A further £4.1m of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) has now been made available for applications.  Organisations are invited to apply for ESIF funding by responding to a number of Calls for projects that will provide Innovation and business support infrastructure in the Humber.

Four calls for projects have been launched by the Department for Communities and Local Government utilising funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  The Calls for projects are now open until 10 November for the following activities:

• PA1 – Research and Innovation – Humber Climate Change call – £1.9m of funding is available for developing an innovation asset in the Humber a purpose built centre which will provide the necessary facilities and equipment to support innovation, research and development in relation to climate change mitigation and/or resource utilisation. The call document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds/research-and-innovation-climate-change-call-in-humber-oc18r17p-0622
• PA1 – Research and Innovation – Humber Innovation Workspace call – inviting proposals to provide a technology demonstrator facility for SMEs to work on proof of concept, prototyping and development of commercial applications of emerging and enabling technologies. £502,591 of ERDF funding is available. The call document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds/research-and-innovation-innovation-workspace-call-in-humber-oc18r17p-0621
• PA3 – SME Support: call in Leeds City Region, Humber and York, North Yorkshire and East Riding – £200k available in the Humber as part of a £1m call for support to SME manufacturers. The call document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds/sme-support-call-in-leeds-city-region-humber-and-york-north-yorkshire-and-east-riding-oc50r17p-0626
• PA3 SME Competitiveness Call – £1.5m available to provide high quality SME Workspace combined with an effective programme of business support tailored to the growth needs of the target occupants. The call document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds/sme-support-call-in-the-humber-oc18r17p-0623

Further calls for projects under PA4 Low Carbon are anticipated later this month.

All ESIF calls can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds.  Here you can register for email alerts when future calls go live.

Humber ESIF Committee Chair, Isobel Mills said:

“I am pleased to see yet more opportunities being made available to support innovation, business growth and development in the Humber.

We are looking for high quality projects that will address the issues identified within each of the calls and support us to drive economic growth.

The Humber continues to be ahead of the curve in delivering its ESIF Strategy with over £49.4m of projects already contracted and a further £17.7m in the appraisal process.  We look forward to seeing proposals that will add value to the programmes that are already delivering valuable support to businesses in the area to grow and become more innovative.”

Support is available for organisations interested in responding to one or more of the calls. The Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) can be contacted at tap@eastriding.gov.uk or 01482 391683.  It is strongly recommended that all potential applicants seek support from the TAP.  For more details about the TAP and support offered visit www.esiftap.org