Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1
Innovate UK is investing up to £8 million to support close-to-market engineering biology experimental development projects for UK SMEs that have secured aligned private investment from a designated lead investor.
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Competition Scope & Overview
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £8 million in this Engineering Biology Investor Partnership competition. This competition is part of UKRI’s Engineering Biology Programme. The aim of this competition is to support:
the development and adoption of engineering biology technologies commercialisation of late stage experimental development projects that are close to market, and ultimately market adoption
To be offered grant funding your project must be assessed as eligible for grant funding and you must have secured aligned investment with a lead investor. In the investor pool you can view the areas of expertise and investment preferences for the investors. You can apply for this competition before you speak to an investor but initiating dialogue with investors is strongly encouraged. In addition to investment, the lead investors in the pool can provide you with commercial acumen in, for example:
leadership market access skills resources
Successful UK registered SME’s will receive:
grant funding from Innovate UK aligned investment funding with one of the programme’s pool of investors acting as the lead investor
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.
Our experience from similar competitions suggests that you could have 20% chance of success.
We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.
We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Official Applicant Guidance Documents
Applicant briefing 2580 EngBio Investor Partnerships R1.pdf
These are the official applicant briefing slides for the Innovate UK Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1 competition. They outline the essential scope rules, eligibility criteria, financial requirements, and key deadlines for applicants.
Download Official DocumentEngineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1 assessor guidance for applicants .pdf
This document is official Innovate UK assessor guidance for the Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships competition. It details the specific questions applicants must answer and the exact scoring criteria used to evaluate proposals.
Download Official DocumentApplication Questions & Guidance Brief
Every question below carries specific word limits and guidance criteria.
Project summary
Official Guidance
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Public description
Official Guidance
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.
Scope
Official Guidance
Describe how your project: fits the scope of the competition; can be considered engineering biology as defined in this brief. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Applicant location (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation, any partners and subcontractors working on your project. We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.
Project theme (not scored)
Official Guidance
State which of the following themes best fits with your proposal. You can also state a secondary theme. Select: Health, Agriculture and Food, Chemicals and materials, Low Carbon fuels, Waste and environment, Cross cutting technology, service development.
Animal testing (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing? You must select one option: Yes, No. We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.
Permits and licences (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project? We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date. You must select one option: Yes, No, In the process of being applied for, Not applicable.
International collaboration (not scored)
Official Guidance
Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement? You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers. If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.
Export licence (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance. You must select one option: Yes, No.
Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including: a list of any dual use (both military and non-military) applications to your research; a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act; whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications; a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List. If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.
Need or challenge
Official Guidance
What is the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity behind your innovation? Explain: the main motivation for the project; the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity; whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development; any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one; the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations; how the grant and aligned private investment will enable you to grow and scale beyond the project.
Approach and innovation
Official Guidance
What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be? Explain: how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified; how will you improve on the similar innovation that you have identified; whether the innovation will focus on existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas or a totally disruptive approach; the freedom you have to operate; how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings; how it will make you more competitive; the nature of the outputs you expect from the project (for example report, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design) and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified. You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Team and resources
Official Guidance
Who is in the project team and what are their roles? Explain: the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking; the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them; the details of any subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project; any roles you will need to recruit for. You can submit one appendix. This can include a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Market awareness
Official Guidance
What does the market you are targeting look like? Explain: the target markets for the project outcomes, any other potential markets, either domestic, international or both; the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available; the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes; the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist; the current UK position in targeting these markets; the size and main features of any other markets not already listed. If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain: what the market’s size might be; how your project will try to explore the market’s potential.
Outcomes and route to market
Official Guidance
How are you going to grow your business and increase your productivity into the long term as a result of the project? Explain: your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position; your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example why they would use or buy your product or service; your route to market; how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction; how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term; how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model; your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project.
Wider impacts
Official Guidance
What impact might this project have outside your organisation? Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to: external parties; customers; others in the supply chain; broader industry; the UK economy. Describe and, where possible, measure: any expected impact on government priorities; any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative; any expected regional impacts of the project. Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative on, for example: quality of life; social inclusion or exclusion; jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them; education; public empowerment; health and safety; regulations; diversity.
Project management
Official Guidance
How will you manage your project effectively? Explain: the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one; your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome; the management reporting lines; your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones. You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Risks
Official Guidance
What are the main risks for this project? Explain: the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks, providing a risk register if appropriate; how you will mitigate these risks; any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise and data sets; any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and so on, and how you will manage this. You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Added value and investment requirement
Official Guidance
How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved? Explain: what advantages would public funding offer your project, for example, appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market, this list is not exhaustive; the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved; what other routes of investment have you already approached; what your project would look like without public funding; how this project would change the R&D activities of all the organisations involved; your activities to enhance your investor readiness; any existing or past investment in your business; any discussions underway with investors, including for this round or for future funding. You must submit a one page investment profile as an appendix to support your answer. This must describe your investment requirements and supporting information including all of the following and any additional relevant information: funding received; ask or use of funds; team; traction; problem and solution; market; business or revenue model; financial projections; contact details.
Costs and value for money
Official Guidance
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer? In terms of your project goals, explain: your total eligible project costs; the grant you are requesting; how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer; how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise; any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project.