Innovate UK is investing up to £15 million in projects to stimulate innovation in infrastructure systems through business collaboration. Projects should develop integrated solutions or new business models in areas like smart infrastructure, energy systems, connected transport or urban living. The deadline to apply is March 2017. Innovate UK is also investing up to £5 million to develop innovative manufacturing and materials technologies for the civil nuclear sector, with the goal of supporting the UK nuclear supply chain. The deadline to apply is January 2017. Additionally, Innovate UK is investing up to £15 million in innovative manufacturing and materials projects that address technical or commercial challenges and increase productivity for UK SMEs. The deadline to apply is January 2017.

1. Creative, Digital & Design
Business Briefing
A digest of useful information for UK businesses seeking
funding and support, updated monthly
January 2017
@KTNUK

2. If you would like to receive updates from KTN, you
can subscribe here: bit.ly/KTNregister

3. Contents
• Feature
• Innovate UK funding calls
• Horizon 2020
• Funding
• Events
• Investment
• Support
• Contest/Call
• Market Research/Personal Data Network

4. 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. They expect projects to range in size
from total eligible costs of £25,000 to £5 million. Projects should last
between 3 months and 3 years. Projects must show significant innovation
in one of our priority areas: ‘smart’ infrastructure, energy systems,
connected transport or urban living.
Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 15 March
2017 and apply before noon on 22 March 2017.
More info at gov.uk
Innovation in infrastructure systems round 2
Innovate UK funding calls

5. Key feature: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(BEIS) is to invest up to £5 million in projects to develop innovative
manufacturing and materials technologies for the civil nuclear sector.
The aim of this competition is to establish an innovative R&D base for
materials and manufacturing. This will support a strong UK nuclear supply
chain.
Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 11 January
2017 and apply before noon on 18 January 2017.
More info at gov.uk
SBRI funding competition: advanced nuclear manufacturing
and materials
Innovate UK funding calls

6. Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovation
projects in manufacturing and/or materials. We will fund projects that
focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. These should
lead to increased productivity, competitiveness and growth for UK small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Competition opens: 21
November
Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 18 January
2017 and apply before noon on 25 January 2017.
More info at gov.uk
Manufacturing and Materials Round 2
Innovate UK funding calls

7. Key feature: This Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) themed
competition seeks to deliver a step change in aviation security through
innovative science and technology. The competition seeks new
technologies that will improve the ability to prevent the widest possible
range of explosives, weapons and other threats being taken on board an
aircraft.
Competition Closes: applicants must apply before noon on 19 January
2017.
More info at gov.uk
CDE themed competition: the future of aviation security
Innovate UK funding calls

8. Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovative
research and development projects that will turn innovation excellence into
economic impact for the UK.
The aim of this competition is to help businesses develop new products,
processes and services with commercial potential.
To be in scope, total costs for the project must be between £25,000 to £1
million. Projects should last between 6 months to 36 months.
The competition is open to businesses of any size. You can work
individually or collaboratively.
Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 1 February
2017 and apply before noon on 8 February 2017.
More info at gov.uk
Open programme round 2
Innovate UK funding calls

9. Key feature: A scheme to help businesses innovate and grow by
linking them with a university and a graduate to work on a specific
project. Each KTP is a three-way partnership between a business, an
academic institution and a graduate. The academic institution employs
the recently-qualified graduate who works at the company. The
graduate, known as the ‘associate', brings new skills and knowledge
to the business.
A KTP is part-funded by a grant. You will need to contribute to the cost
of the supervisor and the salary of the associate.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
2016/17 close dates for submission are: 18 January 2017, 8
March 2017
More info on: gov.uk
Innovate UK funding calls

10. 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. Find out more
Innovate UK funding calls

11. 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

12. Department for Transport new
technology grant
The Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF) is a new grant scheme from
the Department for Transport. The purpose of the scheme is to help
support and develop innovations that use or enable science,
engineering and technology to address specified DfT policy goals.
This could be the implementation of a new idea or applying existing
ideas to a different sector or market.
Grants of up to £90,000 are available to businesses including those
that are micro, small or medium-sized, academia or other
organisations. Grants can fund up to 100% of the cost of a project
(dependent on the type and size of the organisation and category of
research being undertaken), with up to 30% of the grant available at
the beginning of the project. Find out more

13. Funding
Design Council Spark is a 16-week support and funding programme
designed to help you turn your bright idea into a commercially
successful product. They will provide up to 15 finalists with specialist
expertise and one-to-one mentoring. Once accepted onto the
programme they will receive an initial sum of £15,000 to help
you develop your product as well as a chance to pitch for a further
share of £200,000. Deadline: 10 January 2017

14. Digital Business Drop-in – 12 Jan
Grant Writing Workshop - 12 Jan
Analysis for Innovators Briefing Event – 12 Jan
Funding for early-stage design launch event - 17 Jan
The Local Innovation Landscape; Innovate UK in the West Midlands -
19 Jan
Events

15. Digital Business Drop 12th January
The Knowledge Transfer Network will be organising an informal information
sharing Business Drop-in session in London. The session is designed to support
digital companies and learn more about Innovate UK, the Digital Catapult and
other organisations and businesses that have opportunities and support for UK
based businesses. Guests speakers include Department of International Trade,
EIT Digital and Briffa Legal”
Find out more here
Design Foundations
The Knowledge Transfer Network will be running a networking event to launch
Innovate UK's Design Foundations programme for 2017. This is the first event of
many across the year to bring together companies and designers to help create
the collaborations necessary to apply for a grant. The programme is aimed at
tackle early stage interventions to help companies develop better propositions for
new products, services or business models. While the event is oversubscribed,
register for the live streaming of the competition scope and how to apply.
Events

16. KTN and the wider Innovate UK family are delighted to be involved in
the organisation and delivery of Smart IoT London 2017. Following
the success of last year's event, KTN is working with the organisers to
pull together a showcase of the best 'up and coming' IoT talent -
which could include you! Watch this space for further details.
Date: 15 - 16 March 2017 ExCeL, London
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport is sponsoring the SME
Innovation Zone at CYBERUK 2017 in Liverpool from 14-16 March
2017. DCMS is running a competition to select 10 UK small cyber
security businesses to have a presence in the Innovation Zone.
Closing date for applications is 23 January at 12:00 noon.
Events

17. Investment
Apply for Cylon, the world leading cybersecurity Accelerator
Programme. The Programme includes £15K with 3% equity,
training, connections, offfice space and a demo day.
Deadline: 20 January
The INNOV8 Award is for unique, diverse & creative
technology start-ups who will go up against each other in a
fierce competition to win £100,000 investment & prizes from
Business Rocks & Innov8 Partners.

18. Private Investment Directory now updated
Digital 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 Studios
Venture Capital Funds
Angel Investor Networks
Corporate Venture Capital firms
Check out the new entries: bit.ly/ktnrefer
Investment

19. The Advance London programme provides free practical help and
advice to SMEs in London to enable businesses to adopt and scale
up circular business models.
The Fast Forward Pre-accelerator Programme is an initiative by City
University and The Accelerator Network to prepare startup teams for
first funding and successful application and entry to leading
accelerators. Deadline: January 29th
CSIT Labs, an incubator programme for cyber security start-ups, is
recruiting for its second cohort. The incubator is based at the Centre
for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), the UK’s National
Innovation and Knowledge Centre for cyber security located in
Belfast. Teams will undertake a 9 month managed incubator
programme to take ideas and promising research in the field of cyber
security through to investment and market ready stage. Deadline:
January 11th
Support

20. Go To Grow - The Mayor’s International Business Programme
A 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

21. Swiss Re Pit Stop (Open Call)
If your business is integrating machine learning, artificial intelligence or
Natural Language Processing into Virtual Assistant platforms, Digital
Catapult’s new Pit Stop with Swiss Re could be the perfect chance to
develop them further. Find out more and sign up today.
Things Connected Open Call
Future Cities Catapult invites UK businesses to develop and demonstrate
connected products in London using the Things Connected LoRa Low-
Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). The Catapult is intending to fund
successful proposals for up to £10,000 using the “Things Connected”
network in London to solve challenges around sustainability, urban
mobility, connecting communities, healthy cities and urban planning.
Deadline: Thursday 12 January at 12 noon. Find out more
Call

22. Briffa and the KTN have teamed up to produce a short webinar
setting out the background and context to the The General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), and to explore some of the key
concepts under the new regulation, such as accountability and
‘privacy by design’, consent requirements, the rights of data subjects
and the obligations of data controllers and processors, possible
sanctions for breach of the GDPR, and the rules regarding transfers
of personal data outside of the EU.
Check out our blog post and the video on the Personal Data and
Trust Network website.
Market Research

23. 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.