource scarcity
• This list is not exhaustive. Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this competition you can focus on other themes.

Funding Information

• They have allocated up to £1.5 million to fund innovation projects for this Launchpad competition for Mid and North Wales.
• Funding will be in the form of a grant.
• The total funding available for this Launchpad competition can change. The funders have the right to:
  • adjust the funding allocations between all Launchpad competitions and strands
  • apply a ’portfolio‘ approach
• Your total project costs will be up to 100% funded up to the maximum grant of £100,000. If your grant funding request exceeds the £100,000 maximum then your application will be made ineligible. Your project costs can be higher than your grant funding request.
• You can make reference to any additional voluntary contribution in your application answers. It must not be detailed in the finance section.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your project must:
  • have a total grant funding request between £25,000 and £100,000
  • last between 6 and 12 months
  • carry out all of its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • not start before 1 April 2025
  • end by 30 June 2026
• 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 our 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.
• Your business must:
  • be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
  • be growing your innovation activities in the agri-tech and food technology cluster in Mid and North Wales
  • have a demonstrable ambition for business growth.
• 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.
  • 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 can lead on only one application for this competition. Any subsequent applications submitted by the same business will be ineligible and will not be forwarded for assessment.
• 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.