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How funding really works: the honest guide to your odds, your options and where to start

What each kind of money wants back, the real success rates with dates, the five things that move them, and three first steps for founders, SMEs, researchers, charities and public-sector suppliers.

FoundersSMEsResearchersCharities and social enterprises26 min readChecked 18 October 2026
On this page
  1. What each kind of money wants back
  2. The honest odds
  3. What moves the odds
  4. Match the money to the business
  5. Bid or no bid
  6. The five questions every decider asks
  7. Where to start
    1. Pre-revenue founder
    2. Trading SME
    3. Researcher
    4. Charity or social enterprise
    5. Selling to the public sector
  8. Real examples, and why the route mattered
  9. Pitfalls
  10. Checklist: before you apply for anything
  11. Questions
    1. What are my real chances of winning an Innovate UK grant?
    2. Should I apply for a grant or raise investment first?
    3. Is a loan better than a grant?
    4. How long does it take to get funding?
    5. Why was my application rejected before it was scored?
    6. How many applications should I make?
    7. Does talking to the funder first actually help?
    8. Where do I start if I have never applied for anything?
  12. Sources

Most funding advice tells you how to write. This guide tells you what to apply for, and with what odds: every kind of money on one page, dated success rates, what moves them, and three first steps for whoever you are. The other guides hold the detail. This one is the map.

  • Open national competitions fund a few percent: Innovate UK's last Smart round funded 2.8%, and its single-firm AI rounds now print odds of 2% to 4%. Invited routes fund most of what reaches them: Esmée Fairbairn's funded 88% then 97% in 2023. Your route moves your odds more than your prose.
  • Every pound has a price. A grant wants its outcomes and your match share; a loan wants repayment; equity wants a large exit; a contract wants the problem solved to specification.
  • Most applications fail on fit, eligibility and paperwork before anyone judges quality. One free pre-application conversation filters out most wasted bids.
  • Every decider asks five questions: is the need real, is this better than the alternatives, can this team deliver and does it know its gaps, is the plan realistic, and is this the right money.
  • Budget 80 to 200 hours for an Innovate UK bid and "10+ days" for a tender, and the cash to wait for grants paid against costs you have already paid.

What each kind of money wants back

Decide the kind of money before the scheme. A business can be a poor fit for one and a strong fit for the next.

Kind What they want back What you must already have Best for Read next
Grant Delivery of the funder's own aims, in scope, with reports; your match share. Innovate UK pays a micro or small firm up to 70% of feasibility and industrial research costs and 45% of experimental development; a few micro-grants pay 100%12 Eligibility, a quantified need, evidence of demand, match funding and the cash to wait for claims R&D too risky for a lender and too early for an investor Innovate UK, grant questions, arts, heritage and community
Pre-commercial contract (Contracts for Innovation, SBRI Healthcare) A solution to the buyer's published challenge and a royalty-free licence. 100% funded, no profit, priced including VAT, paid monthly in arrears against milestones; "never considered a subsidy"34 A product that answers the challenge and the capacity to deliver R&D as a service Firms without match funding whose idea meets a public need Selling innovation to the public sector
Loan Repayment with interest from cash flow. Innovation Loans take a debenture; a Start Up Loan is "an unsecured personal loan"56 Accounts or forecasts that show affordability; Innovation Loans want three years of accounts and a forecast for the whole term7 Revenue-generating firms that want to keep their equity Innovate UK money, investors
Equity A share of a large future exit. A £50m fund owning 10% needs a £500m exit to return the fund once8 A team, a product people use or pay for, a market big enough, and SEIS or EIS advance assurance where it applies910 Businesses built to grow fast and sell Investors, investor maths
Prize or fellowship A person they can back and the development you promise; usually no equity or IP claim. The RAEng Enterprise Fellowship has "no fees, no equity, and no claim on your IP"11 Track record: PRS Foundation expects over 18 months of it, RAEng wants TRL 4 or above and you as CEO1211 Individuals and very early founders Research to company, arts, heritage and community
Public contract Goods or services delivered to specification at the price bid. Social value commitments "must be reflected in the contract"13 Registration on the Central Digital Platform, capacity to deliver, insurance by contract start, financial standing proportionate to the contract1415 Trading businesses with a deliverable service; councils spend 34% with SMEs16 Public procurement, finding tenders
In-kind support Your time, and outcomes they can report A question Everyone, before any application Relationships and events
Kind Decision time What it costs you Typical size, with date
Innovate UK grant 8 to 11 weeks from closing date to decision for written-only rounds, 9 to 14 with an interview (2026 competitions)17 80 to 200 hours to write (a consultancy estimate)18; 30% to 55% match for a small firm; claims paid only against costs "incurred and paid"19 North West SMEs: median award £74,922 for projects starting 2024 to 2026, 42% under £50,00020. UK median grant £89,580 in 2025-2621
Arts, heritage and community grants Arts Council Project Grants up to £30,000: 8 weeks from 1 September 202622. Awards for All: 16 weeks23. Heritage Fund £10,000 to £250,000: 8-week target24 Time. Arts Council England asks you to try for 10% match25; the Heritage Fund requires none under £250,00026 Project Grants £1,000 to £100,00027; Awards for All £300 to £20,00023; Reaching Communities averaged £319,000 over three years in 202528
Pre-commercial contract 4 to 7 weeks for the October 2026 Contracts for Innovation rounds17 No match; you invoice monthly against milestones4 £20,000 to £500,000 in live October 2026 rounds29; SBRI Healthcare up to £3m30
Loan Start Up Loans: a credit check, no published timeline6. Innovation Loans: expression of interest, full application, credit committee; the EOI route is paused from 9 October 2026 to January 202731 Interest. A £25,000 Start Up Loan at 7.5% over five years costs about £5,057 in interest (standard repayment arithmetic)6. Innovation Loans: 3.7% a year during the project, 7.4% in repayment, up to seven years31 Start Up Loans £500 to £25,0006; NPIF II debt £25,000 to £2m32; Innovation Loans £100,000 to £5m31
Equity About six months for a priced round33; an advance subscription agreement can close in days34; Octopus Ventures targets a pre-seed decision within ten days of a first conversation9 10% to 20% of the company per round, average 14%33; legal fees of £3,000 to £20,000 or more for a law-firm round (2019 figures)35 Angels £10,000 to £50,000 each10; PraeSeed £150,000 to £200,00036; NPIF II equity up to £5m37; UK seed-stage median pre-money valuation £2.0m, first half of 202638
Public contract At least 25 days to tender electronically, then an 8-working-day standstill after award3940 "a good bid can take 10+ days"41; insurance at contract start, not at bid15 Councils advertise from about £30,000 including VAT on The Chest42; 2026 thresholds £135,018 (central government) and £207,720 (councils), including VAT43

The honest odds

Cold, open routes sit at the bottom and supported routes (highlighted) at the top. The figures are the latest published rates for each route4944585965471257462763645061. Smart has been closed since January 202545.

Success rates by route (latest published year)
Innovate UK Frontier AI SME Champions, printed Oct 20262%
Innovate UK Smart, Sept 2024 (closed)2.8%
EIC Accelerator full proposals, Oct 20245.9%
Esmée Fairbairn website route, 20236.5%
PRS Foundation Open Fund10%approximately
Horizon Europe, 2021 to 202416.4%reported
UKRI research councils, 2025-2618.7%
Innovate UK Investor Partnerships, printed Oct 202620%investor-backed
Innovate UK all decisions, 2025-2620.0%
Arts Council Project Grants, 2025/2630%
Awards for All33%"around 1 in 3"
EIC Accelerator interviewees, Feb 202650%61 of 121
Esmée Fairbairn invited route, 202385%88% invited x 97% funded
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Dec 201490%reported, not confirmed
Route Success rate Year and basis What it means
Innovate UK themed competitions 2% to 30%, printed on each competition page: "you could have 4% chance of success" (Efficient AI), 2% (Frontier AI SME Champions), 20% (Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships), 25% (Battery Feasibility), 30% (an RTO-led hub)4849505152 October 2026; Innovate UK's own estimate from similar competitions Single-firm open-style rounds sit at the bottom, collaborative and investor-backed rounds at the top
Innovate UK Smart (closed) 2.8% (46 of 1,645); 4.4% in July 2022, when 14% of applications were ineligible4453 September 2024 round; 2022 FOI "Smart grants are now closed for new applications"; no any-sector replacement was open at 18 October 202645
Innovate UK, all decisions 20.0% (2025-26); 16.4% (2024-25); 22.5% (2023-24)46 UKRI Table 2.2, by number Includes themed, collaborative and loan products
UKRI research councils 18.7% overall; AHRC 18.8%, BBSRC 14.4%, EPSRC 14.5%, ESRC 20.3%, MRC 12.4%, NERC 16.3%, STFC 20.6%46 2025-26, by number; 27.0% in 2023-24 UKRI attributes the fall to committing less money up front at the end of the Spending Review period and pausing some calls, not to a change in quality46
EPSRC New Investigator Award 25% and 30% at panel, against 22% and 16% for standard grants54 2024-25 and 2025-26, computed from EPSRC's published outcomes file The clearest easier door in research funding
Future Leaders Fellowships 16% (rounds 1 to 7); 18% tentative in round 855 Collated November 2024 Host caps of 2 to 10 add an internal round first
ERC Starting Grant About 12% (478 of 3,928)56 2025 call; rate reported, application count confirmed by the ERC Excellence is the only criterion
Horizon Europe 16.4% reported; 54% passed thresholds but about 30% of those were funded57 2021 to 2024, reported figure Aim for 14 of 15, not the 10 threshold
EIC Accelerator 5.9% of full proposals (71 of 1,211); 44% to 50% of those interviewed in 2026 rounds5859 October 2024 cut-off; 2026 announcements Three unsuccessful submissions and you are out60
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships About 90% (77 of 86 proposals), reported but not confirmed by Innovate UK61 December 2014 panel; no current official rate Developed with a university and an adviser before submission; see KTP and the EIC
Arts Council England Project Grants 30%; Developing Your Creative Practice 21.5%27 2025/26 averages DYCP runs one round a year and bars you after one success or two failures62
National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All "around 1 in 3"; all programmes about 37% by count and 17.5% by value6364 Current; 2025-26 annual report, our sums Count rates hide cut and small awards
Heritage Fund 900+ projects supported from 2,100+ new applications26 2025-26; not the same cohort Roughly two in five, with a free Project Enquiry first24
Esmée Fairbairn Website route 6.5% (3.1% in 2022); invited route 88% to full proposal, then 97% funded6547 2023 The clearest proof that the route is the odds
PRS Foundation Open Fund "approximately 10%"12 Current Once per calendar year; declined projects cannot return
Venture capital About 1 in 50 companies screened gets an investment66; 2.8% of UK seed-stage companies reach an exit38; 28.3% of seed-funded spin-outs reach Series A67 Survey of about 900 VCs, 2016 to 2019, US-centric; Beauhurst, first half of 2026; 2010 to 2020 spin-out cohort A "no" is usually about fit with the fund's maths
Public contracts SMEs won 21% of direct spend in England and 34% in local government16; no win-rate benchmark exists 2025 Below-threshold council work has no pre-qualification stage68
Contracts for Innovation 25% of Phase 1 firms shortlisted to Phase 269 2008 to 2020 evaluation; no application-level rate Live rounds each expect 11 to 40 contracts29

Older advice may predate these changes44152231108.

What has changed since 2025
  1. Smart pausednow "closed for new applications"
  2. Procurement Act 2023 in forcenew notices and assessment summaries
  3. Arts Council Project Grants8-week decisions up to £30,000
  4. Innovation Loans pausedexpressions of interest closed until January 2027
  5. KTP round 4 expected to openruns to 27 January 2027

What moves the odds

Lever What the evidence says What you do
Fit and scope At Innovate UK the Innovation Lead reads only the scope answer and "their scope decision is final"70. Friends Provident Foundation turned down 34% of stage-one applications for programme misfit71. Of organisations that took City of London pre-application advice, 75% concluded they were ineligible or misaligned and did not apply72 Quote the scope line you meet, in the funder's words, at the top of the answer. Check hard eligibility in writing before drafting
Pre-application contact Esmée's expression of interest exists "to avoid people investing more time applying if it is unlikely we will fund the work"47. The Heritage Fund answers a Project Enquiry within 10 working days24. Public buyers must publish a notice when they run preliminary market engagement73 One contact per target fund: helpdesk, officer, enquiry form, competition briefing, or a reply to a market engagement notice
Resubmission A 2024 scoping review reported resubmissions as "reliably more successful than first-time applications"74. Innovate UK allows it but says addressing feedback "does not guarantee success" and you may get different assessors70. Caps: the EIC allows three unsuccessful submissions in total60; DYCP bars you after one success or two failures since 9 November 202162; Garfield Weston will not consider a new request within 12 months75 Request feedback every time, log it, fix the cause rather than the wording. Count your remaining attempts before submitting a weak bid
Interviews "Interview scores replace the initial assessment score unless the brief states otherwise"1. At the EIC, 5.9% of full proposals won but 44% to 50% of interviewees did in 20265859 Treat the interview as a second application: rehearse against the criteria, bring the data, not the deck
Portfolio arithmetic At 4% a bid, ten independent applications give about a one-in-three chance of at least one win (1 minus 0.96 to the power of 10 is about 0.34) Three to five well-fitted bids across funder types beat ten long shots
Expected value and reusable assets A 4% competition for £100,000 is worth about £4,000 of expected grant. Sixty to a hundred hours only pays if the market model, risk register and team plan are reused Build one evidence base and reuse it in every bid, pitch and tender
The cost of losing 65% of declined Smart applicants had abandoned their innovation or stalled for lack of private investment76 Never let one 3% competition be the whole plan

Agreka Build in Nantwich used four routes in two years from one evidence base: a £344,482 Smart grant (project from January 2025), a £153,816 Contracts for Innovation contract (2025), then a £99,985 materials feasibility grant and a £198,512 Investor Partnerships grant (2026)20.

Match the money to the business

Take a business with £300,000 of annual profit and no plan to sell. At an assumed five times profit it is worth about £1.5m, so a venture investor's 20% would be worth £300,000 and could never be sold. A £50m fund owning 10% of a company needs a £500m exit just to return the fund once8; this business is 0.06% of that. That is why investors check you "have an exit plan and do not hope to simply remain in control and have a lifestyle job"77, and why a VC "no" is usually about fit. The same business could repay a £250,000 loan (about £63,700 a year at 10% over five years), win project grants and sell to councils.

A grant is not free money. A small firm gets 70% of feasibility or research costs and 45% of development costs, claimed after it has paid them, within a £315,000 subsidy cap over three financial years11978. A Contracts for Innovation contract pays 100% monthly against milestones, with no match, and you keep the IP34. An Innovation Loan covers up to 100%, drawn quarterly in advance, but only for development work in six Industrial Strategy sectors, for firms that can afford repayment; its expression-of-interest route is paused until January 20273179. If you can repay, or your product answers a public challenge, those routes beat a grant on cash flow and dilution.

A grant earns its place when it buys the evidence an investor needs. In the official Smart evaluation, 37% of funded firms had raised private money by the end of 2024, and firms said the grant paid for "the R&D steps that equity investors required to secure their backing"76. The attributable uplift was 8 to 10%: a grant helps a raise, it does not replace one. Investor Partnerships run the handshake in reverse: an approved investor commits at least one to two times the grant, and the grant follows8180. Watercycle Technologies in Manchester started its £698,950 Investor Partnerships grant in November 2024, the month Par Equity led its round2082.

Where you are Fits Usually does not
Profitable, no plan to sell Loans, project grants, public contracts Venture capital
Pre-revenue, early technology (TRL 1 to 3) 100%-funded micro-grants, proof-of-concept funds, ICURe, SEIS angels Innovation Loans ("not for feasibility")79; Series A funds
Product answers a public body's stated problem Contracts for Innovation, SBRI Healthcare, below-threshold council contracts Grants that need match you do not have
Growing, with an investor at term-sheet stage An Investor Partnerships grant alongside the round; NPIF II equity up to £5m37 Cold national grant competitions
Charity or community group Awards for All, Reaching Communities, the Heritage Fund, trusts after a conversation Equity; Innovate UK, unless the project is R&D
Researcher with a result Impact Acceleration Account money, UKRI proof of concept (£100,000 to £250,000), ICURe, a KTP with a company83848587 Applying as a business before the IP route is agreed

Bid or no bid

Stage Question Stop if
Knockout Eligible: legal form, location, size, turnover, trustees, Companies House number, subsidy headroom? Any hard rule fails
Knockout In scope, in the funder's own words? You cannot quote the line you meet
Knockout Can you fund your share and the gap before the first payment? No match or working capital
Knockout Enough time: "at least four weeks" for an Innovate UK bid, "10+ days" for a good tender?8841 The deadline is closer than that
Score Strategic fit; chance of winning (published odds × fit × relationship × resubmission); value and reusable assets; cost to bid; delivery risk; doors opened Pursue at 70 or more, review 50 to 69, decline below 50
After Log the outcome, the feedback and the hours Never skip this; it is how the next decision gets better

Grants pay late. At Innovate UK "costs incurred before the agreed start date cannot be claimed", claims "must be for actual costs incurred and paid", spend is profiled in project quarters, and an independent accountant's report goes in with the final claim891990. Advisers describe payment as quarterly in arrears with about 10% held to the final report91. The Heritage Fund pays "50% in advance, 30% in advance, and then 20% in arrears"24; Awards for All aims to pay within 14 days of a yes63. Model the gap with the method in Innovate UK money.

The five questions every decider asks

Question In the deciders' words Where the full answer lives
1. Is the need real, quantified and urgent? Innovate UK's top band wants a "compelling business motivation"92; "Poor responses talk too much about the solution without first describing the issue"93. The Heritage Fund asks "Why does your project need to happen?"94; the Community Fund checks "background statistics" for your area95 Prove the business, grant questions
2. Is it better than the nearest alternatives, with evidence? A "clear understanding of any similar innovation identified and its current limitations"92. Garfield Weston declines "work which is being delivered by similar organisations in the same area as you"96 Market and route to market, moat
3. Can this team deliver, and does it know its gaps? Top band: "Any gaps in knowledge and expertise are identified, and appropriate recruitment plans are in place"; mid band: gaps "evident but are not identified or mitigated"97. 47% of VCs rank the team as the most important factor66 Team
4. Is the plan realistic, with risks named? "rating the risks overall as low will mark down your score"98. Arts Council England: "We will not fund your project if we consider any aspects of your project's management or finances to be major risk"25 Grant questions, Innovate UK
5. Is this the right money, and what happens after? "Valid and justified arguments as to why other funding mechanisms are not appropriate"; partners "have a clear idea of how they will finance their contribution"97. Investors check the exit plan77 This guide, Innovate UK money, investors

Where to start

Find yourself below, then follow the three steps under your heading. The figures behind each are footnoted there.

Where to start, by who you are
  1. Pre-revenue founderprove demand, take the smallest right money, get known
  2. Trading SMEpick the kind of money, register on the portals, use KTP, NPIF II, Made Smarter
  3. Researcherchoose the easier door, IAA then ICURe then proof of concept, meet a company
  4. Charity or social enterprisetalk first, one budget per funder, fix the paperwork
  5. Selling to the public sectorregister, start below threshold, treat every loss as data

Pre-revenue founder

  1. Prove demand before money: run the twelve weeks in Prove the business and collect dated commitments, not compliments.
  2. Take the smallest right money: a 100%-funded micro-grant if one opens in your technology (the 2025 New Innovators round paid £25,000 to £50,000)2, SEIS angels at £10,000 to £50,000 each10, or PraeSeed if you are pre-revenue in the North36. Read Investors and Investor maths before you sign, and Intellectual property before you pitch.
  3. Get known early at Venture Café Manchester, a Business Connect briefing or NorthInvest coaching. Browse programmes and advice and set an alert.

Trading SME

  1. Decide the kind of money. Profit and no exit means loans and contracts; a product that meets a published public challenge means Contracts for Innovation; R&D too risky for a lender means a themed grant, if its printed odds justify the hours. Start with Innovate UK or Selling innovation to the public sector.
  2. Register free on the Central Digital Platform and The Chest. Local government spends 34% with SMEs16. Read Public procurement and Finding tenders.
  3. Use the regional levers: a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (the grant covers 67% of an SME project)87, NPIF II debt from £25,000 to £2m32, and for manufacturers Made Smarter's 50% match grants capped at £20,00099. Browse grants, tenders and loans and investment, and your area page: Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Warrington, Lancashire, Cumbria.

Researcher

  1. Pick the scheme by its door: EPSRC New Investigator Awards ran at 25% and 30% in 2024-25 and 2025-26 against 22% and 16% for standard grants54. Read Research grants.
  2. For a result with commercial legs, ask your research office about Impact Acceleration Account money (Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and LSTM hold accounts)83, then ICURe Discover (£2,500) and Explore (up to £35,000)85, then UKRI proof of concept (£100,000 to £250,000)84. Of 641 evaluated ICURe projects, 40% were recommended to spin out86. Read Research to company.
  3. Talk to a company before you need one: a Knowledge Transfer Adviser is the fastest match for a KTP. Search research funding and spin-out and set an alert.

Charity or social enterprise

  1. Relationship before form: a Heritage Fund Project Enquiry (answered within 10 working days)24, a Community Fund funding officer, Esmée's expression of interest47. Check hard rules first: Esmée funds nothing under £30,000 and no organisation with turnover under £100,000100.
  2. Write one budget per funder: Arts Council England asks you to try for 10% match, the Heritage Fund makes contingency mandatory, and Awards for All cannot fund it2594101. Read Arts, heritage and community.
  3. Fix the paperwork: "as many as a quarter of applications we receive are missing vital information"102. Check a trust's past grants free on 360Giving's GrantNav103; browse creative and social economy grants.

Selling to the public sector

  1. Register free on Find a Tender (the Central Digital Platform) and The Chest, and watch pipeline and preliminary market engagement notices144273.
  2. Start where SMEs win: local government and below-threshold lots, where there is no pre-qualification stage and councils may reserve work for local or small suppliers1668. Read Public buyers and Frameworks.
  3. Treat every loss as data: the assessment summary gives the winner's score and reasons against each criterion104. Read Writing a winning bid and Social value; use tenders and coming soon.

Free help in the North West, before you apply

  • Growth hubs. GC Business Growth Hub runs funding-options workshops (Bury, 21 October 2026) and scale-up programmes "at no charge"105; Growth Platform's High Growth support covers the Liverpool City Region106; Boost (Lancashire), Cumbria and Cheshire and Warrington have their own hubs.
  • Innovate UK Business Connect. Competition briefings and clinics, mostly online; helpline 03333 403250107. Knowledge Transfer Advisers: Susan Suttle (Liverpool, Manchester, East Lancashire, Salford), Jonathan Abra (Lancashire and Cumbria), Mick Card or Chris Woods (Merseyside, West Cheshire, North Wales); KTP round 4 is expected to run from 19 October 2026 to 27 January 2027108. Innovate UK Business Growth is paused to new requests109.
  • Health. Health Innovation Manchester and Health Innovation North West Coast are the NHS front doors, with the free NHS Innovation Service behind them110111112.
  • Buyers. STAR Procurement's free Meet the Buyer for six Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region councils (last held 29 January 2026)113; Lancashire County Council's free Meet the Buyer for children's services (19 October 2026)114; The Chest is free to join42.
  • Investors. NorthInvest's free coaching and pitch events115; the LCR Seed Fund's Founder Funding Group sessions116; Venture Café Manchester, "Free and open to all", Thursday evenings at the Renold Building117.
  • More, with dates, in Relationships and events.

Real examples, and why the route mattered

More, with what each did well, in Real winning applications.

Esmée Fairbairn's two doors in 2023 show the route deciding the odds. Through the website, 7% of 1,030 eligible expressions of interest were invited and 93% of those funded, 6.5% overall; from 191 invited or existing grantees, 88% were invited and 97% funded4765. Counts below are our rounding of those percentages.

Esmée Fairbairn, cold website route, 2023
1,030Expressions of interest
72Invited to a full proposal (7%)about
67Funded (93%)6.5% of the start
Esmée Fairbairn, invited route, 2023
191Expressions of interest
168Invited to a full proposal (88%)about
163Funded (97%)about 85% of the start

Esmée Fairbairn's two doors (2023)

Esmée publishes no reasons per grant; the arithmetic is the lesson. Test fit with the short expression of interest, and build the relationship before you need the money.

CareLoop, Manchester: £49,583 grant, then £1.8m (2022 to 2025)

The University of Manchester spin-out took a £49,583 "Fast Start: Innovation" grant, 100% funded, from October 2022 to March 2023 for a postnatal depression screening app20. In January 2025 it closed a £1.8m round co-led by the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura and Verge HealthTech Fund, with NPIF II and SFC Capital, by then holding a NICE Early Value Assessment recommendation and five clinical trials118. No scoring reasons are published; the sequence is the one the Smart evaluation describes, a small grant buying the evidence investors ask for.

House of Care, Birkenhead: a £25,000 NPIF II loan (2025)

A domiciliary care business borrowed £25,000 from NPIF II to take on more contracts and create jobs, one of the first NPIF II deals in the Liverpool City Region. Tilly and Ted Homeware in Lymm borrowed £55,000 after 53% year-on-year turnover growth119. Neither is an R&D business or sold equity: revenue made debt the right money.

Pitfalls

Pitfall Evidence Fix
Out of scope or the wrong scheme Innovate UK's scope decision is final70; 34% of Friends Provident stage-one bids failed on fit71 Quote the scope line; make one pre-application contact
Ineligible 14% of a Smart round rejected before assessment53; Esmée excludes turnover under £100,000 and fewer than three trustees47 Check the hard rules in writing
The wrong kind of money A £50m fund owning 10% needs a £500m exit8 Decide the kind of money before the scheme
Solution before problem "Poor responses talk too much about the solution without first describing the issue"93 Lead with the quantified need
Understated risk "rating the risks overall as low will mark down your score"98; one "major" finance or management risk sinks an Arts Council bid25 A real risk register with owners and mitigations
Hidden team gaps Unnamed gaps cap the Innovate UK team score in the 4 to 5 band97 Name each gap and who fills it, with a date
Cash flow in arrears Claims are for costs "incurred and paid"; pre-start costs cannot be claimed1989 Model the gap before you apply
Late and incomplete About 1,700 of 2,300+ Weston Anniversary Fund applications arrived in the final three days120; a quarter of Awards for All applications miss vital information102; a late tender may be disregarded121 Internal deadline 24 hours early; a compliance checklist per funder

The full list, by stage, is in Why applications fail.

Checklist: before you apply for anything

Questions

What are my real chances of winning an Innovate UK grant?

Read the odds line on the competition page: in October 2026 Innovate UK printed 2% to 30% depending on the round, lowest for single-firm rounds4952. Across all its decisions the rate was 20.0% in 2025-2646. Smart, now closed, funded 2.8% of its last published round44.

Should I apply for a grant or raise investment first?

It depends on what the investor needs to see. Smart-funded firms used grants for "the R&D steps that equity investors required to secure their backing", and 37% raised private money afterwards76. If an investor is already committing, an Investor Partnerships grant can sit alongside the round81. If no investor will look yet, a small grant that buys evidence is the usual first step.

Is a loan better than a grant?

Often, if you can repay. A small firm's grant covers 45% to 70% of costs, paid after you spend119. An Innovation Loan covers up to 100%, drawn quarterly in advance, at 7.4% in repayment, for development work in six sectors; new expressions of interest are paused until January 202731. A Start Up Loan of up to £25,000 at 7.5% is a personal liability6.

How long does it take to get funding?

Innovate UK: 8 to 14 weeks from closing date to decision (2026 rounds)17. Arts Council Project Grants up to £30,000: 8 weeks22. Awards for All: 16 weeks23. A priced equity round: about six months33. A tender: at least 25 days to bid, then an 8-working-day standstill3940. Add your writing time: 80 to 200 hours for an Innovate UK bid, "10+ days" for a tender1841.

Why was my application rejected before it was scored?

The first gates are eligibility and scope, not quality. Innovate UK rejected 14% of one Smart round as ineligible53, and its scope decision is final70. Friends Provident turned away 34% of stage-one applications for fit71. Community Fund bids fail on missing bank statements and names that do not match the regulator's records102.

How many applications should I make?

Fewer, better fitted. At 4% a bid, ten independent applications give about a one-in-three chance of any win. Three to five well-fitted bids across funder types, built from one evidence base, is the realistic plan. Check the caps: the EIC allows three unsuccessful submissions in total60, DYCP bars you after two failures62, and PRS Foundation takes one application a year12.

Does talking to the funder first actually help?

The funnels say yes. Esmée's invited route funded 88% then 97% against 7% then 93% from the website47. Of organisations that took City of London pre-application advice, 75% did not apply, which saved them the work72. For public contracts, replying to a preliminary market engagement notice is legitimate and recorded73. No controlled study measures the effect; the funders' own numbers are the evidence.

Where do I start if I have never applied for anything?

Pick your heading under "Where to start" above, make the free contact it names, and run the bid/no-bid score before you write a word. Then set an alert so the right competition finds you.

Sources

  1. Innovation Funding Service, Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation CR&D Round 2 (competition 2560): funding rates by size and category; interview scores replace assessment scores. Read 18 October 2026. https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2560/overview/45acacd5-746b-46ee-8051-d764f929cca3 ↩↩↩↩

  2. Innovation Funding Service, Growth Catalyst Early Stage: New Innovators (competition 2220): £25,000 to £50,000 at 100%, 70% paid within a month of start; closed 6 August 2025. https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2220/overview/bcfd2780-f307-4434-be32-46889a239024 ↩↩

  3. UKRI, Contracts for Innovation (formerly SBRI), last updated 23 April 2026. https://www.ukri.org/what-we-offer/browse-our-areas-of-investment-and-support/small-business-research-initiative-sbri/ ↩↩

  4. Innovation Funding Service, CfI: Counter UAS Demonstrations in Prison Environments (competition 2570): "Developments are 100% funded", IP terms, "monthly in arrears". https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2570/overview/f33d0d62-4658-43fd-ae3d-b6362ebff0f0 ↩↩↩

  5. UKRI, Innovation loans: what happens if you're successful, 8 May 2026. https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/guidance-for-specific-funds/innovation-loans/what-happens-if-youre-successful/ ↩

  6. GOV.UK, Apply for a Start Up Loan: £500 to £25,000, fixed 7.5%, 1 to 5 years, "an unsecured personal loan". https://www.gov.uk/apply-start-up-loan ↩↩↩↩↩

  7. UKRI, Innovation loans: the application process, 12 May 2025. https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/guidance-for-specific-funds/innovation-loans/the-application-process/ ↩

  8. Harlem Capital, "Can your startup return the fund?" https://harlem.capital/can-your-startup-return-the-fund-6e233bd5c8b2/ ↩↩↩

  9. Octopus Ventures, How it works: pre-seed process and decision timings. https://octopusventures.com/about/how-it-works/ ↩↩

  10. UK Business Angels Association, Entrepreneurs hub: typical angel cheques, equity bands, SEIS/EIS. https://ukbaa.org.uk/entrepreneurs/ ↩↩↩

  11. Royal Academy of Engineering, Enterprise Fellowships: up to £75,000, "Around 20% of applicants are accepted", eligibility. https://raeng.org.uk/programmes/enterprise-fellowships/ and https://enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk/programmes/enterprise-fellowships/eligibility/ ↩↩

  12. PRS Foundation, FAQs and tips: "approximately 10% of applications are successful"; once per calendar year; track record over 18 months. https://prsfoundation.com/funding-support/faqs-and-tips/ ↩↩↩↩

  13. GOV.UK, PPN 002: taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-002-taking-account-of-social-value-in-the-award-of-contracts/ppn-002-taking-account-of-social-value-in-the-award-of-central-government-contracts-html ↩

  14. GOV.UK, The Procurement Act 2023: a short guide for suppliers. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/the-procurement-act-2023-a-short-guide-for-suppliers-html ↩↩

  15. Procurement Act 2023, section 22, conditions of participation (in force 24 February 2025). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/section/22 ↩↩↩

  16. Tussell and British Chambers of Commerce, SME Procurement Tracker 2026 (calendar 2025 data). https://www.kentinvictachamber.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Tussell__BCC_SME_Procurement_Tracker_2026_FINAL_-_pdf.pdf ↩↩↩↩

  17. Week counts from the closing and "applicants notified" dates on the Innovation Funding Service competition pages open on 18 October 2026 (for example competitions 2582, 2584, 2571, 2560, 2542, 2570, 2573, 2587). https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/search ↩↩↩

  18. GrantUp (commercial consultancy), How to win: 80 to 200 hours of in-house writing. https://grantup.co.uk/how-to-win ↩↩

  19. UKRI, Costs guidance for non-academic organisations, updated 28 August 2026: "Claims must be for actual costs incurred and paid". https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/costs-we-fund/costs-guidance-for-non-academic-organisations/ ↩↩↩↩↩

  20. UKRI, Innovate UK funded projects since 2004 (file for financial year 2016/17 to present, updated 3 September 2026); our analysis of North West rows, with the page's caveat that awards are "subject to grant offer and conditions being met". https://www.ukri.org/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects-since-2004/ ↩↩↩↩

  21. UK Grant Funding, "Are Innovate UK Smart grants coming back?", 10 August 2026: analysis of UKRI's funded-projects dataset, median grant £89,580 in 2025-26. https://ukgrantfunding.co.uk/are-innovate-uk-smart-grants-coming-back/ ↩

  22. Arts Council England, National Lottery Project Grants guidance library: decisions within 8 weeks for applications of £30,000 or under submitted from 1 September 2026. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ProjectGrants/national-lottery-project-grants-guidance-library ↩↩↩

  23. The National Lottery Community Fund, National Lottery Awards for All England: £300 to £20,000, decision in 16 weeks. https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/national-lottery-awards-for-all-england ↩↩↩

  24. National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000, last updated 17 September 2026: Project Enquiry, 8-week decision target, payment schedule. https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/national-lottery-grants-heritage-10k-250k ↩↩↩↩↩

  25. Arts Council England, National Lottery Project Grants: guidance for applicants, £30,000 and under, updated September 2026. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-09/Under%20%C2%A330k%20HTML%20ready%20Sep%2026.docx ↩↩↩↩

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  27. Arts Council England, Delivery Plan 2024-27: update for 2026/27: Project Grants 30% and DYCP 21.5% average success rates in 2025/26. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-strategy/delivery-plan-update-202627 ↩↩↩

  28. The National Lottery Community Fund, Reaching Communities England: £20,001 to £1m, "In 2025, the average we gave was £319,000 over 3 years". https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/reaching-communities-england ↩

  29. Innovate UK Business Connect, Contracts for Innovation: live competitions and contract counts, October 2026. https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/programme/contracts-for-innovation/ ↩↩

  30. SBRI Healthcare, NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call 4: opens 14 October 2026, closes 1 December 2026, up to £3m per project. https://sbrihealthcare.co.uk/competitions/nhs-cancer-programme-innovation-open-call-4 ↩

  31. Innovation Funding Service, Innovation Loans Expression of Interest (competition 2505): terms, six sectors, pause from 9 October 2026 to January 2027. https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2505/overview/8ef63f10-ea07-4ffd-9812-e944542751b6 ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  32. Growth Platform, Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II launch in Liverpool, 21 March 2024: £660m; loan and equity tiers. https://growthplatform.org/?p=23965 ↩↩

  33. SeedLegals, How to value your company: equity sold per round, "about six months before money arrives". https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-to-value-your-company/ ↩↩↩

  34. SeedLegals, Three ways to close your fundraise fast, updated 22 January 2025. https://seedlegals.com/resources/3-ways-to-close-your-fundraise-fast/ ↩

  35. SeedLegals, Agile fundraising, 24 October 2019: a traditional round "can take 3-6 months"; law-firm costs. https://seedlegals.com/resources/seedlegals-agile-fundraising/ ↩

  36. PXN Ventures, PraeSeed: £150,000 to £200,000, pre-revenue, based in the North. https://www.pxnventures.co.uk/praeseed/ ↩↩

  37. PXN Ventures, NPIF II North West equity: "We can invest up to £5m of equity". https://www.pxnventures.co.uk/npif/ ↩↩

  38. Beauhurst, The Deal H1 2026: seed-stage median pre-money £2.0m; 2.8% of seed-stage companies convert to an exit. https://www.beauhurst.com/research/the-deal-h1-2026/ ↩↩

  39. GOV.UK, Procurement Act 2023 guidance: time periods. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents-procure-phase/time-periods-html ↩↩

  40. GOV.UK, Procurement Act 2023 guidance: contract award notices and standstill. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents-procure-phase/guidance-contract-award-notices-and-standstill-html ↩↩

  41. GOV.UK, VCSEs: a guide to working with government, updated 21 July 2026: "a good bid can take 10+ days". https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vcses-a-guide-to-working-with-government ↩↩↩

  42. Cheshire East Council, e-tendering: The Chest, procurements over £30,000 including VAT, free registration. https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/business/procurement/doing_business/e-tendering.aspx ↩↩↩

  43. Osborne Clarke, Regulatory Outlook February 2026: thresholds from 1 January 2026. https://www.osborneclarke.com/insights/regulatory-outlook-february-2026-regulated-procurement ↩

  44. Myriad Associates, "UK's SME grant scheme paused for evaluation", January 2025: 46 of 1,645 funded in the September 2024 round. https://www.myriadassociates.com/resources/news/2025/uk-s-sme-grant-scheme-paused-for-evaluation/ ↩↩↩↩

  45. UKRI, Guidance for applying to specific funds: "Smart grants are now closed for new applications as funding is being aligned to Innovate UK's new strategic direction". Read 18 October 2026. https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/guidance-for-specific-funds/ ↩↩

  46. UKRI, UKRI investments and outputs, April 2015 to March 2026, published 16 July 2026: statistical publication and data tables (Table 2.2 by decision owner, Table 3.1 by region). https://www.ukri.org/publications/ukri-investments-and-outputs/ ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  47. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Pre-application Q&A, April 2024: the 2023 funnel for website and invited routes; eligibility minimums. https://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/documents/192/Pre-application_QA-April2024.pdf ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  48. Innovation Funding Service, Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems (competition 2582): "you could have 4% chance of success". https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2582/overview/9fdb47a5-011c-4c47-ac5e-c426e295fe89 ↩

  49. Innovation Funding Service, Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1 (competition 2584): "2% chance of success". https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2584/overview/4c7afb5d-4572-4ef2-9507-73ef2dec8ec8 ↩↩↩

  50. Innovation Funding Service, Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1 (competition 2580): "20% chance of success". https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2580/overview/8881af18-31f4-4db3-9483-cbb047163164 ↩↩

  51. Innovation Funding Service, Battery Innovation: Feasibility Studies Round 3 (competition 2571): "25% chance of success". https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2571/overview/f45e5f00-e663-4c9e-a2e7-562a696561d7 ↩

  52. Innovation Funding Service, MDI Programme Innovation and Scale-up Hub (competition 2588): "30% chance of success". https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2588/overview/acbd9666-c1df-4635-b86f-fa426100c876 ↩↩

  53. GrantTree, "New data reveals fierce competition for Smart grants", 4 April 2023: FOI on the July 2022 round; consultancy client rates. https://granttree.co.uk/blog/grant-funding/new-data-reveals-fierce-competition-for-smart-grants ↩↩↩↩

  54. UKRI, EPSRC funding application outcomes (application-level file, last updated 5 October 2026); rates computed as funded divided by funded plus unfunded, by panel year. https://www.ukri.org/publications/epsrc-funding-application-outcomes/ ↩↩

  55. UKRI, Diversity results for Future Leaders Fellowships, rounds 1 to 8, February 2026. https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/UKRI-230226-DiversityResultsFutureLeadersFellowshipsRoundsOneToEight.pdf ↩

  56. UKRO, ERC Starting Grant 2025 results (reported rate); ERC, Starting Grants 2025 applications: facts and figures (3,928 applications). https://www.ukro.ac.uk/news/erc-starting-grant-2025-results/ and https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/starting-grants-2025-applications-facts-and-figures ↩

  57. Council of the European Union, document ST-8496-2025: Horizon Europe success rates 2021 to 2024 (reported). https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8496-2025-INIT/en/pdf ↩↩

  58. European Innovation Council, "EIC Accelerator: 71 companies selected", 17 February 2025: 1,211 full proposals, 431 interviewed. https://eic.ec.europa.eu/news/eic-accelerator-71-companies-selected-most-competitive-funding-round-so-far-2025-02-17_en ↩↩↩

  59. European Innovation Council, 17 February 2026 (61 of 121 interviewed); ERA Portal Austria, June 2026 (38 of 87 interviewed). https://eic.ec.europa.eu/news/61-start-ups-and-smes-secure-eic-support-latest-round-eic-accelerator-2026-02-17_en and https://era.gv.at/news-items/eic-selects-38-start-ups-and-smes-for-funding-under-latest-round-of-eic-accelerator/ ↩↩↩

  60. European Innovation Council, EIC Accelerator Guide for Applicants v6.0, 19 November 2025: three unsuccessful submissions limit; grant-only terms for UK applicants. https://eic.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9d96fbf3-4d85-4ad0-9483-c77ce348111d_en?filename=EIC+Accelerator+guide+for+applicants_WP26.pdf ↩↩↩

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  76. Ipsos for Innovate UK, Smart Grant Impact Evaluation Report, July 2026. https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IUK-140726-SmartGrantImpactEvaluationReport.pdf ↩↩↩

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  79. UKRI, Innovation loans: check if you're eligible for funding, 12 May 2025. https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/guidance-for-specific-funds/innovation-loans/check-if-youre-eligible-for-funding/ ↩↩

  80. Innovate UK Business Connect, Investor Partnerships: £168m of grants, £448m aligned equity, £1.36bn follow-on. https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/programme/investor-partnerships/ ↩

  81. Innovation Funding Service, Innovate UK Growth Catalyst: Investor Partnerships Round 2 (competition 2360): invitation by an investor partner; aligned investment of at least one to two times the grant. https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2360/overview/37d8f6e1-5600-4e9e-bbfc-11bc320f8808 ↩↩

  82. University of Manchester Innovation Factory, "Watercycle Technologies secures funding", 25 November 2024. https://www.uominnovationfactory.com/news/wct-funding/ ↩

  83. UKRI, Impact Acceleration Accounts: holders and funders, last updated 27 November 2023. https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/browse-our-areas-of-investment-and-support/ukri-impact-acceleration-accounts/ ↩↩

  84. UKRI, Prove your concept, last updated 11 May 2026: the UKRI proof-of-concept programme, £100,000 to £250,000. https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/commercialisation/prove-your-concept/ ↩↩

  85. Innovate UK Business Connect, ICURe Explore: up to £35,000; ICURe Discover: up to £2,500. https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/icure-explore/ and https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/icure-discover/ ↩↩

  86. Innovate UK Business Connect, ICURe 10 Year Impact Report, February 2025: "Of 641 projects, 40% (257) were recommended for spin-out through ICURe's Exploit programme". https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ICURe-10-Year-Impact-Report.pdf ↩

  87. Innovate UK, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: grant covers 67% of eligible project costs for SMEs. https://iuk-ktp.org.uk/discover/ ↩↩

  88. TBAT Innovation (commercial consultancy), How long does it take to write a grant funding application: "at least four weeks". https://tbat.co.uk/knowledge/how-long-does-it-take-to-write-a-grant-funding-application/ ↩

  89. UKRI, Innovate UK: what happens if you receive a funding offer, updated 8 September 2026. https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/general-guidance/what-happens-if-you-receive-a-funding-offer/ ↩↩

  90. GOV.UK, Apply for ATI programme funding (Innovate UK-administered), updated 3 March 2026: spend profile in project quarters, independent accountant's report with the final claim. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-ati-programme-funding ↩

  91. GrantTree (commercial consultancy), "What you need after winning an Innovate UK grant", 12 February 2024: quarterly in arrears, about 10% retained to the final report. Working-capital figure is our illustration from these terms. https://granttree.co.uk/blog/grant-funding/what-you-need-after-winning-innovate-uk-grant/ ↩

  92. Innovate UK, Growth Catalyst Investor Partnerships Round 2 assessor guidance (competition 2360 download). https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2360/download/26392 ↩↩

  93. Innovate UK Business Connect, Good Application Guide, March 2024. https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Business-Connect-Good-Application-Guide_2024.pdf ↩↩

  94. National Lottery Heritage Fund, Application questions for £10,000 to £250,000, updated 3 July 2026: "Why does your project need to happen?"; contingency mandatory. https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/national-lottery-heritage-grants-10k-250k/application-questions-0 ↩↩

  95. The National Lottery Community Fund, Reaching Communities England: what we're looking to fund. https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/reaching-communities-england/what-we-re-looking-to-fund ↩

  96. Garfield Weston Foundation, Application FAQs: common reasons applications fail. https://garfieldweston.org/for-grant-applicants/how-to-apply/application-faqs/ ↩

  97. Innovate UK, Smart Assessor Scoring Guidance, September 2023: team (Q6), justification (Q3) and value for money (Q8) bands. https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IUK-290923-SmartAssessorScoringGuidanceSeptember2023.pdf ↩↩↩

  98. KTN (now Innovate UK Business Connect), Good Application Guide, 2020. https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/KTN-Good-Application-Guide.pdf ↩↩

  99. Made Smarter, North West adoption programme: "Up to 50% match funding, capped at £20,000". https://www.madesmarter.uk/adoption/in-my-region/north-west/ ↩

  100. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Apply for funding: minimum £30,000; turnover under £100,000 excluded. https://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/apply-for-funding/ ↩

  101. The National Lottery Community Fund, Awards for All England: what you can spend the money on ("We cannot fund … contingency costs"). https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/national-lottery-awards-for-all-england/what-you-can-spend-the-money-on ↩

  102. The National Lottery Community Fund, "Strengthening your Awards for All England application". https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/strengthening-your-awards-for-all-england-application-form ↩↩↩

  103. 360Giving, GrantNav: free search of published UK grants. https://www.360giving.org/data/grantnav/ ↩

  104. The Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 31: assessment summaries. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/692/regulation/31 ↩

  105. GC Business Growth Hub, events (read 18 October 2026) and programmes "Publicly funded … at no charge". https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/events and https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/ ↩

  106. Growth Platform, Liverpool City Region High Growth Business Support. https://growthplatform.org/liverpool-city-region-high-growth-programme/ ↩

  107. Innovate UK Business Connect, events (read 18 October 2026); UKRI, support for you and your application, 16 June 2026 (helpline 03333 403250). https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/knowledge-centre/events and https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/general-guidance/support-for-you-and-your-application/ ↩

  108. Innovate UK Business Connect, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: North West advisers; round 4 dates. https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/programme/knowledge-transfer-partnerships/ ↩↩

  109. Innovate UK Business Connect, Innovate UK Business Growth: "New requests into the service … have been paused as part of the current planning cycle". https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/business-growth/ ↩

  110. Health Innovation Manchester, Innovator support. https://healthinnovationmanchester.com/innovation-support/ ↩

  111. Health Innovation North West Coast, Innovator and business support. https://www.healthinnovationnwc.nhs.uk/innovator-support ↩

  112. NHS Innovation Service, About the service: "a free, online platform". https://innovation.nhs.uk/about-the-service/ ↩

  113. STAR Procurement, Meet the Buyer 2026 (29 January 2026): "Tickets are free of charge". https://www.star-procurement.gov.uk/Events/Meet-the-Buyer-2026/Star-Procurement-Events.aspx ↩

  114. Boost Business Lancashire, In-person LCC Meet the Buyer event for Children's Services, 19 October 2026, free. https://www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk/events/in-person-lcc-meet-the-buyer-event-for-childrens-services ↩

  115. NorthInvest, Raise: free investment-readiness coaching and pitch events for Northern tech start-ups. https://northinvest.co.uk/raise/ ↩

  116. Growth Platform, Liverpool City Region Seed Fund: £250,000 to £2m; Founder Funding Group sessions. https://growthplatform.org/liverpool-city-region-seed-fund/ ↩

  117. Venture Café Manchester: "Free and open to all", every Thursday 17:00 to 20:00, Renold Building. https://venturecafemanchester.org/ ↩

  118. University of Manchester Innovation Factory, "CareLoop secures £1.8m funding to provide preventative care", 30 January 2025. https://www.uominnovationfactory.com/news/careloop-secures-1-8m-funding-to-provide-preventative-care/ ↩

  119. pro-manchester newsroom, "GCBF and River Capital drive North West growth with over £1m NPIF II investment boost", 7 February 2025 (syndicated British Business Bank release). https://www.pro-manchester.co.uk/newsrooms/gcbf-and-river-capital-drive-north-west-growth-with-over-1m-npif-ii-investment-boost/ ↩

  120. Fundraising UK, "Garfield Weston Foundation report shares learnings on funding application process", 27 June 2019. https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/06/27/garfield-weston-foundation-report-shares-learnings-on-funding-application-process/ ↩

  121. GOV.UK, Procurement Act 2023 guidance: assessing competitive tenders (late or over-length tenders may be disregarded). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents-procure-phase/assessing-competitive-tenders-html ↩

Written for businesses, founders and researchers in the North West of England and checked against the sources listed above on 18 October 2026. Funders change their rules, so always read the current call before you apply. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

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