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Writer's pictureDamon Butcher

UK Singapore Collaborative R&D

Updated: Apr 22, 2022

Closed


Summary:

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3 million for the purpose of developing innovative proposals with Singapore.


Open date: 24/01/2022

Close date: 20/04/2022

Max Grant Size (SME): £350,000

Funding Percentage: 70%

Collaboration: Collaborative

Funding Type: Innovation Grant

Fund Provider(s): Innovate UK

Industry: Open Innovation


 

Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £3 million in innovation projects in partnership with Enterprise Singapore. This competition has an open scope. The aim of this competition is to fund business led collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. Your proposal must include at least one partner from the UK and one partner from Singapore. The projects we fund are expected to result in a new product, industrial process or service. They must be innovative, involve a technological risk, and have high market potential in the participating countries. We would particularly welcome applications from the following sectors:

  • Advanced manufacturing and materials

  • Agrifood tech

  • Mobility and transport

  • Cybersecurity

  • Health and life sciences

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

Who can apply Your project Your project must:

  • apply for a maximum grant of up to £350,000

  • start by 1 September 2022

  • end by 31 August 2025

  • last between 24 and 36 months

UK project partners must carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK. The consortium must include at least one business registered in Singapore that is a separate, non-linked entity. All businesses in a consortium must be separate legal and non-linked entities. This is to ensure that projects encourage genuine international collaboration, not internal company research. Linked companies are considered a single entity under the parent company. Projects should have a balanced contribution of the total eligible project costs among the partners from the participating partner countries. No more than 70% of the total project costs can be claimed by any single partner or by all partners from a single participating country. Each organisation will receive funding from its respective national funding body. Lead organisation To lead a project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business of any size

  • be or involve at least one grant claiming UK registered SME

  • partner with a Singapore registered business, which must be a separate non-linked entity to the UK project partners

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone. Project team To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be a UK registered:

  • business of any size

  • academic institution

  • research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each UK partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account and enter their own project costs into the Innovation Funding service. If collaborating with other UK registered organisations, the lead and at least one other organisation must claim funding by entering their costs during the application. Subcontractors Subcontractors are allowed in this competition, but they are limited to no more than 20% of the total eligible costs of the UK participation. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process. We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. Number of applications A UK registered business can lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications. If a UK registered business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to 3 applications. A UK registered academic institution or RTO can collaborate on any number of applications.

Previous applications You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition. We will not award you funding if you have:

  • failed to exploit a previously funded project

  • an overdue independent accountant’s report

  • failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable) This competition provides funding in line with the UK's obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control. Further information about the UK Subsidy Control requirements can be found within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation agreement and the subsequent guidance from the department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage. EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see our general guidance to check if these rules apply to your organisation. Further Information If you are unsure about your obligations under the UK Subsidy Control regime or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations. You must make sure at all times that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom. This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries. If there are any changes to the above requirements that mean we need to change the terms of this competition, we will tell you as soon as possible.

Eligibility Overview Here is a diagram showing a summary of eligibility. This is a new way of showing you eligibility. Your feedback will help us to improve it. Eligibility Tree - UK Singapore.pdf (opens in a new window)

Funding We have allocated up to £3 million to fund innovation projects in this competition. If the majority of your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically. For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation

  • up to 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation

  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance. This is a change from the EU definition unless you are applying under State aid. If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003. Research participation The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 30% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-s registered institution such as an academic

  • 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO

Your proposal The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research, for innovative proposals developed between the UK and Singapore. Your project must demonstrate:

  • a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services

  • a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses and documents, market potential and needs

  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines

  • good value for money which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions

  • a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion

  • considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity

  • the benefits of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value

  • a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries

  • a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion

We would particularly welcome applications from the following sectors:

  • Advanced manufacturing and materials

  • Agrifood tech

  • Mobility and transport

  • Cybersecurity

  • Health and life sciences

We want to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of technologies.

Research categories We will fund industrial research projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund We are not funding projects that:

  • work on non-civilian applications

  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria

  • do not submit all mandatory documentation

  • request grant of more than £350,000 from Innovate UK

  • are dependent on export performance

  • are dependent on domestic inputs usage


 

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