UKRI Creating opportunities: rethinking economic (in)activity

NIHR is seeking research proposals to develop and evaluate interventions aimed at preventing and/or managing lymphoedema following breast cancer resection. Proposals should focus on innovative approaches to address this condition, which affects many breast cancer survivors. The goal is to improve patient outcomes and quality of life through effective prevention and management strategies.

​The EIC Work Programme 2025 outlines over €1.4 billion in funding to support breakthrough technologies and innovations in Europe. It introduces the STEP Scale Up scheme, allocating €300 million for larger investments in companies advancing strategic technologies. The programme also emphasizes increased access to Business Acceleration Services, particularly for emerging companies from 'widening countries'. ​

The Defence Innovation Loan FY25/26 Cycle 2 is a funding opportunity jointly offered by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and Innovate UK Loans Ltd. This initiative aims to support UK-registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in commercialising mature defence innovations.

You can apply for funding from ESA for the Open Call for Proposals or through specific themed opportunities. Your project must delivered R&D related to the space industry

This initiative offers UK-registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) loans ranging from £100,000 to £2 million. The loans are intended to support late-stage research and development (R&D) projects that are highly innovative and have strong commercial potential to significantly benefit the UK economy. Projects should focus on developing new or improved products, processes, or services that are ahead of current market offerings or propose innovative applications of existing solutions.

The NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme invites stage 1 applications for research addressing health service practices with potential to improve patient and NHS user wellbeing. As a researcher-led initiative, it welcomes diverse proposals tackling health service challenges. The programme funds high-quality quantitative and qualitative research with clear patient benefit, emphasizing public and patient involvement and co-development with service users.

This is a multi-sector generous loan opportunity of between £100k and £2m for UK registered, highly innovative SMEs with projects lasting up to 5 years.

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF II), managed by the British Business Bank, aims to stimulate economic growth and innovation by providing financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the Midlands region. Building upon the success of the first Midlands Engine Investment Fund, MEIF II seeks to enhance the availability and diversity of early-stage finance, thereby fostering business expansion and job creation. ​

This competition by the Department for Transport aims to develop affordable, user-friendly hardware and software solutions for coaches to comply with the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023. The solutions must provide accessible audio and visual route, destination, and location information, supporting disabled passengers. Proposals should prioritize scalability, compatibility, and affordability while incorporating innovative technologies.

The Investor Partnerships: Clean Energy and Climate Technologies competition, administered by Innovate UK, is designed to support UK-registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) developing innovative solutions in clean energy and climate technologies. This initiative combines grant funding with aligned private investment from selected investor partners to accelerate the commercialisation of technologies that contribute to the UK's net-zero objectives.

The EIC Pathfinder Open aims to support ambitious, high-risk research projects that develop radically new technologies with the potential to create new markets or provide transformative solutions to major challenges. It focuses on early-stage scientific research and breakthrough innovation, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and visionary technological developments.

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The Digital Solutions for Energy Transition initiative, administered by Scottish Enterprise, aims to foster collaboration between the energy and digital sectors to address challenges within the energy industry. The program seeks to demonstrate how digital solutions can enhance efficiency, sustainability, and innovation in energy-related processes, contributing to Scotland's transition to a net-zero economy.

​The EIC Accelerator is a European funding programme under Horizon Europe that supports start-ups and SMEs developing innovative, game-changing products, services, or business models with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones. It offers grant funding of up to €2.5 million for innovation activities (TRL 6-8) and equity investments ranging from €0.5 to €10 million, with higher amounts available under the STEP ScaleUp scheme.

This funding opportunity supports collaborative arts and humanities research projects, enabling researchers to establish or enhance interdisciplinary and international partnerships, foster early-career researcher development, and maximise the impact of research outcomes through effective communication and knowledge transfer. Proposals should prioritize arts and humanities perspectives while integrating diverse disciplines and sectors. Projects, funded for up to five years, must align with AHRC or NSF-SBE research themes and demonstrate a proportionate commitment from project leads.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), managed by the British Business Bank, aims to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunities for new and growing businesses across the North of England. Building on the success of the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, NPIF II delivers a £660 million commitment of new funding to smaller businesses. ​

The Digital Solutions for Manufacturing initiative, administered by Scottish Enterprise, aims to foster collaboration between manufacturing companies and digital technology providers to address specific challenges within the manufacturing sector. The program seeks to demonstrate how digital solutions can enhance efficiency, productivity, and innovation in manufacturing processes, thereby contributing to Scotland's economic growth and competitiveness.

​The European Space Agency (ESA) invites proposals for feasibility studies and demonstration projects that leverage space-based services and applications to enhance smart cities. This initiative addresses challenges arising from rapid urban population growth and climate change, focusing on areas such as urban development, emissions, air pollution, digital communication, transport, and urban overheating.

The Farming Futures R&D Fund: Low Emissions Farming competition, part of the Farming Innovation Programme delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with Defra, aims to fund collaborative industrial research projects that develop innovative solutions to reduce emissions in existing farming practices. Projects must address major on-farm or immediate post-farmgate challenges or opportunities, contributing to more sustainable and productive farming in England.

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The Contracts for Innovation: Net Zero Living Tech Trials, Phase 3 competition, funded by Innovate UK, aims to support the development of pre-commercial innovations that assist UK Local Authorities in achieving their net zero goals. The competition focuses on conducting extended field trials to evaluate and enhance emerging technological solutions, facilitating their progression toward commercial readiness.

The DASA Open Call for Innovation aims to identify and fund innovative ideas that enhance the defence and security of the UK. It provides a broad mechanism for innovators to present disruptive concepts, technologies, or services to defence and security stakeholders, even in the absence of a specific requirement.

The Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding, administered by Scottish Enterprise, is a discretionary grant aimed at encouraging capital investment and job creation in designated Assisted Areas of Scotland, classified as Tiers 2 and 3. The primary objective of RSA is to support projects that contribute to economic growth, job creation, and Scotland's transition to a greener economy.

This fund aims to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across Wales.

The MRC-NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme invites applications to assess novel non-pharmacological approaches for diagnosing, treating, or managing ADHD in children and adults. Proposals should target core symptoms or related conditions and provide strong clinical rationale and proof of concept. Evaluations must focus on interventions or technologies with convincing human evidence of efficacy, including diagnostic tools with promising sensitivity, specificity, or predictive value.

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NIHR i4i Challenge Awards support the real-world evaluation of medical devices, in vitro diagnostic devices and high-impact patient-focused digital health technologies for us in the NHS or social care system. The i4i Challenge Awards provide funding for collaborative projects with a focus on implementation research on technologies which have demonstrated safety and efficacy, and have a clear pathway towards adoption and commercialisation.

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The ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 1 is aimed at farming, growing, or forestry businesses based in England, offering a fixed £2,500 grant to help engage an external Project Facilitator who will assist in developing a strong application for the Full ADOPT Grant. This support is intended to enable on-farm trials and experiments that address key challenges or opportunities in agriculture, with the goal of improving productivity, resilience, sustainability, or advancing progress towards net-zero farming. Applicants must show a clear commitment to submitting a Full ADOPT Grant application within six months of receiving the support, as the grant payment is dependent on proof of submission. The funding must be used specifically to bring in a Project Facilitator to guide the development of the main grant application, with a focus on innovative solutions that tackle practical on-farm or immediate post-farmgate issues.

Arts Council National Lottery are offering funding to people in England who are creative, or work in the arts, museums or libraries. The fund supports thousands of individual practitioners, community and cultural organisations

​The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is launching a funding opportunity through its Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme to support the development of transformative and disruptive innovations aimed at reducing waiting lists and waiting times in healthcare services. ​

This Expression of Interest (EoI) competition supports projects aligning with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, focusing on civil aerospace applications, including dual-use technologies. Areas include zero-carbon emission technologies (battery, hydrogen, fuel cells), ultra-efficient technologies (energy efficiency, CO2, NOx, noise reduction), cross-cutting enabling technologies (aircraft lifecycle design and analysis), and non-CO2 technologies (fuel characteristics, aircraft systems, data operations).

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.

Apply for AHRC standard research grant funding to support collaborative arts and humanities projects. Projects must involve a UK-based project lead and at least one co-lead to develop and manage the research. These grants aim to foster collaborations within and beyond academia, enhance career development for researchers, and promote effective dissemination of research outcomes. Proposals can involve interdisciplinary or international partnerships and may include individual research components that demonstrably add value to the overall project.

The Content Fund is a joint plan between Government and industry to drive growth, build talent and develop skills across the creative sectors.

ESA aims to fund projects that use space technology to improve the insurance industry. This includes finding ways to predict and prevent risks, manage claims more efficiently, and enhance customer experiences.

​The European Space Agency's Open Call for Proposals invites businesses from any sector to apply for funding throughout the year to develop new commercial services that utilise one or more space assets, such as satellite communications, Earth observation, or satellite navigation.

The LSIMF will provide capital grants across the UK and sector-wide to support investments in the manufacturing of human medicines (including active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished products), medical diagnostics (for disease identification and monitoring), and MedTech products (medical devices for human health). The fund will remain open until all funding is allocated.

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has launched Phase 2 of the Innovation in Support of Operations competition, aiming to identify and fund innovative, cost-competitive solutions that can be rapidly manufactured and scaled within approximately twelve months. These solutions should address specific operational challenges faced by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The Investment Fund for Wales, managed by the British Business Bank, aims to support the growth and development of smaller businesses across Wales. This initiative is part of the broader Nations and Regions Investment Funds, designed to address regional funding gaps and promote economic development.

The aim of the competition is to conduct extended field trials to evaluate and enhance any emerging technological solution in the clean air domain. The technology may be focused on monitoring, mitigating or extracting air pollution to safeguard human health.

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The Farming Futures R&D Fund: Precision Breeding Competition aims to support collaborative industrial research projects that unlock the benefits of precision breeding in developing ambitious new solutions.

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The goal is to lead to more sustainable and productive farming practices in at least one of the following two farming subsectors:
–Horticultural crops
–Arable crops​
–This initiative aligns with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)'s targets and commitments and empowers the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023.

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Scottish Enterprise's Research and Development (R&D) Grants aim to support businesses in Scotland that are developing new products, processes, or services, or significantly enhancing existing ones. The program seeks to boost business competitiveness, stimulate further R&D activities, and benefit the Scottish economy. ​

The Future Flight: Regional Demonstrator competition, jointly funded by Innovate UK and the Department for Transport (DfT), aims to invest up to £600,000 in projects that demonstrate the commercial viability of regional drone, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), or zero-emission conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) aircraft operations or services within the UK. The initiative seeks to accelerate the transition from trials of cutting-edge innovations to real-world commercial operations at a regional scale, unlocking high-value socio-economic benefits for UK communities and aligning with the objectives of the DfT's Future of Flight programme.

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i4i THRIVE (Translate Healthcare Research through InnoVation and Entrepreneurship) programme invites innovations at prototype development level (Technology Readiness Level (TRL 3)) and above which demonstrate potential to reduce health inequalities and meet needs in underserved communities.

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Creative UK have partnered with Triodos Bank on the Creative Growth Finance fund to offer loans of £100,000 to £1m* to businesses that bring change, disruption and new IP to the creative industries, harness creativity with technologies and supporting businesses and are talent led.

The Future Flight: Strategic Growth competition, jointly funded by Innovate UK and the Department for Transport (DfT), aims to accelerate the development and commercialisation of integrated Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in the UK. The focus is on advancing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, contributing to the objectives of the DfT’s Future of Flight programme.

The Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by the British Business Bank, aims to support the growth and development of smaller businesses across Scotland. This initiative is part of the broader Nations and Regions Investment Funds, designed to address regional funding gaps and promote economic development.

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The READ-OUT Digital Cognitive Dementia Assessments competition, funded by Innovate UK, supports the deployment and evaluation of high-maturity digital cognitive assessments (DCAs) for dementia within the READ-OUT blood-based biomarker study led by the University of Oxford, contributing to wider initiatives like the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative.With up to £1.2 million in total funding (inclusive of VAT), single projects can receive up to £600,000, starting on 1 August 2025 and lasting up to 20 months, to be completed by 31 March 2027. Proposals must demonstrate real-world readiness, show potential impact on dementia diagnosis and care, and be aimed at integrating DCAs into existing clinical pathways. The competition is open to organisations of any size, with collaboration optional, and projects must stay within the £600,000 cost limit and adhere to the defined timeline.

Provide financial support to highly innovative, late-stage R&D projects that demonstrate the potential for significant economic impact and a clear path to commercialisation.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the "Space for Intermodal Transport" funding opportunity to support European teams in developing sustainable, space-based services and applications that enhance intermodal transport for both freight and passengers. This initiative aims to improve the efficiency, flexibility, and environmental sustainability of transportation systems by integrating multiple modes of transport through innovative solutions utilizing satellite data and space-based technologies. ​

The ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 1 is designed to help farming, growing, or forestry businesses in England by offering a fixed £2,500 grant to engage an external Project Facilitator who will support the development of a Full ADOPT Grant application. The Full ADOPT Grant focuses on on-farm trials and experiments that address significant challenges or opportunities in agriculture, aiming to improve productivity, resilience, sustainability, or progress towards net-zero farming. To be eligible, applicants must be based in England and committed to submitting a Full ADOPT Grant application within six months of receiving the support grant. The funding is specifically for engaging a Project Facilitator, and payment is only made upon submission of the Full ADOPT application. The scheme supports innovation directly linked to real-world farming needs, targeting improvements in key areas like productivity and sustainability.

​The EIC Accelerator Challenges 2025 offer €250 million to support startups and SMEs developing breakthrough technologies in five key areas: advanced materials, low-emission food production, generative AI, in-space services, and future mobility. Each challenge has a dedicated budget of €50 million. These initiatives aim to drive innovation and address significant EU objectives. ​

The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS), administered by the British Business Bank, is designed to support access to finance for UK smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow. Launched on 1 July 2024, GGS succeeds the Recovery Loan Scheme, offering a range of financial products through accredited lenders. ​

The NIHR's Health Technology Assessment Programme seeks research proposals to evaluate the effectiveness and economic impact of technology-based interventions aimed at improving care and support for individuals with deafblindness in social care settings.

​Innovate UK is offering grants between £50,000 and £300,000 for early-stage projects aimed at improving clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific regions. The goal is to develop affordable, reliable, and low-carbon energy solutions that promote gender equality, disability inclusion, and social inclusion.

The Circular Electricals Fund provides up to £1 million in funding to support projects that contribute to a more circular economy for electrical products. The aim is to fund initiatives that encourage reuse, refurbishment, recycling, or resource efficiency in the electricals sector, helping to reduce environmental impact and drive sustainability through innovation.

The Space4Rail initiative, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to enhance the railway sector by integrating space-based assets—such as satellite navigation, satellite communications, and Earth observation—into innovative and sustainable applications and services. The goal is to improve the performance, efficiency, safety, and attractiveness of railways for both operators and end-users. ​

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​The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is offering funding to help health and social care services prepare for extreme weather events caused by climate change, like heatwaves and floods. This funding aims to bring together diverse research teams to develop ambitious research plans and build future research capacity. It also supports teams seeking funding from other NIHR programmes. ​

The SMART: SCOTLAND grant aims to support high-risk, highly ambitious projects providing support to conduct feasibility studies. It’s only available to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based in Scotland

The SMART: SCOTLAND grant, administered by Scottish Enterprise, aims to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in conducting feasibility studies for high-risk, highly ambitious research and development (R&D) projects. The grant focuses on projects that represent a significant technological advance for the UK industry or sector concerned and have a clear commercial endpoint.

The Canada-UK Semiconductors competition, jointly administered by Innovate UK and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), aims to foster collaborative innovation in semiconductor technologies between UK and Canadian organisations.

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This call seeks proposals for feasibility studies using space technology (SatCom, SatEO, SatNav) to advance green hydrogen as a sustainable energy source. Focus areas include energy, transportation, maritime, and smart cities, addressing challenges in hydrogen production, storage, and distribution. Projects should assess satellite-based solutions for environmental sustainability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, engaging user communities to develop proof of concept and pathways for future applications aligned with net-zero goals by 2050.

The Future Leaders Fellowships: Round 10 competition, administered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), aims to support ambitious research and innovation projects across various sectors. It seeks to foster excellence in innovation, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, and develop the next generation of research and innovation leaders.