Creative, Digital & Design Business Briefing

A digest of useful information for UK businesses seeking funding and support, updated monthly

December 2016

@KTNUK

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Contents• Feature• Innovate UK funding calls• Horizon 2020• Funding• Events• Investment• Support • Contest/Call• Market Research/Personal Data Network

Digital Business Drop-in

Where: Digital Catapult Centre

When: Thursday, 12 January, 9:30-12:00

What: The Knowledge Transfer Network will be organising an information sharing session designed for digital SMEs and startups seeking funding and support.

Representatives from across Innovate UK’s programmes will highlight a range of upcoming funding opportunities for digital companies, researchers and academic institutions working across a diverse range of sectors.At the session, you’ll be able to:• Discover more about the various funding and other forms of support available

from Innovate UK• Meet advisors who can help you navigate the various funding available as well

as make valuable business introductions• Network with other businesses

Find out more here

Feature

Key feature: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is to invest up to £5 million in projects to develop innovative manufacturing and materials technologies for the civil nuclear sector.The aim of this competition is to establish an innovative R&D base for materials and manufacturing. This will support a strong UK nuclear supply chain.

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 11 January 2017 and apply before noon on 18 January 2017.

More info at gov.uk

SBRI funding competition: advanced nuclear manufacturing and materials

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovation projects in manufacturing and/or materials. We will fund projects that focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. These should lead to increased productivity, competitiveness and growth for UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Competition opens: 21 November

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 18 January 2017 and apply before noon on 25 January 2017.

More info at gov.uk

Manufacturing and Materials Round 2

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: This Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) themed competition seeks to deliver a step change in aviation security through innovative science and technology. The competition seeks new technologies that will improve the ability to prevent the widest possible range of explosives, weapons and other threats being taken on board an aircraft.

Competition Closes: applicants must apply before noon on 19 January 2017.

More info at gov.uk

CDE themed competition: the future of aviation security

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovative research and development projects that will turn innovation excellence into economic impact for the UK.The aim of this competition is to help businesses develop new products, processes and services with commercial potential.

To be in scope, total costs for the project must be between £25,000 to £1 million. Projects should last between 6 months to 36 months.The competition is open to businesses of any size. You can work individually or collaboratively.

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 1 February 2017 and apply before noon on 8 February 2017.

More info at gov.uk

Open programme round 2

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: A scheme to help businesses innovate and grow by linking them with a university and a graduate to work on a specific project. Each KTP is a three-way partnership between a business, an academic institution and a graduate. The academic institution employs the recently-qualified graduate who works at the company. The graduate, known as the ‘associate', brings new skills and knowledge to the business.

A KTP is part-funded by a grant. You will need to contribute to the cost of the supervisor and the salary of the associate.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

2016/17 close dates for submission are: 18 January 2017, 8 March 2017 More info on: gov.uk

Innovate UK funding calls

Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in projects to stimulate innovation that creates UK business growth in infrastructure systems. They want businesses to collaborate to develop new integrated solutions and new business models. They expect projects to range in size from total eligible costs of £25,000 to £5 million. Projects should last between 3 months and 3 years. Projects must show significant innovation in one of our priority areas: ‘smart’ infrastructure, energy systems, connected transport or urban living.

Competition Closes: applicants must register before noon on 15 March 2017 and apply before noon on 22 March 2017.

More info at gov.uk

Innovation in infrastructure systems round 2

Innovate UK funding calls

Design Foundations is a new £3m grant funding programme from Innovate UK to help businesses identify innovation opportunities and generate better propositions for desirable, useful and feasible products, services and business models.

The aim is to build collaborations between businesses looking for new ways to innovate, and designers with the creative tools to provide this insight. It means using design interventions to address critical business challenges. Register for the launch event here.

Innovate UK funding calls

Horizon 2020 (H2020)

Key feature: The H2020 programme is the major funding opportunity for R&D initiatives across Europe running up until 2020. There is a strong emphasis on creative industries, design and digital technologies.

You can keep up to date with the latest info via our dedicated LinkedIn group.

Upcoming calls:

Full details about the workplan for the Information and Communication Technologies Call are available here.

DfT new technology grantsThe Transport Technology Research Innovation Grant (T-TRIG) funds early-stage research projects into innovative ideas or concepts to help create a better transport system. Deadline: 09.01.17.

This round of T-TRIG has 3 separate calls:

• An open call for novel and innovative ideas focused on transport – £300K, a targeted maritime security call – £100K, a targeted big data call – £300K

The Innovation Challenge Fund, a new grant scheme will be launching later this month. This fund will support the development of technologies, methods or processes to help meet DfT policy goals. We will be holding two webinars on this call: Thu, 5 Jan and Wed, 11 Jan

Funding

Design Council Spark is a 16-week support and funding programme designed to help you turn your bright idea into a commercially successful product. They will provide up to 15 finalists with specialist expertise and one-to-one mentoring. Once accepted onto the programme they will receive an initial sum of £15,000 to help you develop your product as well as a chance to pitch for a further share of £200,000. Deadline: 10 January 2017

Digital Business Drop-in – 12 Jan

Grant Writing Workshop - 12 Jan

Analysis for Innovators Briefing Event – 12 Jan

Funding for early-stage design launch event - 17 Jan

The Local Innovation Landscape; Innovate UK in the West Midlands - 19 Jan

Events

KTN and the wider Innovate UK family are delighted to be involved in the organisation and delivery of Smart IoT London 2017. Following the success of last year's event, KTN is working with the organisers to pull together a showcase of the best 'up and coming' IoT talent - which could include you! Watch this space for further details.Date: 15 - 16 March 2017 ExCeL, London

Events

Investment

Apply for Cylon, the world leading cybersecurity Accelerator Programme. The Programme includes £15K with 3% equity, training, connections, offfice space and a demo day. Deadline: 20 January

Applications are now open for the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator Programme. If your startup is breaking new ground, disrupting an industry or doing something surprising and new, you should consider throwing your hat into the ring. Deadline: 6 January

Private Investment Directory now updatedDigital Refer now includes more than 250 organisations that provide private investment to Digital and Creative businesses in the UK, including:

Accelerator Programmes Business Incubators Start-up StudiosVenture Capital Funds Angel Investor Networks Corporate Venture Capital firms

Check out the new September entries: bit.ly/ktnrefer

Investment

The Advance London programme provides free practical help and advice to SMEs in London to enable businesses to adopt and scale up circular business models. The circular economy offers businesses, and particularly SMEs, the opportunity to:

• Increase their competitiveness• Access new markets• Grow and expand• Improve resource efficiency• Drive innovation• Build supply chain linkages• Become more resilient to external factors

Support

Go To Grow - The Mayor’s International Business ProgrammeA new three year programme of mentoring, expert advice and real business opportunities for high-growth companies Programme focussed on ‘internationalising’ scale-ups – London based companies wanting to grow outside of the UK.The programme is open to fast-growing companies in London operating in three broad sectors: technology, life sciences, and urban. Your business will need to demonstrate that it is already generating revenue.

Support

The Dare to Solve: Health and Social Care Innovation Contest seeks innovative proposals from UK and EU startups and entrepreneurs to improve how public health and social care services are planned, delivered and experienced by citizens. Through addressing one of the contest’s two challenges, themed around encouraging health and wellbeing in adults and increasing care and support for families and children, successful companies will have the opportunity to develop and trial their proposed solution with the contest’s leading challenge partner Staffordshire County Council to accelerate development of their technologies.

Have an idea to propose or know someone that might? Apply here by 12 noon Wednesday 21 December, 2016. Questions? Get in touch by emailing contests@datakiln.org.

Contest

Swiss Re Pit Stop (Open Call)If your business is integrating machine learning, artificial intelligence or Natural Language Processing into Virtual Assistant platforms, Digital Catapult’s new Pit Stop with Swiss Re could be the perfect chance to develop them further. Find out more and sign up today.

Call

Briffa and the KTN have teamed up to produce a short webinar setting out the background and context to the The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and to explore some of the key concepts under the new regulation, such as accountability and ‘privacy by design’, consent requirements, the rights of data subjects and the obligations of data controllers and processors, possible sanctions for breach of the GDPR, and the rules regarding transfers of personal data outside of the EU.

Check out our blog post and the video on the Personal Data and Trust Network website.

Market Research

Personal Data and Trust Network

The network aims to build and nurture a community that brings together industry, the public sector, funders, research organisations and innovators to support the UK in becoming the global leader in trust and responsible innovation with personal data.

The partners are calling on any organisation interested in personal data, trust and reputation to join the network. Membership is free and will plug you into a vibrant community that we are bringing together. For more information and to join visit pdtn.org.