Funding competition New Innovators in Communication Networks 2024

UK registered micro and small businesses can apply for a share of up to £500,000 to develop adoptable and investable innovations within communication networks. This funding is from the Telecoms Technology Missions Fund programme.

Competition opens: Wednesday 1 May 2024
Competition closes: Wednesday 12 June 2024 11:00am

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Description

Innovate UK is offering UK registered micro and small businesses a share of up to £500,000 in grants. In addition to the grant support, you will be offered tailored business support delivered by Innovate UK Business Growth.

The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses to develop affordable, adoptable and investable innovations in the domain of communication networks.

Your innovation must lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model.

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total costs and grant funding request must be between £25,000 and £50,000.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

have total project costs and grant funding request of between £25,000 and £50,000
have total project costs that equal your grant funding request
start by 1 October 2024
end by 31 March 2025
last between three and six months in duration
carry out its project work in the UK
intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. If you exceed the total project costs of £50,000 you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment. If your grant funding request does not equal your total project costs you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment.

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.

You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must be a UK registered micro or small business.

If your business has been funded directly by Innovate UK previously, you are not eligible to apply for this competition. If however you have received funding directly from Innovate UK Business Growth (previously Innovate UK EDGE) or a Catapult scheme, you are still eligible to apply for this competition.

Businesses with directors who have previously received a grant or Innovation Loan from Innovate UK as part of a different company, are eligible to apply but will be considered on a case by case basis.

A business with a previous award to a parent or subsidiary would also be eligible to apply, but the parent company must be classified as a micro or small business. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

If you are unsure, contact our customer support team by email at least 10 working days before the submission deadline.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK.

You must also provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you.

We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

Number of applications

An eligible UK business can submit one application only. We will only award grant funding to one project per business.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition. This means you can submit an application that was unsuccessful in one previous competition.

We will not award you New Innovator funding if your business has:

been previously funded by Innovate UK
an overdue independent accountant’s report
failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Minimal Financial Assistance (and De minimis where applicable)

Grant funding in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a 3-year rolling financial period.

In your application, you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer.

To establish your eligibility, we need to check that our support added to the amount you have previously received does not exceed the limit of £315,000 in the ‘applicable period’.

The applicable period is made up of:

(a) the elapsed part of the current financial year, and

(b) the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year.

You must include any funding which you have received during the applicable period under:

Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights)
De Minimis Regulation

You do not need to include aid or subsidies which have been granted on a different basis, for example, an aid award granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

EU Commission rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

Further information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or your legal obligations.

Funding

We have allocated up to £500,000 to fund innovation projects in this competition.

Your total project costs will be 100% funded. Total project costs detailed within your application must not exceed the maximum project size. If your total project costs are below the minimum of £25,000 or exceed the maximum of £50,000 then your application will be made ineligible.

You can make reference to any additional voluntary contribution in your application answers. It must not be detailed in the finance section.

We will aim to pay:

70% of your grant request within a month of your agreed project start date
a further 20% in arrears, after approval of your 70% claim and the evidence of spend made, submitted with your claim
the remaining 10% of the grant 10 to 14 days after Innovate UK approve your final claim

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the Company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under European Commission Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Your proposal

Your project must provide innovation in how digital communications are facilitated or optimised toward a specific challenge.

In your application, you must demonstrate that you:

have a great idea
need public funding
have the capability to deliver the project
will deliver the project

We are particularly interested in how your proposal will help you:

develop both your ambitious idea and your business
create a new revenue stream, for example, new products, services or intellectual property (IP)
evidence and enable your market, funding and commercialisation plans
show what is feasible, in helping you decide whether to pursue your idea further
catalyse further innovation on your path to commercial success
respond to changing market conditions

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across:

specific challenge themes and technologies
project durations
project costs, including demonstrating value for money
UK regions

We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

Your project must focus on one or more of the following:

optimisation of networks utilising technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) or data analytics to improve performance, reduce energy
software defined networks, for example, moving network functionality to platforms such as the Cloud
deployment and use of Open Standards within networks to advance defined use cases.
non-terrestrial networking technologies
neutral host and, or, mesh networking technologies

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

do not meet the competition eligibility or scope requirements
purely result in reports, academic papers or similar
do not evidence potential for the proposed innovation to lead to significant and positive economic or societal impact
do not evidence value for money

We cannot fund projects that:

involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture
involve primary production in agriculture
have activities relating to the purchase of road freight transport
are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions
are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance
are dependent on export performance, for example, giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country
are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, if we give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

1 May 2024: Online briefing event: watch the recording
Briefing slides are available to download from supporting information.
1 May 2024: Competition opens
12 June 2024 11:00am: Competition closes
5 July 2024: Applicants notified

Before you start

Text update 10 May 2024: We have updated the bullet points in question 5 to align with the scope section of this competition.

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

that all the information provided in the application is correct
your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
all sections of the application are marked as complete

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into four sections:

Project details.
Application questions.
Finances.
Project Impact.

Accessibility and Inclusion

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Application team

Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the project and invite those people to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail, and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

Applications will be recommended for funding, descending from a maximum score of 100 points until the budget is committed. An assessor will score questions 7 to 10.

Where a group of applications share a score at the budget cut-off point, they will be prioritised in order of:

the idea
the impact and added value
business resources and capabilities
work plan and costs
a balanced portfolio across the UK

The resulting funding list will be validated by a senior Innovate UK official.

You will then receive an email notification to offer grant funding or to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

You will not receive any feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

You must answer all questions. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 2. Minimal Financial Assistance declaration (not scored)

You must download the declaration template. You must complete this, declaring any funding received under Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) or De minimis awards, (from any source of public funding) in the applicable period.

You must complete all the fields on your form before uploading.

You must write “declaration attached” in the question text box.

You must upload the completed declaration as an appendix. It must be a PDF and the font must be legible at 100% zoom.

You must keep all documentation relating to Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) and other De minimis awards for a period of 6 years and be prepared to release it to any public funding body which requests it.

Question 3. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 4. Where did you hear about this competition? (not scored)

Select one of the options from the list below

UKRI website
Innovate UK Facebook
Innovate UK Instagram
Innovate UK LinkedIn
Innovate UK Twitter
Innovate UK employee
Gov.UK website
Innovate UK Business Connect (previously known as KTN)
Innovate UK Business Growth (previously known as EDGE)
Northern Irish Scottish or Welsh government agencies
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
Third party website
Innovate UK newsletter
Events
Other

Question 5. Your innovation area (not scored)

Select your Innovation area from the list below. You can only select one:

optimisation of networks utilising technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) or data analytics to improve performance, reduce energy
software defined networks, for example, moving network functionality to platforms such as the Cloud
deployment and use of Open Standards within networks to advance defined use cases
non-terrestrial networking technologies
neutral host and, or, mesh networking technologies

Question 6. Funding plans (not scored, but will be used to assess financial viability)

Describe the funding plans for the company to support the success of the project.

How will you fund the 30% of your project costs that are not being paid in advance?

You must include:

the source of the funds currently available, such as the company’s own funds
your funding strategy and how you will continue to support the development of the innovation following completion of the project, with a view towards its eventual commercialisation

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 7. The idea

We will score this question out of 25.

What is the problem you wish to solve and why is your proposed approach a good and innovative solution?

You must consider the following in your answer:

the specific innovation you propose to develop and how this is different and better than alternative solutions
the specific need and size of opportunity
why is your solution affordable and investable
any barriers to adoption and how they could be overcome

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 8. Impact and added value

We will score this question out of 25.

What will be the impact of receiving the grant to your business?

You must consider the following in your answer:

why public funding is necessary and value for money, for example, is there currently a lack of investment, or market failure
the impact on your business
the tangible outputs of the project in terms of specific deliverables and how they will benefit the UK
what are the expected impacts on society, the economy and the environment

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 9. Business resources and capabilities

We will score this question out of 25.

Explain why your business is capable of delivering this project.

You must consider the following in your answer:

what resources you can access, including the main people involved, relevant track records, and any external resources
your capability to deliver in the required timeframe given your existing business activities or constraints
how you will deliver outcomes and impact beyond the life of the project, what is your route to market
how equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is incorporated into your proposed project or business activities, for example, in the development of your innovation, accessibility of project results, team composition, work environment

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 10. Work packages and costs

We will score this question out of 25.

What activities will you spend the grant funding on? How will you manage the project and risks effectively?

You must consider the following in your answer:

what the funding will be spent on, referring to costs for the main work packages
project risks and how you will mitigate them
your freedom to operate for example, patents, intellectual property (IP)

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

3. Finances

You must complete your project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application.

Both your projects total cost and grant funding request must be between the minimum of £25,000 and the maximum of £50,000. If your grant funding request falls outside of this range then your application will be made ineligible.

If your grant funding request is not 100% of your total project costs then your application will be made ineligible.

You can make reference to any additional voluntary contribution in your application question answers but these must not be detailed in this finance section.

For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance. You can also view our Application Finances video.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

Background and further information

Future Telecoms: UKRI Technology Missions Fund (TMF)

The funding for this competition is part of a £70 million investment by the UKRI TMF into future telecommunication technologies.

The investment is designed to fund application focused challenges to accelerate market-ready solutions and foster collaboration in the UK’s telecoms sector. This competition is part of this investment and offers the opportunity for innovative companies to develop solutions in telecoms.

Data sharing

This competition is operated by Innovate UK.

Innovate UK is directly accountable to you for its holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with our own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth

If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth. This service forms part of our funded offer to you.

These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale.

We encourage you to engage with Innovate UK Business Growth, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by an independent assessor based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You will not receive any feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria.

New Innovators in Communications Telecoms - Assessor guidance for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window)

Briefing slides

Download briefing slides.

APPLICANT BRIEFING SLIDES New Innovators in Communication Networks 2024.pdf (opens in a new window)

Next steps

If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your Innovation Funding Service (IFS) Set Up portal, the tool that Innovate UK uses to gather necessary information before we can allow your project to begin.

You will need to provide:

the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
a redacted copy of your bank details
evidence of funding resources

In order for us to process your claims, you must make sure you have a valid UK business bank account. It can take several weeks for a new account to be created if required. We recommend starting this process as early as possible to avoid any delays to your project start date.

The bank account which grant is to be paid into must:

be a business account in the same name as the organisation listed in IFS
be from a UK bank regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
have a cheque and credit clearing facility

Online accounts are eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.

Innovate UK will accept most banking societies apart from:

Viva Wallet
Intesa Sanpaolo
Equals Money UK Limited

If you have any doubts that your bank account will not meet Innovate UK's funding criteria, you can use the sort code checker. If you input the sort code and find a tick next to the ‘BACS Direct Credit payments can be sent to this sort code’, this will give you an indication that the bank account you hold is acceptable.

Finance checks

We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project.

You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays.

Failure to complete project setup may result in your grant offer being withdrawn.

Your Grant offer letter (GOL)

Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your GOL.

The GOL will be made available on your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this for us to approve. Once approved we will send you an email with permission to start your project on your confirmed start date.

You must not start your project before the date stated on your email and GOL. Any costs incurred before your agreed start date cannot be claimed as part of your grant.

If your GOL is approved on or before the fifteenth of the month it will be dated from the first of that month. If your GOL is approved after the fifteenth, it will be dated the first of the next month.

If your application is unsuccessful

Your application may score well but be unsuccessful. This can be because your average score has not reached the funding threshold for this competition, or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach applied to this competition.

You will not receive any feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.

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