Challenge Awards round 15

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

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.

This funding by HORIZON supports the development of robotic and automated solutions for sustainable building construction, renovation, and maintenance. Projects should enhance efficiency, reduce errors, minimize environmental impact, and lower costs through automation. Key areas include energy-efficient robotic techniques, digitally assisted design, automated surveying, and worker safety augmentation. Solutions must be tested in at least three prototypes, addressing diverse building types, and contribute to the Built4People network and its innovation clusters.

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

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.

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

Innovate UK has selected a number of investor partners and will provide grant funding to companies that are delivering ambitious innovation projects with strong commercial potential.

This Accelerator programme supports and grants financing to startups and scale-ups with innovative solutions and technologies, that address critical challenges in the manufacturing sector, and are helping the European manufacturing sector to become more efficient, resilient, green, and globally competitive.

*This Competition has multiple cut off dates, see link for more information.

DASA, in collaboration with Dstl, seeks innovative proposals to enhance the UK’s Microbial Forensics Capability. Key focus areas include computational tools to detect anomalies in genome sequencing data, including biological engineering evidence, and technologies to identify or analyze omic signatures for novel forensic applications. Proposals should advance tools and techniques for identifying and interpreting microbial evidence, supporting the UK’s ability to address biological threats and enhance forensic investigation capabilities.

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.

This competition encourages UK-Canada collaboration to develop innovative technologies in life sciences (e.g., biomanufacturing, agri-tech), digital technologies (e.g., AI, quantum), and sustainability (e.g., clean energy, ocean sciences). Open to organisations in both countries, it funds projects creating groundbreaking products, processes, or services across sectors. Proposals should align with previous UK-Canada R&D focuses or areas, fostering advancements in critical and emerging technology fields.

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.

Innovate UK Smart grants are funding UK businesses that are developing game-changing innovations with strong commercial potential. Designed to align with the government’s five key missions—economic growth, clean energy, public safety, expanded opportunities, and healthcare improvements—Smart grants foster projects with high impact potential. By funding cutting-edge solutions, Smart grants drive economic prosperity, boost productivity, and ensure that the benefits of growth reach all UK regions.

Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing in innovative projects aimed at developing responsible and ethical AI-based personalised learning solutions. This funding initiative supports the development of AI competency in key sectors, including construction, transport and logistics, agriculture and food processing, and the creative industries. The goal is to foster AI-driven growth, adaptability, and skill enhancement within these vital sectors.

This grant supports innovations in maritime autonomy that enhance decarbonisation through improved vessel efficiency, advanced infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and security. It seeks solutions leveraging space data to increase autonomy, improve situational awareness, and protect systems while preparing seafarers for the evolving landscape of human-assisted operations. Focus areas include sustainability, safety, and regulatory integration.

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UKRI seeks a single innovative, interdisciplinary project under its Creating Opportunities, Improving Outcomes theme to address economic inactivity in areas with high rates of ill-health, disability, and informal care. The project will investigate local systemic factors shaping inactivity, identify effective support strategies, bridge research-to-practice gaps through collaboration with policymakers and local partners, and improve access to administrative data for inactivity research.

Innovate UK is providing funding to support innovation projects using people-centred and systemic design methods. This competition aims to identify opportunities, generate new ideas, or improve existing concepts, fostering innovative products, services, and models that benefit people, the planet, and society. It encourages sustainable, impactful design-driven R&D for transformative innovation.

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

This funding supports transformative ideas in the Scalable Neural Interfaces space, aiming to revolutionise understanding of neurological disorders. Proposals should align with or challenge established assumptions, explore innovative brain interfaces, and push boundaries of what’s possible. Projects may range from curiosity-driven research to pre-commercial technologies, fostering bold approaches to redefine the potential and value of neural interfacing at scale.

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.

Apply for funding to foster UK-led research partnerships between businesses and academia, focusing on safety and toxicity in advanced therapies. Projects will co-develop tools and resources to assess and mitigate safety risks, integrating discovery and translational science to advance therapies from research to clinical application.

Innovate UK and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) is funding business-led UK-India collaborations on Net Zero Technologies. Projects must present disruptive innovations with economic potential, strong business and financial plans, and a clear path to commercialization. Proposals should demonstrate mutual benefits for UK and Indian economies, effective IP sharing, and added value from cross-country collaboration. Outcomes must deliver impactful, market-ready solutions post-project completion.

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

This CR&D competition aims to advance the development of collaboration with innovators in the creative industries by funding projects that address industry challenges and support economic growth. Applicants must propose ambitious, market-ready solutions that enhance the creative supply chain, create new revenue streams, and demonstrate significant improvement over existing offerings.

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This funding supports innovative construction and renovation solutions to extend building service life, enhance adaptability, and enable reuse and deconstruction. Projects should develop and validate techniques that improve resource efficiency, use CO2-storing and low-emission materials, and address all building components. Solutions must be tested in diverse environments, involve local value chains, and provide measurable outcomes. Deliverables include guidance for stakeholders, dissemination of best practices, and contributions to standardization through the Built4People network.

This competition seeks uncrewed systems with extended range and modular capabilities for rapid deployment within 12 months. The British Army aims to enhance operational reach with the development of an uncrewed Deep Recce Strike platform capable of operating at ranges greater than 80 kilometers. Solutions must prioritize resilience in contested environments, modularity for iterative upgrades, and reliance on allied supply chains to address evolving battlefield challenges effectively.

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.

Funding to develop digital therapeutic extended reality (XR) solutions to provide mental healthcare services. These solutions will optimally be applied and trialled following an R&D cycle of between 12 to 18 months. Solutions must have the potential to be adopted at scale to form part of the UK’s formal mental healthcare ecosystem.

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.

This grant supports academically-led translational projects addressing significant health needs or global health challenges. Eligible projects include developing or refining therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, or research tools to enhance intervention efficiency. All diseases and intervention types qualify, spanning early development to phase 2a clinical trials. Proposals should target prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment advancements, with opportunities for preclinical and early-phase clinical studies.

This funding supports pilot projects to enhance diversity in NERC science, attracting a broader talent pool and showcasing diverse skillsets. Up to 20 grants will fund partnerships to develop inclusive plans, test approaches, and inspire underrepresented groups to join the environmental solutions workforce. Projects should identify and engage diverse talent, fostering equitable inclusion and contributing to a more representative NERC community.

This Innovate UK competition offers loans to help businesses overcome barriers to commercialising their innovations, with a focus on driving significant economic impact and sustainable growth. Eligible projects must showcase innovative products, services, or processes significantly ahead of current offerings or utilize existing solutions in novel ways. Applications should include a strong business plan, skilled team, risk management strategy, financial feasibility, and clear economic impact potential to secure funding for accelerated commercialisation and growth.