Business Innovation Fund

Businesses can apply for grant funding to cover a percentage of their projects costs. The remaining must be provided by the applicant business. Further details can be found in the grant guidance available for each application round.

Grant funding is paid on defrayal, which means if you are awarded support, you must spend money first before making a claim to us. You must therefore be in a position to cashflow your project to completion. Projects should aim to complete within 12 months of being awarded funding.

The Business Innovation Fund supports SMEs to progress experimental development R&D, which means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of creating novel/new products, processes or services. It does not mean routine or periodic changes made to existing products, processes or services.

Eligible spend in pursuit of experimental R&D must be against: gross employment costs, materials costs, capital usage costs, sub contract costs, travel and subsistence and other direct project costs.
More detail on eligible costs is available in the grant guidance.