Spring 2020 Funding Landscape
At NBIC, we feel it’s important for us to keep you informed of the latest funding awards, grants and
competitions to support you in the progression of your research or developments.
Together with our partner Black Kite® Ltd, we have put together some key current opportunities that specifically link to our four Strategic Themes: Prevent, Detect, Manage, and Engineer (PDME). For further information, including advice and guidance on bidding into competitions, please contact us at nbic@biofilms.ac.uk
Click on a button below to jump to your preferred funding option.
Innovate UK: Eureka: healthy ageing
Opens: 4 May 2020
Closes: 5 August 2020
Scope of call
- Promote healthy ageing
- Digital health & smart device projects.
- Partner with a EUREKA nation
- 10 specific themes (s/w to devices to diagnostics)
- Defence excluded.
Details of call
- £500k (max grant) / project up to 24 months.
- Grant: 50% to 70% (business); share up to 30% (research)
Eligibility
- If UK led: SME + EUREKA nation
- Collaborative, with EUREKA nation
Sectors and Market Alignment
Open to all except non-civilian.
Collaboration
- UK SME led, or EUREKA nation lead
- Any number of partners
- Subcontractors limited to 20% of costs
- One application / lead; but can collaborate on two others
- HEIs can collaborate on any number.
NBIC insights
- Any of the >40 EUREKA nations could lead
- Any no, of collaborators
- Total grant £500k
- HEI involvement (for example an NBIC University partner) is limited to 30% total costs
- Industrial focussed research only is expected (this means planned research or critical investigation to gain new knowledge and skills); limited experimental development in project (acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge
- Start between 1 Nov & 31 Mar 2021
- Focus on Healthcare need
- Scientific evidence required
- Strong innovation and exploitation coupled to technical work and FtO needed
- Likely to be a competitive call
NBIC Theme (PDME) Alignment
- Aligns to all themes, with PDE most relevant due to themes such as, diagnostics, sensors, wearables, imaging
- NBIC industry partners could formulate projects on all NBIC themes but PDE is suggested.
International
A must – specified EUREKA nations.
NBIC recommendations
- Great opportunity for SMEs to carry our research strongly aligned to NBIC themes
- Any of the NBIC institutions could partner at 30% of total costs
- Demonstrate a clear healthcare unmet need supported by scientific evidence, leading to credible commercial opportunity
- Show commercial viability at scale
- Show team is greater than its parts
- Professional project management should be evident as an international project
UKRI: Scholar secondments: biomedical sciences, strand 2 & 3
Opens: 31 January 2020
Closes: 1 July 2020
Scope of call
- Boost skills; intensify Knowledge exchange within biomedical sector
- Any discipline with seconding / host organisation being a biomedical business (e.g., pharma, biotech, devices, biomedical engineering or diagnostics)
- Can be either way business to university or vice versa
Details of call
- £300k grant up to 36 months f/t or p/t
- Fundamental: 100%; Industrial 50 – 70%;
- Experimental: 25 – 45%
Eligibility
Led by seconding org. (employer expected)
Sectors and Market Alignment
Open to all except non-civilian.
Sectors and Market Alignment
Any connected with biomedical research, not just focused on biofilms
Collaboration
- Application made by secondee’s company
- Funding available to HEI (University) @ 100%
- Start date: 1 Dec 2020, or earlier
Other
- International working excluded / ineligible for grant funds
- Salary, NI, pension and T&S costs covered
NBIC insights
- People focused competition: enable career mobility
- Similar to KTPs
- Solve problems / challenges within host organisation
- Select suitable secondee
- Show impacts in application
- Five marked questions
NBIC Theme (PDME) Alignment
Aligns with all NBIC themes; any activity supported as long as it enhances skills, capability of secondee and addresses a biomedical business challenge. Aligns well to NBIC’s activities: Interdisciplinary research, training & outreach.
NBIC recommendations
- Great opportunity for transfer and personal development of your people to develop knowledge, aid translation and create future leaders
- NBIC industrial partners that are research active & demonstrate innovation to consider applying
- Inportant to demonstrate the links and value add to the biomedical sector, including Knowledge exchange: KE both ways would be beneficial
- Focus on strong response to questions to show clear benefits to the company, UK biomedical industry, and secondee
- Showing benefits to partnered HEI would enhance
- PDRAs may apply with permission
UK-Canada: enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability
Opens: 27 January 2020
Closes: 24 June 2020
Scope of call
- Target improvement to productivity & sustainability of crop, livestock & aquaculture
- Technology can be broad if it addresses the above
- Assist net zero-emission goals
Details of call
- For all UK partners: £400k max; 700k CAD for Canadian partners
- Duration 24 – 29 months.
Eligibility
- CR&D: develop products, processes & services
- UK business led
- HEI’s can only be subcontractors
Sectors and Market Alignment
Key focus is on targeting net-zero emissions; this should be demonstrable in the application
Collaboration
UK business(es) and Canadian business(es). Benefits should be relevant to both nations
NBIC insights
- Canadian involvement to align with UK’s ISCF: transforming food production; transformations expected in both nations
- Relevant technology areas: combinations of digital tech, AI, big data and engineering with biological, environmental or social science; solutions connecting farms & supply chains; innovative tech txfr into agriculture
- Farmer or grower involvement beneficial
- Tailored application form
NBIC Theme (PDME) Alignment
Based on the ‘aquaculture’ focus of the scope, all of PDME may be relevant, with Prevent & Detect potentially more so. Innovative tech transfer is encouraged. Engineering for biological and/or environmental impacts requested.
NBIC recommendations
- NBIC partner organisations focused on water technologies, techniques should consider applying
- Subcontractor relationship with an NBIC HEI could be helpful and useful to find Canadian partners
- Eight specific marked questions, with a number of appendices
- A draft collaboration agreement required at application stage
- Equality, diversity & inclusion policies expected
- Focus on innovation and environmental benefits (could be broad) alongside ISCF aims, and exploitation potential