Funding competition - Design Foundations Round 2: Net Zero Environments

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £4 million for people-centred and planet-centred design projects. This is to support R&D activity developing new products and services that transform where we live and work into net zero places.

Competition opens: Wednesday 31 May 2023

Competition closes: Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:00am

ext update 13/06/2023: We have updated the title of this competition to Net Zero environments.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £4 million in innovation projects that use people-centred and planet-centred design methods to transform where we live and work into net zero places. This funding is from Innovate UK.

The aim of this competition is to help businesses use people-centred and planet-centred design methods to lay the foundations for innovative ideas with the potential to deliver significant benefits. The purpose of this will be to support the transformation of our homes and places of work into net zero environments. These can be ideas for new or significantly improved products, services, places or business models.

Eligible organisations can apply for funding to use people-centred and planet-centred design methods to:

• improve existing innovative ideas
• generate new ideas in response to a known need or opportunity
• identify new opportunities to innovate and plan how to respond to them

Your proposal must look at the need or opportunity from the perspective of the people involved. You must make sure that proposed solutions are more desirable and beneficial and, as such, are more likely to be adopted or to result in net zero-supportive behaviour change.

Applications are encouraged from organisations that have not previously used people-centred and planet-centred design processes or expertise. We encourage you to work with design experts to get the best results and to develop your own understanding and capabilities.

This competition is split into 2 strands:

• Design Foundations Round 2, strand 1: Responsive. Projects that use people-centred and system-aware approaches to develop new or significantly improved services, products, places or business models
• Design Foundations Round 2, strand 2: Net Zero Environments. Projects that use planet-centred or system-aware approaches to consider nature as a stakeholder, to design beneficial solutions within the limits of planetary resources and ecosystems (this strand)

It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct strand for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process.This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.