Presentation from the briefing event for ISCF Digital Security by Design competition: Technology Enabled Business-Led Demonstator Stage 1 Expression of Interest

1. ISCF Digital Security by Design: Technology
enabled business-led demonstrators - EOI
Applicant briefing
Date: 25 March 20

2. 1 Welcome and introductions
2 Part 1
The Innovation Funding Service, application finances,
academic partners
3 Part 2
Submitting your application, assessment, project setup for
successful applicants
Agenda

3. • Sharon McHugh – Portfolio Manager, Competitions Team
Welcome and Introductions

4. Introduction to Innovate UK and
UKRI

5. We work with the government
to invest over £7 billion a year
in research and innovation by
partnering with academia and
industry to make the impossible,
possible. Through the UK’s nine
leading academic and industrial
funding councils, we create
knowledge with impact.

6. Eligibility

7. Resubmission Not a resubmission
A resubmission is:
an application Innovate UK judges as not materially
different from one you've submitted before (but it can
be updated based on the assessors' feedback)
A brand new application/project/idea that you have
not previously submitted into an Innovate UK
competition
OR
A previously unsuccessful or ineligible application:
✓ has been updated based on assessor feedback
✓ and is materially different from the application
submitted before
✓ and fits with the scope of this competition
Resubmissions
This competition does not allow resubmissions.

8. EOI FULL STAGE
Project
eligibility
✓ Lead must be a UK registered business
✓ Must be collaborative
✓ You must carry out your project in the UK
✓ Exploit the results from / in the UK
Project cost Must be greater than £5 million but no more than £25 million
Total grant Up to £5.8m
Project length Must start by 1 October 2020 and end January 2024 (min 24mths)
Eligibility criteria

9. • Business – Small/Micro, Medium or Large (EU definition) registered in the UK
• Research Organisation (RO):
• Universities (HEIs)
• Non profit distributing Research & Technology Organisation (RTO) including Catapults
• Public Sector Research Establishments (PSRE)
• Research Council Institutes (RCI)
• Public sector organisations and charities doing research activity
• Check out the EU definition of a business (it may affect the grant you are able to claim)
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_en
• If you are 100% owned by a large parent company as a small subsidiary this means by EU rules you are classed as a large
company and will only be entitled to the relevant grant
Types of organisations
we fund

10. Eligibility for State Aid
• Innovate UK is offering funding for this competition under the General Block Exemption Regulation. This is
available to eligible UK businesses.
• We are unable to grant funding to limited liability companies meeting the condition known as ‘undertakings in
difficulty’.
• This is where more than half of a company’s subscribed share capital has disappeared as a result of
accumulated losses.
• This test only applies to companies that are more than 3 years old.
• If you have a parent company the test can be performed on your parent or holding company.
• When submitting an application you must certify that you are eligible for state aid. If you are unsure, please
take legal advice before applying.
• Should you be successful, we will apply this test as part of our viability checks before confirming the grant
offer.
• Further information is available on our website in the general guidance under state aid

11. State Aid – Article 25
• Funding for R&D projects split in to 3 categories; Feasibility studies, Industrial research & Experimental development.
• Applies to almost all sectors of the economy and has a wide range of eligible costs. Pre-approved state aid covers:
o Aid for research and development and innovation,
o Regional aid
o Aid to SMEs in the form of investment aid, operating aid
and SMEs access to finance,
o Aid for environmental protection,
o Training aid,
o Recruitment and employment aid for disadvantaged
workers or workers with disabilities.
o Aid to make good the damage caused by certain natural
disasters,
o Social aid for transport for residents for remote regions,
o Aid for broadband infrastructures,
o Aid for culture and heritage conservation,
o Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational
infrastructures,
o Aid for local infrastructure.
• Special rules apply to:
o Fisheries, agriculture,
o Companies in difficulty,
o Companies undergoing a state aid recovery order.

12. • The aim of our State Aid scheme is to:
• optimise the level of funding to business and
• recognise the importance of research base to project
• Typically at least 70% of total eligible project costs must be incurred by business
Participation Rules

13. In all collaborative projects there must be:
• at least two organisations claiming grant within the application (including the lead)
• For this competition it must be a business led consortium
• evidence of effective collaboration
• we would expect to see the structure and rationale of the collaboration described in the
application.
What is collaboration?

14. Making more than one
application
• any eligible business can lead or participate only in one application
• a named individual at any academic institution, RTO, public sector
organisation or charity cannot collaborate on more than 2 applications

15. Other Innovate UK projects
• If you have an outstanding final claim and/or Independent Accountant Report (IAR) on a live
Innovate UK project, you will not be eligible to apply for grant funding in this competition, as a lead
or a partner organisation.
• If you applied to a previous competition as the lead or sole company and were awarded funding by
Innovate UK, but did not make a substantial effort to exploit that award, we will award no more
funding to you.

16. Timeline Dates
Competition Opens 16 March 2020
Briefing Event 25 March 2020
Submission Deadline 15 April 2020*
Interviews 27-29 April 2020*
Applicants informed 4 May 2020*
Key Dates
*dates may be subject to change

17. Innovation Funding Service (IFS)

18. Search for a funding
competition and review criteria

19. Applicant: create an
account
To create your account:
UK based businesses - Use Companies House
lookup as it speeds up our checks by providing your
company number and your are unable to enter it at a
later date
Research organisations, academics &
Universities - Enter your information manually so
you’re not listed as a business on IFS and ensure you
receive the correct funding

20. Project Details
• Application Team
- Collaborators: Invite organisations who you are working with on the project
- Contributors: Invite colleagues from your own organisation to help you complete your application
• Application Details
- Title, Timescales, Research Category, Innovation Area
• Project Summary
- Short summary and objectives of the project including what is innovative about it
• Public Description
- Description of your project which will be published if you are successful
• Scope - How does your project align with the scope of this competition?
- If your project is not in scope, it will be ineligible for funding

21. Application form
Question 1 Project outline
Question 2 Project team
Question 3 Project resources
Appendix Q3
Appendix Q2
Application Questions
Phase 1
Detailed Guidance
Available on IFS

22. Application form
Question 1 Need or challenge
Question 2 Approach and innovation
Question 3 Team and resources
Question 4 Market awareness
Question 5 Outcomes and route to market
Question 6 Wider impacts
Question 7 Project management
Question 8 Risks
Question 9 Added value
Question 10 Costs and value for money
Appendix Q3
Appendix Q7
Appendix Q8
Appendix Q2
Application Questions
Phase 2*
Detailed Guidance
Available on IFS
*questions may be subject to change

23. Application Finances

24. To claim funding:
Your business does not have to be UK registered with Companies House when you apply but it must be
registered before you can receive funding.
You are unable to claim funding if:
• You are an overseas organisation so your company number begins with FC
• You organisation is setup as a branch so your company number begins with BR
• Your company is based in Jersey so your company number begins with JE

25. Ineligible:
• Dividends
• Bonuses
• Non productive time
Eligible:
• Staff working directly on
project
• Paid by PAYE
• NI, pension, non-
discretionary costs
Labour

26. Overheads
Innovate UK’s definition: additional costs and
operational expenses incurred directly as a result of
the project. These could include additional costs for
administrative staff, general IT, rent and utilities
Indirect (administration) overheads
• please ensure they are additional and
directly attributable to the delivery of the
project
Direct overheads
• E.g. office utilities, IT infrastructure, laptop
provision not covered by capital usage
• must be directly attributable to the project
• Provide detailed breakdown together with
methodology/basis of apportionment

27. Material costs
Please be clear on what the
materials are, just putting
consumables doesn’t provide
enough detail and we will
request more information
should you be successful

28. Capital equipment usage
Eligible:
• Used in the project or shared with
day-to-day production
Calculations will need to be in line with your
accounting practices.
Even if the equipment is depreciated fully over the
life of the project this must be added under capital
equipment.

29. Subcontractors
Eligible:
• Justified and quantified
• If using non-UK sub-contractors
are being used you will need to
provide strong justification on why
an UK-based sub-contractor is not
being used
• If you’re sub-contracting to a
parent or sister company, please
ensure you list at cost and do not
include profit.

30. Travel & subsistence
Eligible:
Costs must be directly linked to the
project
Please breakdown your costs as
follows:
• Travel
• Accommodation
• Subsistence
If you have an annual trip to visit
the parent company this is not an
eligible cost

31. Other costs
Eligible:
• Costs that could not be added under
previous headings.
• Do not double count
• Patent filing costs for new IP – SMEs
up to £7,500

32. Funding
• Funding rules
• The level of funding awarded will depend upon the type of organisation and the type of
research being undertaken in the project
• Funding is calculated by project participant
• IFS will advise the maximum grant % you can request based upon your answers to:
• Type (and size) of organisation
• Research category defined by the lead applicant in the Application Details section of the
application

33. Under new laws within the State Aid scheme we are required to ask you whether you are
planning to undertake commercial or economic activities (‘selective advantage’) as part of
your project.
• This will be asked every time you apply to any competition even on multiple
applications within the same competition
• Applies to all organisation types
• Will affect the amount you are able to claim
Define your activities
within a project

34. Organisation /
type of activity
Technical feasibility
studies and industrial
research
Experimental development
Business & research
organisations undertaking
Commercial / economic
activity
Micro/Small – 70%
Medium – 60%
Large – 50%
Micro/Small – 45%
Medium – 35%
Large – 25%
Research Organisation
(non-economic activity)
Universities – 100% (80%
of Full Economic Costs)
Other research
organisations can claim
100% of their project costs
Other research organisations must:
• be non-profit distributing and
• disseminate the project results &
• explain in the application form how this will be done
Public Sector Organisation
or Charity
(non-economic activity) 100% of eligible costs
Must be:
• Be performing research activity &
• disseminate project results & explain in the application form how
this will be done
• ensure that the eligible costs do not include work / costs already
funded from other public sector bodies
Grant % rates
Grants are awarded to each individual organisation in a consortium. The amount of funding
depends on the type and size of organisation and the activity they are doing on the project.

35. Worked example – £500k total cost project:
Project costs for 5 partners (2 SME, 1 University, a Catapult and 1 large), doing industrial research.
Consortium example
Total Eligible
Project Costs
Maximum % of
eligible costs which
may be claimed as
a grant
Innovate UK
Grant
Project
Contribution
Business Medium £130,000 60% £78,000 £52,000
Business Medium £90,000 60% £54,000 £36,000
Business Large £130,000 50% £65,000 £65,000
University HEI (80% FEC) £75,000 100% £75,000 nil**
Catapult RTO £75,000 100% £75,000 nil
Total £500,000 £347,000 £153,000
** 20% FEC not to be shown as a contribution
Research Base Costs £150,000
Research base % of Total Eligible costs 30.00%

36. Academic Partners

37. Why Je-S?
• We use the Research Councils’ Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S) to collect academic
finances
• The Je-S system automates the collection of Full Economic Costs (FEC) based costs from academic
partners and tells them exactly what numbers should be used in the application form for their costs
• Also to collect project finance details from non-HEIs (e.g. RTOs) that are claiming they are carrying
out academic quality work and want to be funded on an FEC basis
• Using Je-S means that Innovate UK follows standard Research Council guidelines on funding
universities and enables Research Councils to easily co-fund Innovate UK projects

38. • Enter the TSB reference number here
• Enter the TSB Contribution column figures
from your J-eS output document into the
project costs section of the application
• Upload the Je-S with council status form
as a PDF at the bottom of the screen
Project costs – academic
partners

39. Je-S application elements
Not just the financials
• E.g. Justification of resources
• E.g. Pathways to impact
Full details on the Je-S system
Queries about Je-S via the Je-S Helpdesk
• JeSHelp@je-s.ukri.org
• 01793 444164

40. Submitting your application

41. Project cost summary
All organisations can see a
summary of project costs
Ensure the highlighted costs
fits the criteria for this
competition £5m to £25

42. Checking your finances
are complete
IFS checks
• all organisations have marked
their finances as complete

43. Submit your application
early!
Be aware of the
potential for last
minute technical
issues!

44. Assessment

45. Application assessment
All applications are assessed by independent assessors drawn from industry and academia
What do they look for?
• Clear and concise answers
• The right amount of information
• not too much detail
• no assumptions
• Quantification and justification
• A proposal that presents a viable opportunity for growth, a level of innovation that
necessitates public sector investment and has the right team and approach to be successful
Keep your assessors engaged
and interested in your proposal.
You want them to be fascinated
and excited by your idea!

46. Note on feedback
• The feedback is compiled using the written comments of the independent assessors who review
and assess the applications.
• It is intended to be constructive in nature and to highlight both the strong as well as the weak
areas of your application.
• Please bear in mind that because applications are assessed by a number of assessors, you may
receive information which appears to be conflicting. This may reflect their different interpretations
of the proposal that you submitted.
• It must also be noted that some proposals may appear to have been favourably assessed based
on their comments, in such instances it could be that your proposal simply fell below the funding
threshold, with others achieving a higher merit score overall.

47. Scoring
We review scores and feedback to check assessors are adhering to our guidelines and scoring fairly.
In some cases, where we feel a score is unjust and not supported by feedback, we may remove that
score as an outlier and update the total score for the application.
Please be aware that both low and high outliers may be removed and as a result scores may increase
or decrease.
If outliers are removed we are unable to reflect this change in the scores you receive as part of
your feedback due to this decision being completed outside the system

48. Application assessment
• The score spread shows the difference between the
top and bottom scores
• If score spread is 30 or more we will look to see if an
outlier is apparent
• If there is a 3 or more appear in either the two
columns Count of No Scope or Count of No Recc’d
we review the applications feedback and if justified,
the application will not be eligible for funding.

49. • The green box = particular assessors scores on an application
• The purple box = set of scores for a particular question
• The red box = at first glance this looks like an outlier
Identifying outliers

50. Assessor feedback

51. Interviews
If you are invited to progress to interview:
• You can bring up to three people to attend the interview
• You will have 20 minutes to present a maximum of 20 PowerPoint slides, with no videos or embedded
links
• There is a 30 minute Q&A session lead by members of the panel
• The presentations and presenters’ names have to be provided ahead of the interview

52. Project setup for successful
applicants

53. IFS for successful
applicants
Project Set up: 8 steps to complete
• Applicable to all grant claiming partners
• Must be completed within 30 days - projects
must start within 90 days or funding may be
withdrawn
• Confirmation of your bank account is required to
ensure we are paying the correct organisation
you may/will be asked to provide a redacted
bank statement to confirm this
• Project change requests cannot be submitted
before the project starts

54. Project set up
All grant claiming project partners will be required to complete project set up. To avoid delays you
should consider:
• Who will be the project manager?
• Who will be the finance contact for each consortium member?
• How will your consortium be set up? (if applicable)

55. Collaboration agreement
Original agreement signed by all participants
Key Features:
• Who is in the consortium?
• What are the aims, and how is the work divided up?
• Ownership of IPR
• Management of consortium
Negotiating a Collaboration Agreement can be complex and time consuming. Start work on this
at an early stage in the process.

56. Grant claims and payments
• All grants are claimable quarterly in arrears
• Claims can only be made for costs incurred and paid between the project start and end dates
• Claims may be subject to an independent audit (including all academic partners) according to grant size
• Claims are only paid once quarterly reporting and necessary audits are complete
• Projects over 6 months are monitored on a quarterly basis including a visit from the appointed
Monitoring Officer. Anything outside of this will be discussed on a case by case basis.
• The monitoring will be carried out against a detailed project plan and financial forecast

57. Project Change Requests
• We are unable to process any PCRs before the Grant Offer Letter is issued
• If a member of your collaboration has failed UiD and is unable to resolve you will be advised
to withdraw
• PCRs will only be agreed and authorised by Head of Operational Delivery

58. Customer Support Services:
0300 321 4357 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5:30pm)
support@innovateuk.ukri.org
Knowledge Transfer Network:
www.ktn-uk.co.uk
Innovate UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk
Q&A