Grant Funding Canvas™

Grant applications are submitted to highly competitive opportunities with limited funding available which means that only the highest scoring applications are successful. In order to create a high-scoring application we suggest starting it a minimum of 3 weeks before the competition deadline. In our experience, the best grant applications are crafted over 6 weeks or more.

Grant funding is typically paid in arrears after a project has started. It is normally paid quarterly or at key project milestones. For example, Innovate UK typically pays grant funding after a project report has been submitted and approved at the end of each project quarter. Funding bodies typically hold payment of a portion of the final project costs until after the project has been fully ended.

Success is dependent on many factors such as eligibility, fund size and competition from others. Success rates therefore vary significantly between competitions. Competitions with specialist themes are usually less competitive than "open call" competitions. Statistics about funding competitions are usually reported by funding bodies or released in freedom of information requests.

Yes, start-up companies are normally eligible for grant funding. It is important to carefully check eligibility criteria for competitions as this can vary.

Yes, the fees for our grant writing services can be negotiated. Our grant writing services are priced competitively and can be reduced if a customer can help reduce our writing costs (e.g. by saving time) without impacting the quality of the resulting grant application.

Innovation is commonly defined as a new technology in an existing market or an existing technology in a new market. Innovative projects clearly build on existing state-of-the-art technology and as they are novel they are typically technically challenging and risky endeavours.

The company contribution varies depending on the specific funding body and/or funding competition. It is typically between 0% and 50% of the total project costs. Smaller companies (SMEs) are usually required to contribute less funding than large established companies.

Writing a grant application is not too dissimilar to writing a short novel. The story must successfully guide the audience from beginning to end, keeping them engaged throughout with the right content. A high quality grant application will have a well-defined scope and will provide all the right information at the right time in each of the questions that is answered.

A typical grant application requires multiple days of information gathering, fact-finding, writing, referencing, refining, checking, assessing, reflecting, visualising, and submitting. It is a team effort and we normally allow a minimum of three weeks to complete an application.

If one or more work packages in your project are suitable for a university to deliver then you should liaise with your academic partner who will be able to help. If you are seeking an academic partner for your project we can also help you. Please note that some innovation funding opportunities may not be suitable for academic partners or their budget allocation my be capped.

Yes! Please use the Canvas for your own projects and feel free to share it with your friends and colleagues.

Yes! You can apply on your own and still be successful. However, working with us means that you will benefit from our skills and experience in writing successful grant applications - as well as lots of time saved.

Your application will be reviewed by assessors and it will be scored. You will receive a notification that provides your score and whether your application was successful or not. If you are successful, you will then be required to complete some additional tasks to evidence your financial position to show that you can deliver the project.

Grant funding opportunities are available from multiple sources and competitions open and close frequently. To stay up-to-date on the latest news you can follow funding bodies such as Innovate UK. You can sign up to our Grant Opportunities Newsletter to receive the latest funding opportunities.