Creative, Digital & Design Business Briefing

A digest of useful information for UK businesses seeking funding and support, updated monthly

January 2017

@KTNUK

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Contents• Feature• Innovate UK funding calls• Horizon 2020• Funding• Events• Investment• Support • Contest/Call• Market Research/Personal Data Network

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in projects to stimulate innovation that creates UK business growth in infrastructure systems. They want businesses to collaborate to develop new integrated solutions and new business models. They expect projects to range in size from total eligible costs of £25,000 to £5 million. Projects should last between 3 months and 3 years. Projects must show significant innovation in one of our priority areas: ‘smart’ infrastructure, energy systems, connected transport or urban living.

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 15 March 2017 and apply before noon on 22 March 2017.

More info at gov.uk

Innovation in infrastructure systems round 2

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is to invest up to £5 million in projects to develop innovative manufacturing and materials technologies for the civil nuclear sector.The aim of this competition is to establish an innovative R&D base for materials and manufacturing. This will support a strong UK nuclear supply chain.

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 11 January 2017 and apply before noon on 18 January 2017.

More info at gov.uk

SBRI funding competition: advanced nuclear manufacturing and materials

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovation projects in manufacturing and/or materials. We will fund projects that focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. These should lead to increased productivity, competitiveness and growth for UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Competition opens: 21 November

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 18 January 2017 and apply before noon on 25 January 2017.

More info at gov.uk

Manufacturing and Materials Round 2

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: This Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) themed competition seeks to deliver a step change in aviation security through innovative science and technology. The competition seeks new technologies that will improve the ability to prevent the widest possible range of explosives, weapons and other threats being taken on board an aircraft.

Competition Closes: applicants must apply before noon on 19 January 2017.

More info at gov.uk

CDE themed competition: the future of aviation security

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovative research and development projects that will turn innovation excellence into economic impact for the UK.The aim of this competition is to help businesses develop new products, processes and services with commercial potential.

To be in scope, total costs for the project must be between £25,000 to £1 million. Projects should last between 6 months to 36 months.The competition is open to businesses of any size. You can work individually or collaboratively.

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 1 February 2017 and apply before noon on 8 February 2017.

More info at gov.uk

Open programme round 2

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: A scheme to help businesses innovate and grow by linking them with a university and a graduate to work on a specific project. Each KTP is a three-way partnership between a business, an academic institution and a graduate. The academic institution employs the recently-qualified graduate who works at the company. The graduate, known as the ‘associate', brings new skills and knowledge to the business.

A KTP is part-funded by a grant. You will need to contribute to the cost of the supervisor and the salary of the associate.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

2016/17 close dates for submission are: 18 January 2017, 8 March 2017 More info on: gov.uk

Innovate UK funding calls

Design Foundations is a new £3m grant funding programme from Innovate UK to help businesses identify innovation opportunities and generate better propositions for desirable, useful and feasible products, services and business models.

The aim is to build collaborations between businesses looking for new ways to innovate, and designers with the creative tools to provide this insight. It means using design interventions to address critical business challenges. Find out more

Innovate UK funding calls

Horizon 2020 funds high-potential innovation through a dedicated SME instrument, which offers seamless business innovation support under the section Societal Challenges and the specific part Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEITs).

Provided with about € 3 billion in funding over the period 2014-2020, the SME Instrument helps high-potential SMEs to develop groundbreaking innovative ideas for products, services or processes that are ready to face global market competition.

During the first two years of implementation (2014-2015), more than 1200 SMEs were selected to receive funding under the SME instrument call; as such, 513 million Euros were invested in the success of innovative SMEs. By the end of Horizon 2020, the SME instrument should have supported some 7500 SMEs to get their innovations delivered onto the market. Find out more

The SME Instrument

Department for Transport new technology grantThe Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF) is a new grant scheme from the Department for Transport. The purpose of the scheme is to help support and develop innovations that use or enable science, engineering and technology to address specified DfT policy goals. This could be the implementation of a new idea or applying existing ideas to a different sector or market.

Grants of up to £90,000 are available to businesses including those that are micro, small or medium-sized, academia or other organisations. Grants can fund up to 100% of the cost of a project (dependent on the type and size of the organisation and category of research being undertaken), with up to 30% of the grant available at the beginning of the project. Find out more

Funding

Design Council Spark is a 16-week support and funding programme designed to help you turn your bright idea into a commercially successful product. They will provide up to 15 finalists with specialist expertise and one-to-one mentoring. Once accepted onto the programme they will receive an initial sum of £15,000 to help you develop your product as well as a chance to pitch for a further share of £200,000. Deadline: 10 January 2017

Digital Business Drop-in – 12 Jan

Grant Writing Workshop - 12 Jan

Analysis for Innovators Briefing Event – 12 Jan

Funding for early-stage design launch event - 17 Jan

The Local Innovation Landscape; Innovate UK in the West Midlands - 19 Jan

Events

Digital Business Drop 12th JanuaryThe Knowledge Transfer Network will be organising an informal information sharing Business Drop-in session in London. The session is designed to support digital companies and learn more about Innovate UK, the Digital Catapult and other organisations and businesses that have opportunities and support for UK based businesses. Guests speakers include Department of International Trade, EIT Digital and Briffa Legal”Find out more here

Design Foundations The Knowledge Transfer Network will be running a networking event to launch Innovate UK's Design Foundations programme for 2017. This is the first event of many across the year to bring together companies and designers to help create the collaborations necessary to apply for a grant. The programme is aimed at tackle early stage interventions to help companies develop better propositions for new products, services or business models. While the event is oversubscribed, register for the live streaming of the competition scope and how to apply.

Events

KTN and the wider Innovate UK family are delighted to be involved in the organisation and delivery of Smart IoT London 2017. Following the success of last year's event, KTN is working with the organisers to pull together a showcase of the best 'up and coming' IoT talent - which could include you! Watch this space for further details.Date: 15 - 16 March 2017 ExCeL, London

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport is sponsoring the SME Innovation Zone at CYBERUK 2017 in Liverpool from 14-16 March 2017. DCMS is running a competition to select 10 UK small cyber security businesses to have a presence in the Innovation Zone. Closing date for applications is 23 January at 12:00 noon.

Events

Investment

Apply for Cylon, the world leading cybersecurity Accelerator Programme. The Programme includes £15K with 3% equity, training, connections, offfice space and a demo day. Deadline: 20 January

The INNOV8 Award is for unique, diverse & creative technology start-ups who will go up against each other in a fierce competition to win £100,000 investment & prizes from Business Rocks & Innov8 Partners.

Private Investment Directory now updatedDigital Refer now includes more than 250 organisations that provide private investment to Digital and Creative businesses in the UK, including:

Accelerator Programmes Business Incubators Start-up StudiosVenture Capital Funds Angel Investor Networks Corporate Venture Capital firms

Check out the new entries: bit.ly/ktnrefer

Investment

The Advance London programme provides free practical help and advice to SMEs in London to enable businesses to adopt and scale up circular business models.

The Fast Forward Pre-accelerator Programme is an initiative by City University and The Accelerator Network to prepare startup teams for first funding and successful application and entry to leading accelerators. Deadline: January 29th

CSIT Labs, an incubator programme for cyber security start-ups, is recruiting for its second cohort. The incubator is based at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), the UK’s National Innovation and Knowledge Centre for cyber security located in Belfast. Teams will undertake a 9 month managed incubator programme to take ideas and promising research in the field of cyber security through to investment and market ready stage. Deadline: January 11th

Support

Go To Grow - The Mayor’s International Business ProgrammeA new three year programme of mentoring, expert advice and real business opportunities for high-growth companies Programme focussed on ‘internationalising’ scale-ups – London based companies wanting to grow outside of the UK.The programme is open to fast-growing companies in London operating in three broad sectors: technology, life sciences, and urban. Your business will need to demonstrate that it is already generating revenue.

The PwC startup Growth Programme is a platform for fast growth, disruptive startups who want to shape the future through scalable innovation. 12 startups, 12 weeks, 2 programmes: Future of Work & Future of Health

Support

Swiss Re Pit Stop (Open Call)If your business is integrating machine learning, artificial intelligence or Natural Language Processing into Virtual Assistant platforms, Digital Catapult’s new Pit Stop with Swiss Re could be the perfect chance to develop them further. Find out more and sign up today.

Things Connected Open CallFuture Cities Catapult invites UK businesses to develop and demonstrate connected products in London using the Things Connected LoRa Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). The Catapult is intending to fund successful proposals for up to £10,000 using the “Things Connected” network in London to solve challenges around sustainability, urban mobility, connecting communities, healthy cities and urban planning. Deadline: Thursday 12 January at 12 noon. Find out more

Call

Briffa and the KTN have teamed up to produce a short webinar setting out the background and context to the The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and to explore some of the key concepts under the new regulation, such as accountability and ‘privacy by design’, consent requirements, the rights of data subjects and the obligations of data controllers and processors, possible sanctions for breach of the GDPR, and the rules regarding transfers of personal data outside of the EU.

Check out our blog post and the video on the Personal Data and Trust Network website.

Market Research

Personal Data and Trust Network

The network aims to build and nurture a community that brings together industry, the public sector, funders, research organisations and innovators to support the UK in becoming the global leader in trust and responsible innovation with personal data.

The partners are calling on any organisation interested in personal data, trust and reputation to join the network. Membership is free and will plug you into a vibrant community that we are bringing together. For more information and to join visit pdtn.org.