Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with Invest Northern Ireland to invest up to £4.3 million in innovation projects. This funding is from Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme which supports the UK government’s goals for local economic growth. This Launchpad is also supporting Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI) as the local cluster management organisation. This will support projects across two Launchpad competition strands that target the life and health sciences innovation cluster in Northern Ireland.
The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. Your business must use the funding to grow your innovation activities in the life and health sciences cluster in Northern Ireland both during and after your project.
This competition is split into two strands:
- Launchpad: life and health sciences, Northern Ireland, Round 2 Collaborative Research and Development (CR&D) (this strand – £150k-£1m funding per project, must be collaborative)
- Launchpad: life and health sciences, Northern Ireland, Round 2 De minimis or Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) (£25k-£100k funding per project, single applicants only)
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. It is possible to apply to both strands, but the projects must be separate and distinct.
If you would like advice about which strand is more appropriate for your project, or help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Health team.
