The Innovate UK Smart grant supports SMEs and their partners develop the best game

changing and word-leading innovative R&D projects. It offers funding where other
opportunities are not available or appropriate, and where timing is key to ensure swift and
successful commercialisation post-project completion.

To be in scope your proposal must demonstrate:

● a game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products,
proceses or services
● an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
● clear potential to positively impact the UK’s position, productivity and competitiveness
within the global economy
● a clear, evidence-based business plan to deliver significant economic impact, return
on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after
project completion
● why Smart funding is the right potential funding for your project, and the journey you
have already been on to reach the point of application
● a team with the necessary skills and expertise to deliver the project successfully and
on time, and to achieve rapid commercialisation
● awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management,
mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
● sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money,
including the funding of post-project activities

Specific themes

Your project must focus on:

 ● taking customer and user needs into account to deliver more desirable and useful
solutions
● identifying who is ready to buy your innovation
● being developed, planned and resourced beyond the end of the Innovate UK funded
project, taking into account the focus of any project partners and their existing
commitments
● fitting in with and complementing your ongoing business planning and development,
product offerings and organisational structure to maximise chances of success

Research categories

We will fund feasibility projects, industrial research projects and experimental development
projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects:

● that do not meet the competition eligibility or scope

● where the technology is available or used in another sector
● that do not address the size, potential and access to market for their innovation
● that do not evidence the potential for their idea to lead to significant return on
investment (ROI), positive economic impact, growth and scale-up of the business
● that do not provide clear and realistic plans to commercialise their innovation as soon
as possible post-project completion
● where other Innovate UK funding support is available and more appropriate

We will not fund commercialisation activities such as marketing and sales.

We cannot fund projects that are:

 ● dependent on export performance, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the
condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
● dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the
condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

What we ask you

The application is split into 3 sections:

1. Project details.
2. Application questions.
3. Finances.
4. Project impact.

Accessibility and inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to
making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes providing support, in the form
of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face
barriers applying to us. Read more on how we are making our application process more accessible
and inclusive for everyone.

You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at
least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the
most suitable support possible.
You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are
open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Application team

If you are a single applicant decide which people from your organisation will help work with you on
the project and invite them to help complete the application.

If your proposal is collaborative, decide which organisations will work with you on your project and
invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category
Select the type of research you will undertake.

Scope and project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative and how it fits with the
scope of the competition. This section will set the scene for assessors.

If your project is not in scope it will not be eligible for funding.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any
commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description.
This could happen before you start your project.

We will also use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from question 1. You will receive feedback for each
scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess.

You must answer all questions. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or
subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 2. Your idea and innovation

What is your idea and innovation, and why is it game-changing?

Explain in your answer:

 ● the specific innovation you propose to develop and how this is clearly different from
alternative solutions that are already available
● the specific need or challenge you propose to address and who would benefit from it
immediately and longer term
● whether the innovation will focus on the development of new solutions for existing areas, or a
totally disruptive approach or idea
● any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example if the project focuses
on developing an existing capability or building a new one
● any challenges or opportunities relating to equality, diversity and inclusion arising from your
project

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You must submit an appendix to support the motivation for your project. It can include diagrams or
charts to showcase the technical merit of your innovation and highlight how it is world leading. It
must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at
100% zoom.

Assessors will be looking for proposals involving a game-changing or disruptive innovation where the
innovation need is clearly defined. Nearest state of the art is understood and evidenced, and the
proposal demonstrates an idea that is different to, or ahead of, alternative solutions.

A fully developed proposal needs to go beyond presenting a new, novel or commercially viable idea,
and should demonstrate a structured and evidenced understanding of the sector and the opportunity
identified.

Question 3. Justification for funding

Why is your innovation and proposal suitable for Smart funding, and why do you need public funding
to help you succeed?

Smart grants are a highly competitive competition, where only the very best game-changing and
disruptive ideas, which score highly, will be successful in securing funding.

Explain in your answer:

● the journey you have followed to ensure you are ready for Smart grant funding, including any
training, support and mentoring you have undertaken
● any other routes of investment, including alternatives from the public and private sectors, that
you have already explored, why they are unsuitable, or why your application was turned
down
● why you consider Smart funding to be the right route for your project, organisation and
consortium (where applicable)
● what will happen to your project if you are not successful in securing Smart funding
● what clear advantages would public funding offer your project that other routes would not; for
example, enabling partnerships, leveraging wider investment, reducing risk and accelerating
routes to market (this list is not exhaustive)
● why public funding is justified as a means to fund this project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Assessors will be looking for applicants who have researched the match between their needs and
grant readiness against the scope of the competition before applying for Smart funding. They will
also assess the impact that Smart funding will have in terms of what would happen to the project if it
did not secure grant support: would it still be able to go ahead albeit with adjustments; would it not
be able to go ahead at all. For projects where benefits will accrue to others outside the project, they
will look at the unique advantages Smart public funding will bring in de-risking the costs for the
applicants.

Question 4. The potential market

What is your target market and what is your strategy for securing the market opportunity you have
identified, including your route to market and commercialisation of project outputs?

Explain in your answer:

● the size and current structure of the specific markets you are targeting, including
international, domestic, or both, supported by current market data
● the structure and dynamics of the target markets and how your innovation is distinct and
strong enough to change and impact these, including customer segmentation, competitors,
trends affecting market growth, and predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
● who is ready to commit to buying your innovation, and how you will ensure significant return
on investment (ROI), including evidence from any end user or market research that you have
already carried out
● your agreed plan for exploitation, your proposed route to market and commercialisation,
including your business models and any partnerships you have formed or will be looking to
form to secure market share
● the export potential for your project outputs
● any barriers to entry and how you will overcome these
● your freedom to operate and your project outcome’s potential for significant but realistic
returns

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Assessors will be looking for proposals where the target market and customer base have clearly
been researched and defined, and a strong understanding of the potential markets, including how
the proposed innovation will disrupt these in an ambitious way, has been presented and evidenced.
Route to market and commercialisation plans must demonstrate business skills and planning, the
potential for early revenue generation, de-risking the path to significant ROI, and how commercial
viability will be achieved. All plans must be realistic, appropriate, and practical for the identified
market, including any barriers that exist and provide achievable solutions to show how these will be
overcome.

Question 5. Impact and benefits

What will be the impact of receiving the grant, both for your business and outside your organisation?

Explain in your answer:

● the nature of the outputs you expect from your project, for example, reports, demonstrator,
know-how, new process, product or service design, and how these will help you to target the
need, challenge or opportunity identified
● how your project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings and how your
organisation will profit from the innovation, including increased revenues, growth, or cost
reduction
● how your innovation will affect your share of the market, productivity and growth, in both the
short and the long term
● the timescale needed to realise these benefits
● how your innovation will impact on the creation, safeguarding or displacing of jobs, both
within your consortium and the wider sector
● how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how,
patenting, designs, or changes to your business model
● the sustained, long term expected impacts on the UK economy, society, and the environment,
to your customers, supply chains and the broader sector
 ● any expected regional impacts
● any negative impacts that you have identified, and how you will mitigate against these
● how you have considered equality, diversity and inclusion in the development and design of
your innovation, for example unintended exclusion of minority groups

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Assessors will be looking for proposals that deliver and evidence considerable positive impact for the
organisations involved and for the wider economy. Impact should be considered at every level, from
job security or creation and safer working environments or practices, to developing skills, capacity,
increasing market share. Societal, environmental and regional benefits should also be demonstrated
and measured, for example benefits to quality of life, public empowerment and waste avoidance.

Question 6. Delivering your project

Who is in the project team, why do you have the right skills and experience to succeed, and how will
you successfully deliver your project?

Explain in your answer:

● the roles, skills, expertise and experience, including in project and risk management, of all
team members, which are relevant to ensuring successful delivery of the project
● the diversity of the project team that is relevant to your approach, observing confidentiality of
protected characteristics
 ● your capability to deliver in the required timeframe, given your existing business activities or
constraints, and considering no extensions or delays to the project duration are possible for
Smart funded projects
● any roles you will need to recruit for, and how you will promote equality, diversity and
inclusion
● the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
● the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work
with to successfully complete the project and why these tasks cannot be carried out by
project partners
● if your project is collaborative, the current relationships between project partners and how
these will change as a result of the project
● your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will
use to secure a successful project outcome
● how your project team will deliver outcomes and impact beyond the life of the project, and
how you will ensure swift, successful commercialisation following project completion

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit a project plan to support your answer. This needs to be in sufficient detail to identify
any links, dependencies or potential duplication between work packages or milestones.

Your appendix can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no
larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

You must also submit a risk register, indicating the main risks for your project, including, but not
limited to, technical, commercial, managerial and environmental.
You must include any identified interdependencies between these risks, the likely impact and your
mitigation strategy. You should pay particular attention to how you will mitigate project delivery risks
with your immediate and extended teams, for example your supply chain or end users.

It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at
100% zoom.

Assessors will be looking for strong and capable project teams, who have clearly shown and
evidenced their capacity to deliver the project and outcomes. This must include skills in managing
complex R&D projects, financial and risk management as well as technical skills relating to the
nature of the innovation itself.

Project plans should be realistic and should show how progress will be tracked and managed. A
comprehensive risk register should give confidence that the project team have the necessary tools
and mitigation strategies in place to successfully overcome challenges that may be encountered.

If applicable, relationships between consortium members, and how this will lead to the successful
delivery of work packages, should be defined. Post-project strategies for commercialisation should
be adequately resourced and should take into account existing business commitments and plans.

Question 7. Value for money

How will you spend your grant funding and how does this represent good value for money for the
taxpayer?
Explain in your answer:

● what the funding will be spent on and how are costs distributed between consortium partners,
if applicable
● a breakdown of costs aligned with tasks or work packages, and how best value for money
has been calculated, for example quotation comparison
● how you and any project partners will fund their contribution to the project and ensure that
this is in place, ready for the latest possible start date stated in the competition’s eligibility
criteria
● any subcontractor costs and how these have been calculated
● how you will fund and resource any post-project activities to continue your journey towards
commercialisation
● any wider support that you may need to access, for example partnerships, private finance
and export advice, and how this is critical to project success

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Assessors will be looking for proposals where costs are commensurate with works being carried out,
with evidence of how best value for money has been calculated.

Availability of match funding should be agreed by all consortium partners, where applicable, to
ensure that the project is able to proceed if successful in this competition. Assessors will also be
looking beyond the project to confirm solid financial planning, which will lead to swift
commercialisation.

The project must demonstrate it is fully resourced, financed and has plans in place to maximise
chances of success, for example, is funding available, is expertise in commercialisation and growth
in house or externally provided.
3. Finances

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and
funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.

For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance.

4. Project Impact
This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the
application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact
Management Framework video.