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The Scottish Funding Council has announced that the next deadline for applications under its Follow on Innovation Voucher Scheme is the 19th July 2019. The awards are specifically intended to encourage existing partnerships that have previously collaborated and jointly received funding. This can include the Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher awards scheme or any other funded activity. Businesses in partnership with Higher Education In...
The government is inviting organisations to apply for funding under a £4.7 million grant scheme to help boost the recycling of plastic packaging and textiles. Organisations in England can apply for government funding for innovative solutions to drive up the recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging such as plastic trays, pots and tubs, plastic films and pouches, as well as funding for innovative projects that boost the recycling of texti...
Public bodies, academic organisations and charities across Scotland are invited to apply for a share of a new £14 million fund that aims to help manufacturing businesses to improve their productivity and upskill their workforce. Maximum grant levels are not specified; awards will represent up to 50% of eligible project costs in the Lowlands and Uplands and up to 75% in the Highlands and Islands. Grants can be used towards direct staff costs o...
The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation is giving disabled entrepreneurs in the UK the chance to win a share of £100,000 to fund the further growth of their business, and become Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2019. Applicants can be businesses operated by and/or for the benefit of disabled people; or employers whose workforce is made up of significant numbers of disabled people. The overall winner will receive a top prize of £30,000....
Businesses across the UK are being invited to collaborate with an academic or research organisation and a graduate on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), a scheme that helps businesses to innovate and grow. Up to £40 million in total is available for part funding of KTPs that will offer businesses the opportunity to access new skills and the latest academic thinking to help them deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. KTPs can l...
Games companies based in any of the English regions outside of Greater London are invited to apply for an investment of up to £100,000 to help them grow. These repayable investments aim to help talented and individual games developers to overcome the hurdles of investment, marketing and discoverability and enable them to build a portfolio. Repayment options are flexible and may be a combination of loan and revenue share options that should be...
A new fund for Scotland has been announced that will enable social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups to deliver community projects that make a social impact while also contributing to the wider economy. Organisations will be able to access affordable and flexible loans of between £100,000 and £1.7 million from this £17million Fund. The loans take the form of ‘Patient Capital’, a repayable form of investment that can be used fo...
The Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy Challenge Fund offers funding of up to £100,000 from a total pot of £3million to support public, private or third sector organisations and businesses active in the foundational economy. The Foundational Economy refers to those business in everyday use, for example care and health services, food, housing, energy, construction, tourism and retailers on the high street. The aim is to help organisat...
Social Enterprises, charities and community groups in Scotland that create jobs and protect the environment can now benefit from a new £17 million investment fund to expand and grow their activities. The Scottish Social Growth Fund will be open to new applications and it will provide affordable and flexible loans of between £100,000 and £1.7 million to charities and social enterprises. The fund will be delivered by Social Investment Scotla...
A new round of an investment initiative that enables independent games developers from the English Regions (outside Greater London) to kick-start the development and release of a new game launches on the 21st May 2019. The Greenshoots Fund supports games companies in early stage development and helps to stimulate the wider games industry. Previous recipients include Nottingham-based Pixel Squad, whose game Crime Coast, featured prominently acr...
The City Bridge Trust (CBT) has relaunched its Stepping Stones Fund, an award-winning social-investment readiness grants programme delivered in partnership with UBS. Since its inception in 2014, the Stepping Stones Fund has distributed over £3m in grant funding to 77 organisations in Greater London who wish to test out ideas for trading, for property purchase and for redevelopment. The aim is to make organisations more robust, encouraging res...
Small and medium sized businesses in Scotland can apply for a share of £2 million to help them to prepare for Brexit. Grants of up to £4,000 are available to businesses employing up to 250 staff and can be used for activities including consultancy support, professional fees, external training, and international market research. The funding is being made available through Scottish Enterprise and applications can be submitted at any time.
A £10 million fund aiming to support tidal energy generation development in Scottish waters is now open for applications. Aiming to drive innovation and achieve a reduction in the cost of electricity generated, funding is available in the form of a grant, loan or other form of repayable assistance of up to £5 million per award. Individual organisations or consortia of organisations and groups are eligible to apply. Projects must be able to d...
The Better Broadband Scheme has been extended for a further year until 31st December 2019. The scheme offers a subsidised basic broadband connection to businesses and private dwellings where occupiers are unable to access download speeds of at least 2 mbps, and who will not benefit from the superfast broadband rollout within the next 12 months. The subsidy can be used to fund a variety of technology solutions, including satellite, 4G and fixed...
Applications are now open for UK businesses to apply for grants of up to £2,500 to attend international trade shows. The financial support is for UK SMEs to participate in overseas exhibitions and conferences that cover a range of sectors, from education to aerospace and creative to maritime. Successful businesses can use the grants to fund direct exhibiting costs, including stand costs and conference fees. The funding is being made available...
Manufacturing businesses in the North East of England are now able to apply to the Collaborative Projects Fund following the launch of a £5.1million project by the University of Sunderland. The Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) project is a multi-million pound scheme to support small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) across the North East LEP region, aiming to create jobs and unlock growth. Applications from SME consor...
Businesses and not-for-profit organisation of any size can apply for a share of up to £40 million to take part in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). The aim of the programme is to help businesses turn academic research into viable products and services that will lead to growth and future development. KTPs can either build on an existing relationship with an academic partner, or be a completely new collaboration with a university, colleg...
Small and medium size businesses in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland interested in investing in Gigabit connectivity are being encouraged to take advantage of a UK wide voucher programme. Offered by the UK Government, individual business can claim up to £3,000 towards the cost of full fibre connection or join together with nearby businesses to make a group application with each member able to claim a £500 voucher. The scheme is open unt...
To enable small and medium sized business to overcome barriers to implement waste prevention measures a new fund has been launched. Grants are available to SMEs to undertake a particular project with a focus on raw materials savings, carbon savings and the movement of waste material up the waste hierarchy. To be eligible to apply for funding the applicant organisation must have a base in Scotland and be a small or medium sized enterprise with...
Disadvantaged and under-represented communities that want to develop successful community businesses by issuing community shares, can apply for development grants of up to £10,000 and equity investments of up to £100,000. The funding is available to both new and existing community businesses. The funding is however not suitable for newly formed community groups that are in the early stages of developing a community business proposal. The fun...
