Funding & Opportunities

Supporting businesses, academia and healthcare providers to collaborate and innovate positive change for the benefit of patients, the NHS and the economy.

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Application deadline: Ongoing

Together with the University of the West of England, we run the Health Tech Accelerator Programme to provide up to 12 hours of free business support to small and medium-sized enterprises in the health and life science sector.

Health Tech Accelerator Programme

Support offered: Mentoring and business support (including planning and strategy, financial advice, market research, IP advice and bid writing); sector specific expertise; networking & academic/ industry collaboration opportunities

Stage of innovation: Any

Open to: Start-ups and SMEs based in the West of England who are looking to further develop novel products or services for the health and life science sector

Application deadline: Ongoing

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million to develop digital health technologies in partnership with organisations from EUREKA countries.

Eureka: healthy ageing

Support offered: Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £2 million to fund collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research.

Application deadline: 05/08/2020

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £10 million, including VAT, to help UK businesses and the public sector recover from COVID-19 in a sustainable manner.

The Sustainable Innovation Fund: SBRI phase 1

Support offered: Innovate UK will fund organisations to develop and demonstrate new products or services.

Open to: Your solution must help businesses and/or the public sector in the UK recover from the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic in a sustainable manner, demonstrating the impact and potential of a clean growth led recovery and transition to net zero.

Application deadline: 05/08/2020

The ever increasing pressures on hospital emergency departments are well documented globally and not just in the NHS. The next competition from SBRI Healthcare seeks to reduce demand and length of stay within emergency departments.

SBRI Healthcare 17 – Urgent & Emergency Care

Support offered: Successful applicants can receive up to £100,000 of funding for phase one (feasibility) and up to £1 million for phase two (development) for solutions that match the needs of the NHS.

Open to: The competition is open to single companies or organisations from the private, public and third sectors, including charities.

Application deadline: 27/08/2020

UK Research & Innovationare offering rapid response for short term research and innovation projects addressing and mitigating the health, social, economic and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Get funding for ideas that address Covid-19

Support offered: 80% of the full economic cost (fEC)

Open to: Anyone who is normally eligible for UKRI funding. You will need to show that you are able to start work within four weeks of the funding being confirmed.

Application deadline: Ongoing

In June 2020, Innovate UK’s CEO Ian Campbell confirmed that the Biomedical Catalyst was to be relaunched, allowing innovative biotech companies to access a share of £30 million in grant funding.

Biomedical Catalyst 2020 Round 1 Early & Late Stage Competition

Support offered: Innovative biotech companies will be able to access a share of £30 million in grant funding through a relaunched Biomedical Catalyst

Open to: Project must focus on the development of a product or process that is an innovative solution to a defined health and care challenge.

Application deadline: 07/10/2020

SETsquared’s Scale-Up Programme will invest £100k+ into R&D project proposal development for a significant number of open and themed One Health funds including Bio/Med tech focused on disease prevention, precision medicine and other novel medical solutions.

One Health Campaign

Support offered: Funding of up to £35k per project to help develop collaborative R&D proposals bids.

Stage of innovation: R&D project proposal development

Open to: Academics (from the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey), companies and consortia, including companies and academics.

Application deadline: Ongoing

The Wellcome Trust is awarding up to £750,000 support researchers who are transforming great ideas into healthcare innovations that could have a significant impact on human health.

Wellcome Trust Innovator Awards

Support offered: Up to £500,000, or up to £750,000 for multidisciplinary collaborations. Usually up to 24 months, or up to 36 months for multidisciplinary collaborations.

Stage of innovation: Any

Open to: Innovator Awards are open to researchers who are developing healthcare innovations that could have a major and measurable impact on human health. Individuals and teams from not-for-profit and commercial organisations can apply. Organisations can be of any size, based anywhere in the world.

Application deadline: Ongoing

The NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme supports the preclinical and clinical development of medical devices in areas of existing or emerging patient need.

i4i Product Development Awards Call 2019

Support offered: The aim of the Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme is to de-risk early stage projects that have a strong potential for commercialisation and acceptance for use in the NHS, making them attractive to follow-on funders and investors. i4i funds collaborative research projects that have demonstrated proof-of-principle and have a clear pathway towards adoption and commercialisation.

Stage of innovation: i4i Product Development Awards (PDA) support innovations at any stage of the translational research and development pathway, including the clinical development of laboratory-validated technologies or interventions.

Application deadline: Ongoing

If you are a business with ambitions to grow, the introduction of innovation into your strategy, culture and management can deliver real results.

Innovate2Succeed

Support offered: A range of business support, from access to funding and design thinking to leadership and management and entrepreneurial culture.

Open to: Any business looking to develop new products or technologies or take existing products or services to new customers or markets.

Application deadline: Ongoing

The Digital Innovation Business Acceleration Hub offers bespoke business support and coaching to help innovative companies in the West of England achieve their potential. The support is FREE and funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Digital Innovation Business Acceleration Hub

Support offered: A portfolio of targeted and tailored resources to help high growth companies grow even faster, with access to investment, customers, research and development grant funding. Please contact us if you would like to have a discussion in advance of an application.

Open to: Your business must have an operations address in the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership area (Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire)

Application deadline: Ongoing

The Bristol Industrial PhD Placement Fund is supported by the EPSRC National Productivity Investment Fund. It encourages innovative, creative and collaborative ways for PhD students to experience working within industry and gaining new skills.

Bristol Industrial PhD Placement Fund

Support offered: PhD students who take on a placement will be able to apply their technical, research and professional skills across different contexts outside of academia.

Open to: Any external organisation aligning with the EPSRC Industrial Strategy challenge in one of the 9 selected areas.

Application deadline: Ongoing