Grant Funding

Helping you finance innovation and business growth

What is Grant Funding?

Grant funding helps businesses to thrive. They are a valuable source of Government support which accelerate ambition and realise vision for businesses across a wide range of sectors, helping start-ups to grow and established businesses to scale-up.

Grant funding is usually awarded to assist in the funding of a particular project. They can take the form of open competitions, ‘challenge fund’ competitions, or be un-competed “direct’ awards. They can be available to single applicants only or allow collaborations. There may also be conditions attached to a grant, for example, you may need to match fund (investing as much money as you receive), or demonstrate how the funding will increase productivity, or enable the delivery of a new service, or create new jobs.

Since it does not need to be repaid, grant funding can significantly contribute to the company’s ongoing growth without having to part ways with any equity. 

INNOVATION TAX KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SECURING GRANT FUNDING

Innovation Tax provide a bespoke range of grant services, from one-off funding consultancy, or grant application/bid writing, to end-to-end management of the funding and fundraising process; enabling companies of all sizes, industry sectors and locations to identify, apply for and successfully tap into the large range of grants and subsidies available.

WHAT GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE TO UK BUSINESSES?

Whilst there are many grant awarding bodies and hundreds of UK grants running at any one time, the application criteria will vary dependent on the size and stage of your company, your industry sector and location, and the type of project that you are seeking grant funding for.

Innovate UK


 
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UKRI

 

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Government Departments


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Industrial Strategy Council

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Corporates, Foundations,  Universities 

 

Local Authority/LEP’s

 

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What project activities qualify for grant funding?

Innovation tax continuously monitor the market for funding competitions and opportunities available to UK companies. Although each grant awarding body has different priorities and sectors, they target to ensure the best projects are funded. The range of activities which can be supported by grant funding are many and include (to name but a few):
  • Innovation
  • Expansion & Growth
  • Capital Investment
  • Ground-breaking Platforms & Technology
  • AI & Expert Systems  
  • High Risk Projects
  • Sustainability & Low Carbon Initiatives
  • Business ‘Greening’ 
  • Collaborative Projects
  • Staff Training, Upskilling & External Consultants

The process for obtaining grant funding can be fiercely competitive and difficult

Even if you meet the eligibility criteria and the aims of the grant there are many other things you will need to consider for the best chance of application success. Applications forms can be long and complex, needing a high level of detail provided within tight word limits and requiring careful preparation and plenty of man hours to stand a chance of a successful outcome. With thousands of companies applying every year, but less than 5% – 10% receiving funding for the most competitive grants, you must first determine if you should leverage company time and resources to apply.

We’ve met some great businesses with genuine innovations, who have lost out on previous grant applications due to:

  • The eligibility criteria was not met due to legal form, sector, size, or geography.
  • The application didn’t meet the funding guidelines / scope.
  • To little up front time &/or resources were allocated to planning & writing-up the application.
  • Project outcomes, evaluation, or consultation methods were not presented clearly and concisely.
  • The budget failed to meet funding guidelines, lacked detail, &/or the financial management procedures were unconvincing.
  • Match funding sources were not in place when the application was submitted.
  • Insufficient risk management &/or monitoring and evaluation processes in place.
  • The supporting documents were incomplete, inaccurate, contradicted the application, or were simply not enclosed.
  • The applicants were experts on their projects, but not professional grant writers.

That’s where Innovation Tax’s experienced grant consultancy team come in, maximising your chance of success by guiding you through the whole process and taking away the hassle, whilst keeping you informed throughout.

Grant Funding, Grants, Innovation Tax

Our expertise is on hand to help you submit a successful grant funding application

Innovation Tax’s dedicated, specialist grant consultancy team will boost your chances of success by ensuring your business is funding ready. Identifying the various opportunities available to you and confirming your eligibility, highlighting requirements, benefits and potential impacts on your business, guiding you though the process, structuring the application to the highest standard and helping draft the application with input from your team to ensure all costs are in scope and fully justified.

Whatever level of support you require, Innovation Tax are here to help maximise the probability of successfully securing the funding you need to innovate and grow.

Leaving you to concentrate on what you do best – running your business

IS YOUR BUSINESS GRANT FUNDING READY?

The questions you will need to consider will vary depending on the type of grant, the amount of grant funding you are seeking, and the awarding body. For example, whilst grants from Local Authorities/LEP’s may be less onerous to apply for and direct (i.e., un-competed) awards, they are usually for smaller amounts of funding, unlike, for example, some of the larger, but highly competitive Innovate UK grant calls, for which we have listed below some the questions you would need to be prepared to robustly answer or evidence in your grant application/bid.

Business Opportunity – What drives the innovation and market need?

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) – Has this been considered in your project plans?’

Innovation – What is innovative / novel about your solution?

Market – Which market will your solution solve and how will you target this?

Exploitation -How will you commercialise the solution and within what timescale?

Benefits – how will your solution provide wider economic, social and environmental benefits?

Project Plan – How will you manage the project and turn your idea into reality?

Team & Resources – Do you have a well balanced and experienced team to deliver the solution within the given timeframe?

Risks – What are the main project risks – technical, commercial, managerial, environmental?

Finances – Does the project represent good value for money and are your costs reasonable and fully justified?

Need for Funding – What other funding sources have been tried and why is public money necessary?

OUR PROCESS TO HELP YOU SUBMIT A WINNING GRANT APPLICATION

Week 1

Week 6

Identify grant funding
opportunities for your
project
Assess your eligibility
and confirm project meets
grant scope
Engage and hold
briefing session for your
team
Commence drafting of a
winning application
Pre-submission
Review

Week 6

Innovation Tax know what it takes to be successful in securing grant funding

Whatever level of support you require, we are here to help maximise the probability of successfully securing the funding you need to innovate and grow. We provide a bespoke range of grant services, from one-off funding consultancy, or a pre-submission review of your application, to full application writing and end-to-end management of the funding process; enabling companies of all sizes, industry sectors, and locations to identify, apply for, and successfully tap into the large range of grants and subsidies available.
Grant Funding, Grants, Innovation Tax

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Innovation tax know what it takes to be successful in securing grant funding

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