How should your company or research team position itself to access Innovate UK’s £4.8bn grant budget between 2026 and 2030?
This article is written for founders, CEOs and researchers seeking to understand how they can best react to the recently published Innovate UK 2026 to 2030 prospectus. We provide a quick overview of this “new chapter for Innovate UK” and insight into how Venturenomix is advising its clients to position themselves to maximise their chance of being “endorsed” by Innovate UK.
(very) Quick Summary of the Innovate UK 2026 – 2030 Strategy
Deeptech and Hardtech
Simply put, science and engineering. Innovate UK is looking to discover and endorse deeptech and hardtech companies. If you want to know how the UK Government define deeptech, see this page, although you should be aware that the term ‘hardtech’ is not officially defined – Innovate UK are innovating.
Signals for “Potential”
The signals Innovate UK’s new “Growth Sector Teams” will be looking for are: a novel idea, strong team, credible technology, clear market and the capability to progress the novel idea through the R&D stages to commercialisation.
Signals for “Performance”
The Growth Sector Teams will be looking for evidence that potential is being realised through growth and momentum. This means a stronger focus on evidencing the impact of previous grant and/or equity funding on your business: new staff, new patents, progression to next R&D milestones, successful pilots, new R&D partners, and more. This ‘exploitation’ of funding has always been a requirement from Innovate UK, but without any manifest impact on your chances of securing follow-on funding. This will change from April 2026 (when the new Innovate UK model takes effect).
Addressing Market Failures
This is a throw-back for those of us who have been around a little longer. The requirement to show that the private sector alone cannot or will not solve a prescient challenge will be a significant factor once more. Innovate UK clearly want to fund companies that would not break through without public support.
Priority Sectors
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Clean Energy Industries
- Creative Industries
- Defence
- Life Sciences
- Digital and Technologies (including the six frontier technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Connectivity Technology, Cyber Security, Engineering Biology, Semiconductors, Quantum)
- Financial, Professional and Business Services (where the technology is deeptech)
Supporting Scaling Businesses
Innovate UK are moving away from backing single projects and towards supporting high-growth potential companies and their partners. This is more in line with venture capital investment models.
Innovate UK Strategy 2026 to 2030 in detail
We have written an in-depth blog covering the new Innovate UK prospectus in detail, read that here.
Positioning your company for Innovate UK funding success 2026 to 2030
At Venturenomix we have always ‘backed the company’ rather than the project. We work strategically with our clients (innovation-led SMEs and Midcaps, and research teams) advising on funding strategy and taking expert care of grant applications and funder relations. What are we advising our clients in light of this “new chapter for Innvoate UK”?
Develop a ‘grant positioning paper’
We are working with our clients to develop a positioning paper to get ahead of the changes within Innovate UK. Consider the elements above, read the new prospectus and put some effort into a grant positioning paper that can be: published on your website, shared with R&D partners, shared with Innovate UK, and used to strengthen grant applications.
This is also an excellent exercise to get ahead of the proposed “Velocity Platform” that Innovate UK is due to launch very soon (date tbc).
Engage with Innovate UK Growth Sector Teams
Considerable power is going to be afforded to the Innovate UK Growth Sector Teams, so find out who to engage with, register, complete any paperwork and arrange meetings with more than one Growth Sector Specialist. These relationships are going to have a direct impact on your chances of success in securing grant funding because these individuals are likely to act as gatekeepers not only for improving your chance of success, but even being invited to apply for certain funding calls.
Build your R&D collaborator network
Innovate UK want to take a more holistic approach: from discovering novel ideas at the research stage through to progressing the R&D roadmap and scaling. There is an expectation that consortia will be better placed to succeed in this journey (and beyond). Identifying academic research partners, tech partners, test partners, catapults, funders, go-to-market partners etc. so that you can form compelling consortia, is going to improve your chances of being “endorsed” by Innovate UK.
Short on time and / or expertise?
If you want to action any of the above but need to focus on running your business or research team, lack the time or expertise in your team to manage R&D grant funding, or want to make sure you maximise your chance of success, we can help.
We are working with startups, scaleups, midcaps and research teams as an outsourced partner taking expert care of all things R&D grant funding. You can watch some client testimonial videos here and read some success stories here.
Please do get in touch if you are keen to explore how we can work together on a dedicated online call.
Alex Chalkley
I have over 20 years experience in founding and scaling businesses, mainly focused on the non-dilutive funding sector. Since 2008, I have built, trained and mentored teams to successfully draw down over €100m in non-dilutive funding from the UK and EU for clients spanning multiple sectors.
Get in touch
