Posted on 2nd December 2015
Category: News
Round 4 of the Smart Scheme is now open.The scheme tackles the funding gap often experienced by many small and early-stage companies with innovative ideas and high growth ambition and potential.
It offers co-funding to UK-based pre-start-ups, start-ups, micro businesses and SMEs, to carry out science, engineering and technology R&D projects which could lead to successful new products, processes and services.
Smart helps companies assess potential markets, prove concepts and develop prototypes. By reducing financial risk, it aims to encourage SME investment, increase innovation capability, accelerate the commercialisation of new products and services, and contribute to economic growth.
The Smart programme is ‘always open’ and is not restricted to projects in certain themes or sectors; offering funding to single, UK-based, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who have high growth ambition and potential, to engage in R&D projects from which successful new products, processes and services could emerge.
Three types of grant are available:
- Proof of Market
- Proof of Concept
- Development of Prototype
Smart – Proof of market
This grant enables companies to assess commercial viability, through:
- market research
- market testing and competitor analysis
- intellectual property position
- initial planning to take the project to commercialisation, including assessing costs, timescales and funding requirements.
Key features
- duration – up to 9 months
- maximum grant – £25k
- funding proportion – up to 60% of total project costs.
Smart – Proof of concept
A grant to explore the technical feasibility and commercial potential of a new technology, product or process:
- initial feasibility studies
- basic prototyping
- specialist testing and/or demonstration to provide basic proof of technical feasibility
- intellectual property protection
- investigation of production and assembly options.
It also includes pre-clinical research studies for healthcare technologies and medicines, including target identification and validation.
Key features
- duration – up to 18 months
- maximum grant – up to £100k
- funding proportion – up to 60% of total project costs.
Smart – Development of prototype
This funding is used by companies to develop a technologically innovative product, service or industrial process:
- small demonstrators
- intellectual property protection
- trials and testing, including clinical
- market testing
- marketing strategies
- identifying routes to market
- product design work
- pre-clinical studies for medicines.
Key features
- duration – up to 2 years
- maximum grant – £250k
- funding proportion – up to 35% of total project costs for medium enterprises; up to 45% for small and micro enterprises.