Grant funding
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) councils run several grant funding opportunities.
We follow standard processes for expert assessment and feedback on applications:
- we ask multiple independent experts to review all applications. The names of these experts are confidential to allow them to freely express their views, and names will not be provided under the Freedom of Information Act
- we expect to see discrepancy in feedback and scoring, as each expert will assess the application based on its merits using their own experience and knowledge
- we will not discuss scoring or feedback provided by the experts and we are unable to ask for feedback clarification
Find out about the grant application process for:
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- Innovate UK
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Innovation loans
We are running a programme of loan competitions.
These offer innovation loans to support small and mid-size enterprises with late-stage innovation projects with a clear route to commercialisation.
These will be delivered through Innovate UK Loans Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UKRI.
Decisions on innovation loans are made by the credit committee of Innovate UK Loans Ltd. The complaints process remains the same.
This is how proposals are selected for loan offers:
- we ask independent experts to assess the project proposal for all eligible applications. The names of these experts are confidential to allow them to freely express their views and cannot be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act
- both the project proposal and the business and financial information parts of the application will be reviewed by our credit team. They will consider if the applicant organisation is potentially suitable for an innovation loan
- all applicants will be notified if they progress to the detailed credit evaluation stage or if they have been unsuccessful:
- for applicants that progress, during the further credit evaluation, the credit team will work with you to evidence the information and discuss the structure, suitability and affordability of a loan in order to present a recommendation to the Innovate UK Loans Limited credit committee
- applicants that progress to detailed credit evaluation will be notified if they are successful in receiving an offer of a loan or if they have been unsuccessful:
- for successful applicants, we will set out any conditions included in the loan offer. You will also need to complete ‘know your customer’ and ‘anti money laundering’ checks and complete formal loan documentation before their project can start and drawdowns can be made
Find out about the loan application process.
Last updated: 6 March 2023