UK Research Funding for Research-Intensive Businesses
How do you find research funding for businesses? There are a number of funding agencies for research-intensive businesses in the UK. Although there are a large number of funding agencies in the UK, not all of them are for businesses.
Here is a simple taxonomy for the funding schemes available for UK organisations under the InnovateUK funding programme. A typical InnovateUK funded project is led by a UK registered business. This is a mandatory requirement because the programme is supported by UK tax payer’s money. Please check the latest competition doc for the most up-to-date requirements.
| Funding Type | Minimum number of UK partner | Minimum number of nations | UK consortium Funding cap (£) | Typical Funding Rate |
| Eureka Cluster Programme (ITEA, CELTIC-NEXT, XECS, SMART, EUROGIA2030) | 1 | 2 Typically, 2-4 countries | 600K per grant (2022 ITEA cluster) Project size = grant/0.7 = £857K (assuming funding rate is 70%) | For-profit business: 70% Non-for-profit / University / RTO: 100% |
| Eureka Eurostar Programme | 1 | 2 (max = 2) | 360K per grant | For-profit business: 60% Non-for-profit / University / RTO: 100% |
HorizonEurope is a major funding scheme for UK organisations too, including academics/universities, research institutes, charities, non-for-profit, and for-profit companies. Here is a table of HorizonEurope Funding schemes that are available to UK companies and organisations. Please check the latest competition doc for the most up-to-date requirements and specific eligibility criteria etc)
| Funding Type | Direct Costs (Labour) – €k | Indirect Costs (overhead) – €k | Total Costs – €k | Funding Rate | Grant – €k |
| Research and Innovation Action (RIA) All types of orgnisations | 100 | 25 | 125 | 100% | 125 |
| Innovation Action (IA) For-profit organisations | 100 | 25 | 125 | 70% | 87.5 |
| Innovation Action (IA) Non-for-profit organisations | 100 | 25 | 125 | 100% | 125 |
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