Creative, Digital & Design Business Briefing

A digest of useful information for UK businesses seeking funding and support, updated monthly

March 2017

@KTNUK

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Contents• Feature• Innovate UK funding calls• Horizon 2020• Funding• Events• Investment• Support • Market Research/Reports• Articles• Personal Data Network

Opens: 06.03.17. Registration deadline: noon on 03.05.17. Application deadline: noon on 10.05.17.

Key feature: Innovate UK is investing up to £15 million innovation projects that inspire and stimulate the products and services of tomorrow.The aim of this competition is to help UK businesses broaden their innovation activities, disrupt existing markets and find new revenue sources. It should support the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as large companies.

Briefing events: Wed, 8 Mar, London | Mon, 13 Mar, Belfast | Tue, 14 Mar, Edinburgh | Thu, 16 Mar, Cardiff | Thu, 23 Mar, Manchester

For further information click here

Emerging and Enabling Technologies funding competition

***Feature***

Opens: 16.01.17. Registration deadline: noon on 15.03.17. Application deadline: noon on 22.03.17.

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in projects to stimulate innovation that creates UK business growth in infrastructure systems. They want businesses to collaborate to develop new integrated solutions and new business models. Projects may include technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development and range in size from total eligible costs of £25,000 to £5 million. Projects must show significant innovation in one of Innovate UK's priority areas: ‘smart’ infrastructure; energy systems; connected transport; urban living For further information click here

Innovation in Infrastructure Systems (round 2)

Innovate UK funding calls

There will be 3 competitive funding rounds over 12 months, the first opened on 9 January 2017 with two further rounds in May 2017 and August 2017.

Key feature: Design Foundations is a new £3m grant funding programme from Innovate UK to help businesses identify innovation opportunities and generate better propositions for desirable, useful and feasible products, services and business models. The aim is to build collaborations between businesses looking for new ways to innovate, and designers with the creative tools to provide this insight. It means using design interventions to address critical business challenges.

For further information click here

Design Foundations

Innovate UK funding calls

Opens: 30.01.17. Registration deadline: noon on 19.04.17. Application deadline: noon on 26.04.17.

Key feature: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield Ltd and Innovate UK are to invest up to £3 million in projects that will integrate and demonstrate flexible innovative technologies for the nuclear decommissioning sector. The aim of this competition is to develop an innovative and integrated demonstrator. This should minimise human intervention, achieve a significant increase in productivity and reduce the cost of nuclear decommissioning. For further information click here

Integrated Innovation for Nuclear Decommissioning

Innovate UK funding calls

Horizon 2020 funds high-potential innovation through a dedicated SME instrument, which offers seamless business innovation support under the section Societal Challenges and the specific part Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEITs).

Provided with about € 3 billion in funding over the period 2014-2020, the SME Instrument helps high-potential SMEs to develop groundbreaking innovative ideas for products, services or processes that are ready to face global market competition.

During the first two years of implementation (2014-2015), more than 1200 SMEs were selected to receive funding under the SME instrument call; as such, 513 million Euros were invested in the success of innovative SMEs. By the end of Horizon 2020, the SME instrument should have supported some 7500 SMEs to get their innovations delivered onto the market. Find out more

The SME Instrument

FundingHorizon 2020: Security: Businesses can apply for a share of €130 million under Secure Societies – protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens work programme. Opens: 01.03.17. Registration deadline: noon on 24.08.17. Application deadline: noon on 24.08.17.

Longitude Prize is a challenge with a £10 million prize fund to reward a diagnostic test that helps solve the problem of global antibiotic resistance. It is being run by Nesta and supported by Innovate UK as funding partner. The Discovery Awards are small seed grants to help teams and individuals further develop their ideas for the Longitude Prize. Application deadline: 21.04.17.

Expression of Interest: KTN InnOvaTe zone at Smart IoT London 2017 - 15-16 Mar 2017, London

Digital Business Drop-in - 9 Mar 2017, London

VentureFest South - 9 Mar, Winchester

Quality Assurance in Additive Manufacturing Seminar - 16 Mar, London

Future Infrastructure Systems - 22 Mar, London

Venturefest East Midlands - 22 Mar, Derby

Digital Revolution Conference - 24 Mar, Manchester

Events

Private Investment DirectoryDigital Refer now includes more than 250 organisations that provide private investment to Digital and Creative businesses in the UK, including:

Accelerator Programmes Business Incubators Start-up StudiosVenture Capital Funds Angel Investor Networks Corporate Venture Capital firms

Check out the new entries: bit.ly/ktnrefer

Investment

IoTUK Boost is funded by Government, through IoTUK and the Digital Catapult, underlining the importance of IoT for the UK’s digital economy. They will support a minimum of 10 SMEs in their quest to find solutions to genuine challenges faced within the Cambridge region and to explore the market opportunity for the products and services they create. All solutions must make use of Cambridge’s newly deployed LoRaWAN™ Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). The LPWAN-driven technologies and services will address the locally identified societal challenges of Transport, Air Quality Monitoring, Primary Prevention or Monitoring of Ill Health in Older People, Digital Buildings. Other societal challenges relevant to the Cambridge region will be considered.Application deadline: noon on 15.03.17

TECNIOspring PLUS is ACCIÓ's fellowship programme. It provides financial support to individual mobility proposals presented by experienced researchers in liaison with a host organisation. Fellows are offered 2-year employment contracts in order to develop applied research projects.

Support

Go To Grow - The Mayor’s International Business ProgrammeA new three year programme of mentoring, expert advice and real business opportunities for high-growth companies Programme focussed on ‘internationalising’ scale-ups – London based companies wanting to grow outside of the UK.The programme is open to fast-growing companies in London operating in three broad sectors: technology, life sciences, and urban. Your business will need to demonstrate that it is already generating revenue.

The PwC startup Growth Programme is a platform for fast growth, disruptive startups who want to shape the future through scalable innovation. 12 startups, 12 weeks, 2 programmes: Future of Work & Future of Health

Support

Immerse UK is a new cross-sector network for businesses and research organisations across all parts of the UK economy that are interested in the way that augmented and virtual reality can help drive productivity, social and economic growth.

We are building a rolling programme of work, developed with our members and the IET, which addresses the pressing issues that slow down R&D and identifies the opportunities for growth and collaboration in the emerging marketplace.

It is free to join, find out more and sign up here

Save the date: Access to Finance for Immersive Technology businesses April 26th 6:30pm LondonImmersive Audio - Listen Up: March 29th 10am London

Immerse UK

Tech and digital policy for skills, investment & trade

Headline recommendations include:1. To drive a large-scale expansion in software development apprenticeships. Many current funded university routes have poor employment outcomes, while courses that are highly successful in the market cannot attract Government funding. 2. To move to a system where all 16-19 year-olds are expected to study mathematics, usually to a level above GCSE, as is the norm in many other countries.3. To make basic levels of literacy and numeracy (GCSE level) a requirement for all further and higher education.

Report

Why do we need a digital economy strategy?The Government's new Digital Strategy puts digital at the heart of business. The Digital Strategy is useful in that it highlights several strategic opportunities for the UK, which can encourage industrial development, research and private finance.

Articles

Personal Data and Trust Network

The network aims to build and nurture a community that brings together industry, the public sector, funders, research organisations and innovators to support the UK in becoming the global leader in trust and responsible innovation with personal data.

The partners are calling on any organisation interested in personal data, trust and reputation to join the network. Membership is free and will plug you into a vibrant community that we are bringing together. For more information and to join visit pdtn.org.