The UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board in collaboration with Tech City UK Ltd and Cambridge Wireless (CW) is calling for entries for the latest Launchpad competition where up to £1 million will be invested in innovative R&D projects with a focus on the Internet of Things. This competition will support innovative research projects centred on both Cambridge (equipment and communications) and London (software and services) SME clusters.
This competition aims to stimulate this hotspot of ‘Internet of Things’ industries by enabling companies to go further and/or faster towards commercial success. We want to draw investment and people into the area, and to encourage networking and collaboration to strengthen the cluster.
Projects are sought that may be too risky for companies to take forward without any support, or that may take them into new innovative areas, and where the majority of the project activities are carried out in Cambridge and/or London.
Funding of up to 60% of eligible costs for industrial research projects, with individual grants of up to £150k and estimated project sizes ranging between £50k and £250k will be available. We will look at applications for projects larger than £250k, but the grant funding will be capped at £150k. Projects can last up to 12 months and should be led by micro, small or medium-sized companies that we anticipate are likely to be in the early stages of their development.
An integral part of Launchpad is the offer of support to help applicants to raise additional new external finance that we expect will be needed to fully fund the project and its subsequent commercialisation. In addition to receiving project funding, successful applicants will participate in a programme of business support and growth activities that will run in parallel to projects.
The competition opened for applicants on 16 June 2014. The deadline for video submissions is 12 noon on 3 September 2014. For more information, please visit the TSB website here.
You can register now for the Launch Event – Cambridge (CW) and London (Tech City UK).
Join us at one of the Launchpad events in Cambridge or London to find out more about the competition and the chance to secure 60% grant funding for your industrial research project. We will be joined by Matt Sansam, Lead Technologist from the Technology Strategy Board and many others presenting an overview of the competition and this exceptional funding opportunity as well the opportunity to ask questions and network with industry experts.
Cambridge – Moller Centre – 8 July 2014 pm
For further information and to register please visit the event webpage here.
London – 21 July 2014
For further information about the London event please visit the event webpage here.
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