Innovation Fund

Introducing the Innovation Fund

Is your business or organisation looking to identify innovation opportunities or tackle challenges swiftly and effectively? Whether you’re a start-up, large corporate, public sector organisation, charity or social enterprise, we can help you innovate faster, smarter and with impact. The Innovation Fund is available exclusively to organisations that collaborate with us by accessing our research, knowledge, or specialist expertise.

Our Innovation Fund aims to:

• Offer agile, flexible funding tailored to your project needs
• Support high-quality industry partnerships
• Connect you with world-leading expertise and emerging talent
• Develop innovative solutions to your most pressing challenges
• Build long-term collaborative relationships that drive tangible business outcomes

Is the Innovation Fund right for you?

For many businesses and organisations, identifying the barriers to innovation and unlocking solutions that drive growth can be complex. That’s where partnering with the University of Essex through our Innovation Fund can make a real difference.

We will work closely with you to develop bespoke collaborative projects that can help to:

• Identify barriers to innovation
• Assess the potential of new ideas
• Solve immediate challenges while building for long-term success
• Inspire new thinking and smarter ways of working
• Develop new products and business models
• Scale capabilities
• And much more…

Applicants will need to meet the following criteria:

• UK and internationally registered organisations seeking to partner with Essex through research and knowledge exchange activities.
• Is a going concern or if pre-revenue can demonstrate sufficient liquidity to continue operating for the duration of the project without relying on raising new funds.
• Can demonstrate sufficient resources to support the project in terms of oversight and management (we therefore do not anticipate sole traders or very early-stage companies being eligible for the scheme unless they have secured seed funding).
• Has the freedom to operate and the authority to deploy resources and make significant changes to the business (we therefore do not anticipate franchisees being eligible for the scheme).
• Demonstrates sufficient commitment to innovation and openness to change to maximise the opportunity.
• Shows potential for growth and can demonstrate a business case for the proposed project.
• Can clearly articulate the challenge or opportunity that the project addresses.

We’re especially interested in hearing from companies looking to develop longer-term collaborations with expertise at the University of Essex.

Talk to us today about the Innovation Fund

Our ambitions match yours. We’re business-led and hands on. From project scoping through to funding awards, from recruitment of talent through to project completion.

Speak to us today to find out how we can help you with an Innovation Fund application or alternative funding opportunity.

Complete our Expression of Interest form here and a member of our team will be in touch.