If you’re a UK business working on cutting-edge R&D, you could apply for up to £1.4 million in grant funding through the October 2022 round of Innovate UK’s Smart competition.
If you are…
- A UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized company (SME) or are working with one;
- Developing a game-changing, innovative and disruptive idea;
- Able to deliver a 6 to 36-month project with total eligible costs between £100,000 and £2 million, starting by 1 July 2023
Then the October 2022 round of Innovate UK’s Smart grant could be a great opportunity for you to acquire non-dilutive government funding.
Smart is an industry-agnostic competition designed to catapult early-stage R&D projects towards commercialisation.
Hundreds of companies apply for Smart grants. However, with this round being open over the Christmas period, it’s set to be much less competitive than previous instalments.
Below we’ve broken down the eligibility criteria for this competition and what you need to do to apply before the 18 January 2023 deadline.
Looking for a free, no-hassle assessment of your eligibility? Just drop us a line.
Am I eligible for Smart?
When it comes to your eligibility for an innovation grant competition, there are two things you need to consider: your organisation and your project.
Your organisation
To apply for a Smart grant, your organisation must:
- Be UK-registered
- Carry out all of its development work in the UK
- Plan on exploiting the results of your project from or in the UK
- Be an SME or include at least one SME in your consortium
Your project
To qualify for Smart, you must be working on a disruptive innovation with the potential to generate a return for the UK economy rapidly.
Your idea must be genuinely new and novel, not just disruptive within your sector.
In addition, your project must:
- Have total qualifying costs of between £100,000 and £2,000,000
- Start by 1 July 2023
- End by 30 June 2026
- Last between 6 and 36 months
Not sure if your company or project qualifies? Our grants experts are standing by to help. Just drop us a line.
How much funding could I get?
To apply for Smart, your total project costs must be between £100,000 and £2,000,000.
The competition is separated into two streams:
- Funding stream 1 – If your project will last 6-18 months, your total costs must be between £100,000 and £500,000
- Funding stream 2 – If your project will last 19-36 months, your costs must be between £100,000 and £2,000,000
In the table below, we’ve mapped out what percentage of your project costs you can claim in grant funding based on your company’s size and the type of project you’re looking to fund.
| Project Type | Micro | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Industrial Research Project |
70% |
70% |
60% |
50% |
|
Experimental Development Project |
45% |
45% |
35% |
25% |
Not sure whether you’re a micro, small, medium or large company? Check out this blog.
For more information about how much funding other types of organisations can access – academic institutions, for instance – head over to the competition’s official page.
How do I apply?
There are three parts to the Smart application: Project details, application questions, and finances.
1. Project details
This consists of five subsections, including your application team, application details, and the scope and project summary, which sets the scene for assessors.
2. Application questions
This section consists of 7 questions, including your innovation, your justification for funding, and the potential market for your technology.
3. Finances
This is where you’ll enter your project costs, organisation details and funding details.
Thinking of writing your own submission? Check out these insider tips for optimising your Innovate UK application from GrantTree’s experts.
Maximise your chances of winning
If you’re thinking about applying to October 2022 round of Innovate UK’s Smart competition and want to maximise your chances of funding, the best thing to do is work with a specialist like GrantTree.
From the April 2022 round of Smart, we helped nine companies secure nearly £3 million in funding. Our success rate was 65% – roughly ten times the competition’s average.
Whether you want support writing your application from scratch or an experienced pair of eyes to review a submission you’ve prepared yourself, GrantTree is here to help.
