Innovate UK has launched the latest funding call for the NATEP helping SMEs innovate in aerospace competition. Here is more information about this award, who qualifies, and how GrantTree can support your application.
Innovate UK has partnered with the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide up to £2.5 million in funding for small and medium-sized businesses developing innovative aerospace technologies.
This award is part of the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme – NATEP – a £10 million initiative designed to mature 60 aerospace technologies invented in the UK.
The Autumn 2021 competition is the fourth of six calls and is open from 15 November until 12 January 2022. New calls open every six months, each one offering up to £2.5 million in funding.
To qualify, your proposal must align with the priorities stated in the UK Aerospace technology strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’. These priorities span a range of technical and environmental issues such as vehicles, propulsion, systems, and aerostructures.
Once submitted, your proposal will be subject to an independent assessment by Innovate UK and strategic review by the ATI. Your proposal will need to pass both assessments to be recommended for funding.
The final decision will be made by BEIS.
We’ve broken out the full eligibility criteria and how much your company can apply for below.
If you are thinking about applying for this competition and would like to explore using expert help, just drop us a line.
How much can my company apply for?
To qualify for the NATEP helping SMEs innovate in aerospace – Autumn 2021 competition, your project’s total eligible costs must be between £150,000 and £300,000.
But this is only half the story. The precise amount of funding you can apply for depends on your company’s size.
Micro and small enterprises can get funding for up to 70% of their eligible project costs, meaning they can access between £105,000 and £210,000.
Medium-sized organisations can apply for a grant worth up to 60% of their costs, or between £90,000 and £180,000.
How much can my company apply for?
Below is a complete breakdown of Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria for the NATEP competition.
As with any innovation grants contest, the list of eligibility criteria for this competition is long and fairly complicated.
If you want an easier way to find out whether your company qualifies, our grants experts would be happy to perform a free eligibility check. Just get in touch, and we’ll be right with you!
Your company
To qualify for the NATEP helping SMEs innovate in aerospace competition, your company must:
- Be a UK-registered business
- Or a research and technology organisation (RTO) participating as a business
- Prove that it can provide match funding from entirely private sources
- Intend to exploit the results from your grant-funded project from or in the UK
- Carry out all of your project work in the UK
- Not be in financial difficulty
- Not be in breach of the UK Subsidy control regime
Your project
Your project must:
- Have total eligible costs between £150,000 and £300,000
- Start after 1 June 2022
- End by 31 March 2024
- Last between 12 and 18 months
Being a lead organisation
To lead a project, your company must:
- Be a micro, small or medium-sized business
- Be collaborating with other UK registered businesses, research organisations, RTOs, public sector organisations, academic institutions, or charities
- Sign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute framework agreement
Being a collaborator
To collaborate with a lead organisation, your organisation must:
- Be a UK registered business, research organisations, RTOs, public sector organisations, academic institutions, or charities
- Be invited to participate in the project by the lead organisation
- Sign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute framework agreement
Use of subcontractors
You are allowed to use subcontractors under the following conditions:
- The subcontractor is selected through your usual procurement process (if they’re based in the UK)
- The subcontractor can be from overseas, but you explain why you are not using suppliers based in the UK
- This includes providing a detailed rationale, evidence that you contacted prospective UK subcontractors and an explanation of why you could not work with them
- Cheaper cost is not a sufficient reason to use an overseas supplier
Previous applications
You are allowed to use previous applications to apply for this competition.
However, Innovate UK will not award you funding if your company has:
- Failed to comply with the terms and conditions of a previous competition
- An overdue independent accountant’s report
- Failed to exploit a project that was previously funded by a grant
Maximise your chances of success
If you’re looking to apply for the NATEP helping SMEs innovate in aerospace – Autumn 2021 competition, working with GrantTree can significantly increase your chances of success.
Just drop us a line, and a member of our grants team will be right with you.
