How to successfully access innovation funding from Innovate UK

Innovate UK provides funding to support business innovation. We spoke to businesses that have successfully secured finance for advice on a winning application

Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, helps companies to grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services.

It does this by offering grants, loans, and other support. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the primary focus.

The funding competitions are very competitive, with only 3% of applicants receiving money for some schemes.

Types of Innovate UK funding

There are two different ways that you can access financial support from Innovate UK: grants and loans.

Innovate UK’s grants are focused on research and development (R&D) projects in areas of strategic importance to the UK economy, such as artificial intelligence, net zero, and life sciences.

Through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships businesses partner with an academic institution, like the business schools delivering the Help to Grow: Management Course, to tackle an innovation challenge or opportunity and a grant is provided to part-fund the project.

Innovate UK’s innovation loans are debt finance of between £100,000 and £5 million. They fund close-to-market innovation projects with strong commercial potential that will significantly boost areas of the UK’s economy included in the Innovate UK plan for action.

How to successfully apply for Innovate UK funding

The latest Innovate UK funding competitions are published on the Innovation Funding Service. You can also subscribe to receive funding updates via email.

Here is some best practice advice from Innovate UK to keep in mind when completing your innovation funding application.

Find the right competition

Before applying for funding, ensure you are eligible. If your application isn’t within the scope of the competition, it will be rejected regardless of how good it is.

Read the guidelines carefully and ensure your innovation project is the right fit. 

Consider collaboration

If the funding competition allows it, joining forces with other businesses or organisations can boost your application.

Collaborations give you access to skills and expertise your business may lack. They also allow you to pool resources and share risks.

Submit a strong application

Writing a strong application that answers all the questions asked effectively is crucial.

Innovate UK’s Good Application Guide says: ‘Most of the Innovate UK funding programmes follow a similar application format and you should bear in mind that the questions are designed to help rather than trip you up.

‘It is important that you answer the questions asked and cover all aspects the guidance for applicants describes. You should try to use the language they are looking for. The easier you make it for the assessor to understand and check off the information they seek, the more likely the proposal will score highly.’

Agri-tech company SugaROx has won several Innovate UK grants. Business development director Bianca Forte shared her advice for a successful application:

1. Position the project in your business journey

We always place the project in the bigger picture of our business journey. It’s not just about the science or technology, it’s about how the project helps us get to the next critical milestone faster, whether that’s regulatory approval, customer validation, or commercial launch. Innovate UK wants to see that their support will accelerate progress, not just fund interesting work.

2. Explain the route to market

One of the most powerful things you can do in an application is show a clear route to market, even if it’s still being refined. Outline the steps you’ll take to de-risk that path: customer interviews, market analysis, and pilot partnerships that turn a promising technology into a product people actually buy.

3. Be transparent about risk

Innovate UK funding is designed to back high-risk, high-reward innovation; the sort of ideas that might be too early or too ambitious for private investors to fund alone. Don’t be afraid to be honest about the technical and commercial risks. Showing that you’ve identified them, and have a plan to tackle them, builds credibility.

4. Validate end-user needs at any stage

Think hard about how the project will help you validate your assumptions about end-user needs. That could be running focus groups, doing customer discovery interviews, or running small-scale field trials. Funders like to see that you are building technology hand-in-hand with the people who will ultimately use it.

5. Balance vision and practicality

An Innovate UK proposal should blend ambition with practicality. Paint the big picture — why this innovation matters — but also show that you know how to use the project to generate evidence, refine your product, and make the case for future investment. That balance is what turns a good idea into a fundable plan.

Get support

Getting help from experts can increase your chance of winning innovation loans and grants. Advisers can also alert you to a funding opportunity in the first place.

Sources include:

• Innovate UK Business Connect helps with applying for funding and finding collaboration partners.
• Innovate UK Business Growth provides one-to-one advice on funding applications.
• Private sector funding consultants help with writing and reviewing funding applications.
• Accountants assist with the financial aspects of funding applications.

Rachael Taplin won funding for her business Media Matchmaker from Innovate UK’s Creative Catalyst programme. She was allocated an senior growth specialist by Innovate UK who told her about the funding. That specialist and two other advisers helped with her application.

She said: ‘We spent weeks fine-tuning the application, making sure every element was clear and compelling. Having had unsuccessful applications in the past was actually a real benefit, because I could study the scoring and feedback and ensure I addressed every gap this time around.

‘I’m dyslexic, so writing applications is always a challenge for me. I know my business inside out, but when it comes to funding bids it’s about the exact wording, the keywords they’re looking for, and explaining the idea in a clear, objective way. The advisers helped me step back and look through the eyes of the assessors, not just from my own perspective as the founder.’

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