Evaluation and scoping
We test the project against the live competition scope, confirm eligibility, and map the innovation against what assessors are scored to look for. You get a straight answer on whether to bid.
Innovate UK grant writers
Innovate UK grant writers who understand the technology
Most Innovate UK bids are written by generalists working from a template. Ours are written by engineers and scientists who can interrogate your technology, then build the scored case around the advance and the uncertainty. Client input is typically under 12 hours.
Trusted partner
GrantUp is an official partner of SETsquared, the university enterprise partnership behind the UK's top-ranked startup incubation network (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey). SETsquared ventures are supported by GrantUp with grant funding and R&D tax relief.
GrantUp is an official partner of Grow London Local, part of London & Partners, the Mayor of London's growth agency. London's small businesses are referred to GrantUp for grant writing and R&D tax relief support.
GrantUp is an official partner of Stotles, the public sector opportunities platform, where GrantUp supports businesses competing for government contracts and funding.
What outsourcing the bid actually buys you
A competitive Innovate UK application takes well over 100 hours across the technical narrative, the commercial case, the project plan and the finance forms, all against a fixed deadline. That work normally lands on the founder or the technical lead, which is the most expensive place in the business to put it. We take the drafting burden off your team and use your time only where it cannot be substituted.
Technical narrative
A specialist writer builds the case for the advance, the uncertainty and the approach, in language an expert assessor recognises and a generalist assessor can still follow.
Finances and project plan
Work packages, Gantt, risk register, costings and intervention rates for every partner, prepared to survive the finance checks that sink otherwise strong bids.
Independent review and submission
A second specialist scores the bid against the published criteria before we manage the Innovation Funding Service submission and supporting appendices.
How to choose an Innovate UK grant writer
Every agency claims a high success rate. These four questions separate the ones that can evidence it from the ones that cannot.
Who writes the technical section
Ask who physically drafts the innovation narrative. At GrantUp it is an engineer or scientist who can hold a conversation with your CTO, not a generalist bid writer working from a template.
What happens before drafting
Ask what work happens before a word is written. We evaluate the technology, the funder fit and the scoring case first, because that is what separates a fundable project from an expensive rejection.
How much of your time it takes
Ask how many hours your team will spend. A writer who needs you to produce the content is charging you to format your own work. Our client input is typically under 12 hours.
What evidence sits behind the results
Ask for named awards and amounts, not a percentage with no definition. Our clients' wins are published with competition, award size and funder, and our success rates carry their definitions.
Results we can evidence
Above 90% of our engagements result in funding, and above 80% of the individual applications we write are successful. Both figures cover projects we accept after screening, not every enquiry we receive, and we decline weak opportunities before any fee is paid.
Named examples include more than £1.4m won across ten Innovate UK awards for a single AI client, including a £546,004 Investment Accelerator award, and £596,670 for an AI assurance company. Every published case study names the competition and the award size.
What it costs and who it suits
Upfront fees start from £1,750, with a success fee on award. The service suits UK registered businesses carrying out genuine technical R&D, with the match funding in place for the share of project costs the grant does not cover. Innovate UK intervention rates mean your business funds a meaningful portion of the project, so we check that early rather than late.
If you expect to apply for several competitions in a year, the Unlimited programme is a monthly retainer covering a rolling portfolio of applications rather than a fee per bid.
Common questions
What does an Innovate UK grant writer actually do?
A grant writer builds the scored application end to end: the technical narrative describing the innovation and its uncertainty, the market and commercialisation case, the project plan and work packages, the risk register, and the finance forms for every partner. They also manage the Innovation Funding Service submission itself, which has its own formatting limits and question structure.
How much does it cost to hire an Innovate UK grant writer?
Our upfront fees start from £1,750, with a success fee payable on award. We quote per competition once we have assessed the project, because a single company feasibility bid and a five partner collaborative R&D consortium are very different pieces of work.
How much of my time will the application take?
Typical client input on an application we write is under 12 hours. We take the 100 plus hour drafting burden off your internal team, and use your time for technical interviews, evidence gathering and approvals rather than writing.
Do you write bids you do not think will win?
No. We run an intensive technology evaluation and scoping process before any drafting starts, testing the project against the competition scope, the funder's priorities and the published scoring criteria. If the case is not there, we say so before any fee is paid.
What is your success rate on Innovate UK applications?
Above 90% of engagements result in funding, and above 80% of individual applications we write are successful. Both figures cover projects we accept after screening, not every enquiry we receive.
Can you take over an application already in progress?
Yes, provided there is enough time before the deadline to do the technical work properly. We will review what exists, tell you honestly whether it is competitive, and rebuild the sections that are losing marks.
Which Innovate UK competitions do you cover?
Collaborative R&D, feasibility studies, Investment Accelerator, Biomedical Catalyst, Innovation Loans, KTP and the sector specific and mission led competitions published on the Innovation Funding Service. Our live grant directory tracks every open round.
More detail on the funder sits on our Innovate UK funding page, and every open round is listed in the UK grant directory.
Talk to an Innovate UK specialist
Book a 15 minute scoping call and we will tell you straight whether your project is worth bidding, and which competition fits it best.