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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, part of Innovate UK's Launchpad programme, aims to invest up to £2.7 million in business-led innovation projects. The core objective is to grow innovation activities within the agri-tech and food technology cluster specifically located in Mid and North Wales. It seeks to support projects that contribute to the region's economic growth both during and after the project. This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, exclusively targeting businesses operating within the agri-tech and food technology sectors. The primary target recipients are UK registered businesses, particularly those collaborating in a consortium that includes at least one micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise (SME). The geographic focus is highly specific to Mid and North Wales, covering areas like Ceredigion, Powys, Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham. Projects must be carried out in the UK and exploit results within the UK. This is a one-time funding opportunity under this specific competition, though part of a recurring program.

Financial Structure

The financial structure of this grant is based on a grant funding model, with varying funding rates depending on your organization's size and the research category of your project. Funding Amounts

Total Fund: Up to £2,700,000 has been allocated for this competition.
Grant Request Range (per project): Your project's grant funding request must be between £150,000 and £500,000.

Eligible and Ineligible Costs

Eligible Costs: You must only include eligible project costs in your application. General guidance on eligible project costs is available, with specific guidance provided in this competition's eligibility section.
Ineligible Costs: Funding cannot be used for:
- Capital asset acquisition.
- Activities related to the purchase of road freight transport.

Co-financing and Funding Rates The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organization receiving the grant. The funding rates are as follows:

For Industrial Research Projects (earlier stage R&D):
- Micro or Small organizations: Up to 70% of eligible project costs.
- Medium-sized organizations: Up to 60% of eligible project costs.
- Large organizations: Up to 50% of eligible project costs.
For Experimental Development Projects (nearer to market R&D):
- Micro or Small organizations: Up to 45% of eligible project costs.
- Medium-sized organizations: Up to 35% of eligible project costs.
- Large organizations: Up to 25% of eligible project costs.
For Research Organizations Undertaking Non-Economic Activity:
- These organizations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs (this maximum is shared if multiple research organizations are in the consortium).
- RTOs, charities, not-for-profit organizations, public sector organizations, or research organizations: Up to 100% of their eligible project costs.
- Je-S registered institutions (e.g., academic): Up to 80% of full economic costs (FEC). The remaining 20% does not need to be shown on the finance table in IFS.

Subsidy Control

This funding is provided in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. It is classified as a 'Subsidy' and does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring compliance with all current Subsidy Control legislation. Innovate UK cannot advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations; applicants should seek independent legal advice if unsure.
Innovate UK may revoke funding if government commitment for the initiative is withdrawn.

Financial Reporting and Audit Requirements

Each organization in your project must complete their own project costs, organization details, and funding details within the application's 'Finances' section.
Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.
Innovate UK may withhold grant payments if there are any outstanding sums due in relation to other projects or if previous project exploitation failed.

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for this funding, your project and organization must meet several hard, non-negotiable criteria: Organizational Eligibility

Lead Organization: Must be a UK registered business of any size.
Consortium Requirements: This competition is open to collaborations only. Your consortium must include:
- At least one UK registered micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise (SME) that is claiming grant funding on the application.
- Each partner organization must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead.
- Any one partner must not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.
Collaborating Organizations: In addition to UK registered businesses of any size, collaborators can include:
- Academic institutions (cannot lead).
- Charities.
- Not-for-profit organizations.
- Public sector organizations.
- Research and technology organizations (RTOs - cannot lead).
Financial Standing: Innovate UK will not award funding to organizations considered to be in financial difficulty. Financial viability and eligibility tests will be conducted after the application stage.
Previous Funding Compliance: You will not be awarded funding if you have:
- Failed to exploit a previously funded project.
- An overdue independent accountant's report.
- Failed to comply with grant terms and conditions.
- Outstanding sums due to Innovate UK in relation to other projects.

Project Eligibility

Project Location: All project work must be carried out in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
Geographic Focus: The project must grow innovation activities specifically within the agri-tech and food technology cluster in Mid and North Wales. This includes Ceredigion, Powys, Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham.
Project Duration: Must last between 6 and 16 months.
Project Start Date: Cannot start before 1 December 2025. Projects must always start on the first of the month.
Project End Date: Must end by 31 March 2027.
Grant Funding Request: Must be between £150,000 and £500,000.
Exclusions: Projects that will not be funded:
- Those outside the specified grant funding request range (£150k-£500k).
- Involve the production, processing, or servicing of biochar.
- Are aimed solely at equine markets.
- Involve wild-caught fisheries.
- Involve primary production in fishery, aquaculture, or agriculture (must focus on research and development benefiting the wider business community).
- Use funding for capital asset acquisition.
- Have activities relating to the purchase of road freight transport.
- Are dependent on export performance (e.g., conditioned on exporting a certain quantity).
- Are dependent on domestic inputs usage (e.g., conditioned on using a certain percentage of UK flour).
Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed, but they must be from anywhere in the UK and selected through usual procurement processes. Non-UK based subcontractors are not permitted.
Application Limits: A business can only lead on one application but can collaborate in any number of applications.

Application Process

The application process is conducted entirely online through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). It is crucial to adhere to strict timelines and submission requirements. Application Timeline

Competition Opens: Monday, 30 June 2025 (9:30am UK time)
Competition Closes: Wednesday, 20 August 2025 (11:00am UK time)
Applicants Notified: Tuesday, 7 October 2025
Project Start From: Monday, 1 December 2025

Application Procedure and Sections Applications are split into four main sections: 1. Project Details (Not Scored): * Application Team: Invite collaborating organizations. * Application Details: Provide project title, start date, and duration. * Research Category: Select 'industrial research' or 'experimental development'. * Public Description: Describe your project for potential publication (up to 400 words, no commercially sensitive info). * Scope: Explain how your project fits the competition's scope, including how innovation activities will grow in the Mid and North Wales cluster during and after the project (up to 400 words). 2. Application Questions (Scored, except Q1-5): * Question 1. Applicant Location: State registered and work addresses for all organizations (not scored). * Question 2. Animal Testing: Indicate if your project involves animal trials/testing (not scored). * Question 3. Permits and Licences: Confirm correct permits/licences will be in place by project start date (not scored). * Question 4. International Collaboration: Detail any international collaboration or engagement (not scored). * Question 5. Trusted Research and Innovation: Explain relation to UKRI's TR&I Principles (dual-use, NSI Act, export control) (not scored). * Question 6. Need, Challenge, and Market Awareness (up to 600 words). * Question 7. Approach and Innovation (up to 400 words). * Question 8. Team and Resources (up to 600 words). * Question 9. Outcomes and Route to Market (up to 400 words). * Question 10. Risks (up to 400 words). * Question 11. Costs, Value for Money, and Added Value (up to 600 words). 3. Finances: Each organization must complete their own project costs and funding details. Academic institutions must upload a Je-S form. 4. Project Impact (Not Scored): Each partner must complete Project Impact questions. Required Documentation and Materials

Complete online application form (all sections marked as complete).
All partners must complete assigned sections and accept terms and conditions.
Appendices (PDF, max 10MB, legible at 100% zoom):
- For Question 7 (Approach and Innovation): One appendix (diagrams/charts).
- For Question 8 (Team and Resources): Project plan or Gantt chart (up to two A4 pages), and optionally, a short summary of main people (up to two A4 pages).
- For Question 10 (Risks): Risk register (up to two A4 pages).
No website addresses or links (URLs) are allowed in answers; inclusion will make your application ineligible.

Application Assistance and Support

Accessibility: Innovate UK is committed to making the application process accessible and offers reasonable adjustments for applicants with disabilities or long-term conditions. Contact at least 15 working days before the closing date for best support.
Contact: For guidance or to submit in Welsh, email [email protected] or call 0300 321 4357 (Mon-Fri, 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm UK time, excluding bank holidays).
Feedback: Unsuccessful applicants can view feedback from assessors on their IFS portal.
Partner Search: Innovate UK Business Connect and local cluster support teams (AberInnovation, MSparc Agritech Cluster) can help find project partners.
Business Growth Support: Innovate UK Business Growth service offers fully funded, bespoke advisory support to innovation-focused businesses, including both funded and non-funded applicants.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by three independent assessors, and the scores will contribute to the total funding decision. Innovate UK and its local partners will also apply a 'portfolio approach' to prioritize projects, meaning they aim to fund a variety of projects across different categories. Projects scoring over 70% in technical assessment will be reviewed by a panel. Key Assessment Questions (Scored) Assessors will evaluate your proposal based on your answers to the following questions:

Need, Challenge, and Market Awareness (Question 6):
- The business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity driving your innovation.
- The target markets (domestic or international), their size, structure, dynamics, predicted growth rates, and any barriers to entry.
- Analysis of similar existing innovations and their limitations.
- Work already undertaken to address the need.
- For highly innovative projects, how the market potential will be explored.
Approach and Innovation (Question 7):
- How you will respond to the identified need, challenge, or opportunity.
- How your innovation improves upon similar existing solutions.
- The nature of the innovation (new technologies, existing technologies in new areas, or disruptive).
- Freedom to operate and alignment with your current offerings.
- How it will enhance your competitiveness.
- Expected outputs (e.g., reports, demonstrator, know-how, product/service design) and their relevance.
Team and Resources (Question 8):
- Roles, skills, and experience of all project team members.
- Required resources, equipment, and facilities, and how they will be accessed.
- Details of vital external parties (e.g., subcontractors) and their importance.
- Current relationships between partners and how they will evolve.
- Roles to be recruited.
- Main work packages, lead partners, and costs.
- Project management approach, tools, and mechanisms.
- Management reporting lines and project plan details (dependencies, milestones).
Outcomes and Route to Market (Question 9):
- Your current market position and how the project will extend/establish it.
- Target customers/end-users and the value proposition for them.
- Your route to market.
- How the innovation will generate profit (increased revenues, cost reduction).
- Impact on productivity and growth (short and long term).
- Strategy for protecting and exploiting project outputs (e.g., patents, know-how).
- Plans to target other identified markets.
- For research organization activity, plans to disseminate research outputs and use results in future research.
Risks (Question 10):
- Identification of main technical, commercial, managerial, and environmental risks and uncertainties.
- Detailed mitigation strategies for identified risks.
- Critical project inputs (resources, expertise, data sets).
- Regulatory requirements, certifications, ethical issues, and how they will be managed.
Costs, Value for Money, and Added Value (Question 11):
- Total eligible project costs and requested grant amount.
- How each partner will finance their contributions.
- Justification of value for money for both the team and the taxpayer.
- Comparison to alternative spending.
- Balance of costs and grant across partners.
- Justification of subcontractor costs and their criticality.
- Advantages of public funding (e.g., investor appeal, reduced risk, faster market entry).
- Impact of project outcomes on involved organizations.
- Other investment/support explored and reasons for unsuitability.
- How existing/potential investment will integrate with the grant.
- What the project would look like without public funding.
- How the project changes R&D activities of involved organizations.

Prioritization Factors (Portfolio Approach) Innovate UK reserves the right to prioritize projects that demonstrate: * More innovation activity or value creation in the cluster, or outside the Greater South East of England, both during and after the project. * More engagement in the innovation cluster, both during and after the project. * Closer alignment to the competition's scope and specific themes.

Compliance & Special Requirements

This grant has several compliance obligations and unique aspects that applicants must consider: Regulatory Compliance

Subsidy Control Act 2022: The funding is subject to this Act. Applicants must ensure their receipt of the grant is compliant.
Financial Viability: Innovate UK will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests. Organizations in financial difficulty are not eligible.
Permits and Authorizations: Applicants must confirm that all necessary permits and licences will be in place by the project's start date.
UK Sanctions: The competition will not fund any individual or entity directly or indirectly involved in activities that would expose Innovate UK to UK Sanctions.

Ethical Standards and Requirements

Use of Animals in Research: Projects involving animals must comply with UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation and safeguard welfare standards. Additional information on welfare and ethical considerations will be required for selected projects.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles: Applicants must explain how their proposed work relates to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, specifically addressing:
- Any dual-use applications (military and non-military) of their research.
- Relevance to any of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act.
- Whether an export control license is required under academic export control guidance and its status.
- Any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List.
- Additional TR&I information may be requested.

Data Protection and Privacy

Data Sharing: Information submitted during the application process can be shared between Innovate UK, Welsh Government, Growing Mid Wales, and Ambition North Wales (co-funders/agencies) for storage, processing, and use. This includes personal details, scoring, feedback, and grant management reports. Innovate UK also shares data with regional UK third parties.
GDPR Compliance: Innovate UK complies with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, committed to upholding data protection legislation.

Strategic Alignment and Unique Aspects

Local Economic Growth: The geographical requirement aligns with the UK Government's goals for local economic growth.
Ongoing Contribution to Cluster: Applicants must clearly describe how their main project activities and work packages will grow their innovation activities in the Mid and North Wales cluster both during and after the project. Failure to demonstrate ongoing contribution may lead to being ineligible for funding.
Bilingualism: Reflecting the bilingual nature of Wales, applicants are encouraged to consider opportunities for bilingual communications, materials, and engagement activities.
Secure Innovation: Innovate UK promotes the 'Secure Innovation' campaign by NPSA and NCSC to help innovators protect technology and competitive advantage.

Risk Management

Applicants are required to identify main risks and uncertainties (technical, commercial, managerial, environmental) and provide detailed mitigation strategies in their application (Question 10), supported by a risk register appendix.

Intellectual Property

Applicants are expected to explain how they will protect and exploit the outputs of their project, for example, through know-how, patenting, designs, or changes to their business model (Question 9). While not a specific policy, the expectation is for clear strategy.

Grant Details