Throughout the year there is always a range of SME grant funding opportunities open to innovative businesses across the UK. From Smart Grants which support SMEs in a wide range of sectors to industry specific grants for medicines manufacturing, media and AI, to name just a few. Grant funding can help businesses develop game changing and world-leading innovative R&D projects.
Below is a list of the grant funding competitions open for entries between October and December 2023 with links to more information on each one. The competitions are listed in opening date order with the most recently opened first. New competitions are regularly announced and this list will be updated on a weekly basis throughout this quarter. The list was last updated on 12th December 2023.
Applying for grant funding is a competitive process and some businesses seek assistance from professional grant writers to improve their chances of success. R&D Funding Group works with specialist grant writing partners to help businesses across the UK with this. For more information, please contact us.
Farming Innovation Programme: Research Starter round 4 – EoI
- Total funding available: £850,000
- Competition opens: Monday 18th December 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 14th February 2024 at 12:00pm
Improving and Scaling-up Semiconductor Manufacturing – CR&D
- Total funding available: £12 million
- Competition opens: Monday 4th December 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 31st January 2024 at 11:00am
UK-Australia Renewable Hydrogen Innovation Partnership Programme
- Total funding available: £5 million
- Competition opens: Friday 1st December 2023
- Competition closes: Friday 12th January 2024 at 12:00pm
Transport Decarbonisation Demonstrators
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 27th November 2023
- Competition closes: Monday 8th January 2024 at 11:00am
Canada-UK Critical Minerals: Sustainability and Circularity
- Total funding available: £5.4 million
- Competition opens: Monday 20th November 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 3rd April 2024 at 5:00pm
Growing Kent and Medway: prototyping and demonstrator fund
- Total funding available: £750,000
- Competition opens: Monday 20th November 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 24th January 2024 at 11:00am
Zero Emission Generators (ZE-Gen) Accelerator Phase 1: Discover
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 20th November 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 31st January 2024 at 5:00pm
Transforming Cancer Therapeutics
- Total funding available: £10 million
- Competition opens: Wednesday 15th November 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 24th January 2024 at 11:00am
Analysis for Innovators (A4I) Round 12 – Stage 1
- Total funding available: £2.25 million
- Competition opens: Monday 13th November 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 3rd January 2024 at 12:00pm
ATI Programme strategic batch: Expression of Interest November 2023
- Competition opens: Monday 6th November 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 22nd November 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: net zero industry, South West Wales
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 30th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: life & health sciences, Northern Ireland
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 30th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: health technology, West Yorkshire
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 30th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: digital technologies, North East England
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 30th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing in Scotland
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 30th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Design Foundations: Repairability
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 30th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 10th January 2024 at 11:00am
Launchpad: marine and maritime in the Great South West:
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 23rd October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: immersive & creative, Coventry & Warwickshire:
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 23rd October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 11:00am
Launchpad: Agri-tech and food tech in Eastern England:
R1 Minimal Financial Assistance
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 23rd October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 11:00am
Eureka GlobalStars Japan Round 2
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 23rd October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 31st January 2024 at 11:00am
UK-US Offshore Wind Collaborative R&D
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 16th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 10th January 2024 at 11:00am
- Total funding available: £400,000
- Competition opens: Monday 16th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Creative Catalyst: AI in the Music Industry
- Total funding available: £1 million
- Competition opens: Tuesday 10th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 22nd November 2023 at 11:00am
Net Zero Mobility: Feasibility studies for optimal data exchange
- Total funding available: £3 million
- Competition opens: Monday 9th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 11:00am
Mindset: Extended reality for digital mental health – Strand 1 / Strand 2
- Total funding available: £4.5 million
- Competition opens: Monday 9th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 11:00am
MyWorld Collaborative Research and Development: Round 2
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 9th October 2023
- Competition closes: Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 11:00am
African Innovation Collaborations for Net Zero Places
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 9th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 22nd November 2023 at 11:00am
Transforming medicines manufacturing – Grand Challenge
- Total funding available: £4 million
- Competition opens: Monday 9th October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 15th November 2023 at 11:00am
SBRI: Future Telecommunications Challenge
- Total funding available: £28 million
- Competition opens: Friday 6th October 2023
- Competition closes: Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 11:00am
ATI Programme strategic batch: Expression of Interest October 2023
- Competition opens: Monday 2nd October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 18th October 2023 at 11:00am
Innovate UK Smart Grants September 2023
- Total funding available: £25 million
- Competition opens: Thursday 28th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 17th January 2024 at 11:00am
AI Solutions to improve productivity in key sectors:
Single Entities / Collaborations
- Total funding available: £32 million
- Competition opens: Wednesday 27th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 15th November 2023 at 11:00am
Medicines Manufacturing Skills: Centre of Excellence
- Total funding available: £5.3 million
- Competition opens: Tuesday 26th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 22nd November 2023 at 11:00am
Flexible, agile, scalable and sustainable medicines manufacturing
- Total funding available: £5 million
- Competition opens: Tuesday 26th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 22nd November 2023 at 11:00am
Biomedical Catalyst 2023 Round 2: Industry-led R&D
- Total funding available: £20 million
- Competition opens: Wednesday 20th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 8th November 2023 at 11:00am
Farming Innovation Programme – feasibility round 3
- Total funding available: £4.5 million
- Competition opens: Monday 18th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 15th November 2023 at 11:00am
Scalable Quantum Network Technologies: Collaborative R&D
- Total funding available: £10 million
- Competition opens: Monday 18th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 1st November 2023 at 11:00am
Media Cymru: Greening the screen fund
- Total funding available: £600,000
- Competition opens: Monday 18th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 1st November 2023 at 11:00am
- Total funding available: £900,000
- Competition opens: Monday 18th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 1st November 2023 at 11:00am
Canada-UK: Plant-based Protein Innovation
- Total funding available: £6.5 million
- Competition opens: Monday 18th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 1st November 2023 at 11:00am
SSPP: Liquid food and beverages in refillable packaging
- Total funding available: £1.5 million
- Competition opens: Monday 18th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 25th October 2023 at 11:00am
Canada-UK Ocean Collaborative R&D: Expression of Interest
- Total funding available: £2 million
- Competition opens: Monday 11th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 18th October 2023 at 11:00am
UK – Germany Bilateral: Collaborative R&D Round 2
- Total funding available: £4 million
- Competition opens: Monday 4th September 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 11:00am
UK – Singapore Collaborative R&D Call Sustainability and Net Zero
- Total funding available: £5 million
- Competition opens: Monday 14th August 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 11:00am
Farming Innovation Programme Small R&D Partnership Projects Round 3
- Total funding available: £9.8 million
- Competition opens: Monday 14th August 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 25th October 2023 at 11:00am
Net Zero Living: User focused design
- Total funding available: £3.8 million
- Competition opens: Tuesday 1st August 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 4th October 2023 11:00am
Canada-UK: Biomanufacturing of Biologics and Advanced Therapies
- Total funding available: £3.5 million
- Opening date: Monday 26th June 2023
- Closing date: Tuesday 17th October 2023 at 5:00pm