If you are working with a small business or organisation on an idea that could use a financial boost, you are invited to apply for a Business Innovation Grant  in our second round of this new competitive fund.

Funding of £5,000 is available for University-led projects that can be spent on staff time, materials and other project expenses, with the ultimate aim of furthering collaboration and progressing new ideas. This equates to approximately 8-14 days of staff time (depending on your seniority) and could offer you the ring-fenced time you need to take the project forward.

Suggestions for activity include:

• Developing a proof of concept
• Completing initial research that will inform how the concept will develop
• Market research
• Progressing a concept so you’re ready to apply for larger funding, such as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership
• Securing a working relationship so that it leads to further consultancy, research or student placements
• Supporting REF and research outcomes – could this project lead to a new research output or provide evidence for an ongoing impact case study?

Interested? download the application form here. This is an internal competitive application process and all applications will be scored against a clear matrix.  Successful projects will need to have their funding spent by May 2020.

This is the second round of BIG funding offered by the University in 2019. The first round, held earlier in the year, attracted around 50 applications resulting in six organisations being successful.

One of those was Burton Latimer-based manufacturer, Versalift UK, which used the BIG fund to link up with Mohammed Ghaleeh, Engineering Lecturer at the University to develop a new automated process. You can read more on this exciting collaboration here

The Business Innovation Grants application deadline is Thursday, 7th November and we are currently promoting this fund out to businesses for expressions of interest to match up with relevant academics.

For more information please email Charlotte Patrick

We are running a BIG Ideas Funding event on Thursday, 10th October at 10am-12pm to coincide with the launch of this popular fund. Please book your space here

With the 31 October 2019 fast approaching, the University needs to ensure that it has fulfilled its obligations if a No Deal Brexit occurs. If you are leading or partnering an Erasmus+ Grant co-funded project you should already be aware the UK government has confirmed that in a ‘no deal’ scenario, it will underwrite Erasmus+ grants already agreed by exit day subject to existing projects being deemed ‘viable’ to continue. However, the underwrite will not cover funding committed to partners and participants in other Member States and other participating countries.

Details still need to be clarified by the government around the term ‘viable’ and how we work with Erasmus+ partner countries that are not underwritten by the UK government.  This information will be shared once it becomes available.

To ensure that all our Erasmus+ Grants are underwritten, the RIFS team need to provide the Cabinet Office with a list of Erasmus+ co-funded Grants with supporting evidence and amounts still owed. If you are working on an Erasmus KA2 project and have not received an email from us, please get in touch with Paul Bramble, Research Project Manager, urgently.

Please note Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (Student and Staff mobility) or European funded streams (ie Horizon 2020) have different guidelines and submission processes.

Further information can be found at UK Erasmus+ National Agency and Universities UK

The UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship scheme (FLF) aims to develop, retain, attract and sustain research and innovation talent in the UK. A substantial amount of funding has already been allocated, with the first projects funded by the scheme already underway.

With the current deadline a few days away, UKRI have confirmed that there will be three additional rounds of funding, October 2019, May 2020 and October 2021. This gives you plenty of time to get thinking about your application.

What makes this a good opportunity? Well we’ll tell you…

• We have previously had successful applications under similar Research Council schemes and can provide examples to help you in writing your application
• There’s a mandatory outline stage – this allows you to complete a shorter application upfront rather than jumping straight in to a massive application. It also means that they will only progress applications that look promising, giving you reassurance that you’re on the right track and more likely to be successful
• It much longer-term than other similar funding, giving you a chance to really think about where your research/career is heading
• UKRI have already published some feedback on the earlier rounds of funding that give some insight in to what particularly strong applications look like, making it easier to know if your proposal is a good fit

For more information on the funding, visit the UKRI website or speak to the RIFS team to find out more.

UKRI (UK Research and Innovation – bringing together the seven research councils, Innovate UK and Research England) have set out their vision of a global future for UK research.

A five-year investment totalling £200m will be made in 12 Global Research Hubs. This will work across 85 countries with governments, international agencies, partners and NGOs in developing countries across the globe, to develop creative and sustainable solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition to the Hubs, UKRI has also announced the launch of the Fund for International Collaboration. This £79 million investment is designed to enhance the UK’s excellence in research and innovation through global engagement, forging new bilateral and multilateral research and innovation programmes with global partners. The projects involve collaborators from 17 lead countries and include:

• A project bringing together international climate and health researchers to ensure we are globally prepared to manage the health risks posed by climate change.
• A collaboration between UK and Indian scientists to tackle antimicrobial resistance in the environment, such as from pharmaceutical industrial sources.
• A programme developed with the Smithsonian Institution in the USA to explore how digital technology can open up the collections of leading museums to a global audience.

For more on the Global Research Hubs, click here.

For more on the Fund for International Collaboration, click here.

In October, Phillip Hammond delivered his third budget as Chancellor.  Here is a summary of the key announcements that are relevant to our activity here at the University of Northampton and where we could potentially collaborate with businesses and partners to develop projects.

• Up to £315m investment in the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to support businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future and to cut their bills through increased energy efficiency.
• Allocation of £20m for Plastics and to boost recycling. This includes £10m more funding for Plastics R&D.
• Up to £121 million for Made Smarter to support the transformation of cross-sector manufacturing with digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things and immersive technologies. Construction, Food and Drink, Pharma and Aerospace are four industries studied to have an estimated £185bn value at stake.
• A new £50m per year fund designed to address the most pressing challenges in areas such as public health and cyber security. The fund will focus on joint programmes between government and industry, and will begin in 2021-22.
• £78million for the Stephenson Challenge to support innovation in electric motor technology, making vehicles lighter and more efficient.
• £25m to boost business productivity through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships – email Charlotte Patrick, Key Sector and Knowledge Transfer Manager, if you have a business relationship or an idea that could be delivered by a KTP
• Government will launch a consultation on how to encourage greater innovation in the utilities sectors.
• £235m additional funding to further develop the quantum technology programme. This includes £35m for the National Quantum Computing Centre and guarantees £70m for quantum from the ISCF fund.

Further information on these areas will follow in due course, but keep an eye on GRANTfinder and if you have initial thoughts on projects that could fit into these areas please email the RIFS team.  You can read the budget in full here