Skip to main content University of Leeds homepage

Access Innovate UK Funding

We can work with your business to access government funding for research and development projects.

Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, funds business-led research and development to drive productivity and economic growth. 

Its regular funding calls typically offer grants ranging from £50,000 to £2 million for projects lasting between six months and three years. 

The opportunities include collaborative research and development, challenge-led programmes, and bilateral international collaborations between the UK and other countries. The opportunities align with priorities in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technologies, life sciences, the creative industries, defence, financial services, and professional and business services. 

You can browse current funding opportunities via the Innovate UK funding page. 

How we support you 

Our team can help you shape a competitive bid from initial idea to submission. This includes: 

  • academic matchmaking – identifying the right University of Leeds expertise 
  • project scoping – refining aims, deliverables and resource plans 
  • bid review – providing structured feedback to strengthen your case 
  • guidance on costing and IP  – handled by our finance and commercialisation teams. 

While proposal development typically takes at least six weeks, we move quickly to assess fit and identify potential academic collaborators. 

Why partner with the University of Leeds 

We have extensive experience of working with start-ups, SMEs and large businesses across all sectors and stages of development.. Our partnerships achieve success rates around four times higher than the national average for grant applications.

By collaborating with our academic teams, you can: 

  • strengthen your proposal with world-class research expertise 
  • embed innovation methods that improve project delivery and impact 
  • access Innovate UK funding with no cost to the business for academic involvement—university costs are covered directly through the grant. 

Contact our team 

To explore an opportunity, email the Innovation and Business Development team at researchcollaboration@leeds.ac.uk with a short outline of your idea. We’ll then be in touch to arrange a discussion about your project.