UK Based Grants
These Grants are administered by the DTI and Regional Development Agencies such as the LDA.
DTI Grants for R&D
Aimed at helping SMEs carry out R&D. Four types of awards are available:
| Type | Description | Company Size | Amount | Grant | Duration |
| Micro Project | Development of Simple Prototype of Innovative Product or Process | Micro Business | > £2,500 < £20,000 |
50% | < 12 months |
| Research Project | Assessment of Technical and Commercial Feasibility | Small Business | > £20,000 < £75,000 |
60% | > 6 months < 18 months |
| Development Project | Development of Pre-Production Prototype | SME | > £20,000 < £200,000 |
35% | > 6 months < 36 months |
| Exceptional Projects | Development of New Strategic Technology | SME | < £500,000 | < 35% | > 6 months < 36 months |
See the Department of Trade and Industry Research and Development for further details.
DTI Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea
Offers reimbursement of up to 75% of the consultancy costs in a "diagnostic analysis" of an innovative project and the production of an action plan. Up to £12,000 is available. See DTI website for further details.
Regional Grants
Regional Development Agencies also award Grants but the conditions vary.
For London, current programmes include Jumpstart, SME Innovation Support and Selective Finance for Investment (SFI). Further details can be found on the London Innovation website.
Industry Specific Grants
It is worth looking around to see if there are any specific grants/funders focussed on your industry sector or project remit. For example, The Wellcome Trust is the UK’s largest non-governmental source of funds for medical research.
Research and Development Tax Credits
Though not strictly a grant, research and development (R&D) tax credits are a way of reducing the net cost of projects, via company tax relief - which can either reduce a company’s tax bill or, for some SMEs, provide a cash sum. The R&D tax credit allows companies to deduct up to 150% or qualifying expenditure on R&D activities when calculating their profit for tax purposes. Companies which are SMEs can, in certain circumstances, surrender this tax relief to claim payable tax credits in cash from the Inland Revenue.
Details of the R&D tax credit schemes are available from the Inland Revenue website.
