SMEs can apply for a share of £1.5 million to support the evaluation of innovative medical devices, diagnostics and regulated digital health products.
Competition opens: Tuesday 23 April 2019
Competition closes: Wednesday 3 July 2019 12:00pm
The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) will work with Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, to invest up to £1.5 million in innovation projects. These will support developers of innovative medical devices, diagnostics and regulated digital technology to evaluate their product in a real world clinical setting.
All projects must be led by a UK based SME. You can choose from 2 options:
Planning and preparation for a study, for which total eligible project costs can be up to £50,000.
A study to collect clinical performance and cost-effectiveness data, for which total project costs can be up to £250,000.
Applications for funding to cover the costs of material or capital usage will not be eligible. Leave these sections blank in your application.
This competition provides support for micro, small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop an evidence base for products that address NHS priorities. Our support will allow companies to collect and analyse clinical performance and cost effectiveness data in an NHS setting.
You can work alone or collaborate with others as non grant claiming partners or sub-contractors. Only the lead partner will be eligible to claim grant funding.
Applications are highly encouraged from SMEs from across all regions of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
If there are any questions about funding levels and costs please email support@innovateuk.ukri.org. If your project’s total costs and/or duration fall outside of our above mentioned eligibility criteria, you must provide justification at least 10 days before the competition closes by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org. We will decide whether to approve your request.
This competition closes at midday 12pm UK time on the deadline stated.
Funding type: Grant
Project size: The total eligible project costs can be up to £50,000 for option 1 and up to £250,000 for option 2, of which applicants can apply for up to 50% grant funding.
State aid: Any UK business claiming funding must be eligible to receive state aid at the time we confirm you will be awarded funding. If you are unsure please take legal advice. For further information see our general guidance.:
Your project: The total eligible project costs can be up to £50,000 for option 1 and up to £250,000 for option 2.
You can apply for funding of up to 50% of the total eligible project costs. Therefore, option 1 applications can claim a grant of up to £25,000. Option 2 applications can claim a grant of up to £125,000.
Projects must start by 12 December 2019 and must be completed by the end of December 2020.
Projects must have a total duration of between 3 and 12 months.
Lead applicant: To lead a project or work alone you must:
be an SME based in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
carry out your project within the NHS
have a product that is aligned with at least one of the NHS’s priority healthcare areas, such as those reviewed in the NHS Long Term Plan
have a product that is already available for the NHS to purchase, but that has been marketed in the UK for less than 5 years
outline relevant discussions you have had with the main stakeholders, such as the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), to demonstrate the feasibility of your proposal
have gained a CE marking for your product
SMEs can work alone or in collaboration with other businesses or research organisations as non grant claiming partners or sub-contractors. Only the SME leading the project will be eligible to claim grant funding.
If your project does not fulfil these eligibility criteria, or you have not yet reached the point of delivering a detailed and feasible plan for the collection of relevant data in a clinical setting, you may wish to look to consider the NIHR i4i competition Challenge Awards 2019: real world implementation. The deadline for submission for stage 1 is 1pm on 12 June 2019.
