We have moved our Innovate UK blogs to our new home on the UKRI website. All new Innovate UK blogs can now be found on our new blog page. Archive Our previous Innovate UK blogs will be retained for archive purposes and can be found here, so you can still read them. All new blogs from 16th July 2021 will be published on our new site. We look forward to seeing you there! This change is part of the transition process to unify all the UKRI organisations’ information into one unified website. Innovate UK is one of the organisations within UKRI and we will be transitioning ..read more

Welcome to the Horizon Europe Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment blog. Whilst we might not win the prize for the snappiest title, I think that we certainly come top of the league in the range of critical subject areas that are being addressed under Horizon Europe to support the European Green Deal. The topics in this cluster underpin the fundamental elements of life on earth and how our stewardship of them needs to improve. Image © European Commission What is the funding for? Sustainable development lies at the heart of this cluster. This will build o ..read more

In the year when the UK will host the crucial UN Climate Change Conference, the focus on activity to achieve a clean and just transition to climate neutrality has never been greater. Achieving the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels, requires huge leaps in innovation this decade. Governments and the private sector will need to invest significant sums to achieve the innovation needed. The International Energy Agency estimates that €75 billion needs to be mobilised globally as soon as possible to fund demonstration pr ..read more

The road that led to the delivery of the first Horizon Europe work programme for the cluster ‘Digital, Industry and Space’ has not been an easy one. Having worked in EU funding programmes for over twenty years, I can’t remember a work programme that went through so many revisions. The reason? The EC wanted to restrict the access of some topics (mainly in quantum and space) to Member States only. However, some Member States challenged that Europe only wins when it can work with the best talent and expertise, and that includes the UK. Each round of work programme negotiations between the Europea ..read more

I am pleased to announce the availability to UK innovators, working in academia, industry, research organisations and public bodies, a €1.6 billion funding opportunity through the EU Commission’s Horizon Europe Civil Security for Society Work Programme. Image © European Commission Horizon Europe is the EU’s latest research and innovation programme and will run from 2021 - 2027 with an overall budget of at least €95.5 billion. The UK will ‘associate’ to Horizon Europe, which means that UK entities can participate and apply for funding on the same terms and conditions as EU-based applicants. S ..read more

Recent events have shaken the world, bringing significant changes to our society and economy. In particular, the disproportionate impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have brought inequality into sharp focus. It cannot be ignored. Equality, diversity and inclusion is being talked about everywhere. The conversations - in the news, on social media and at events - has never been as widespread, as pervasive, or as sustained. Image: Women in Innovation Winner: Dr. Lucy Grundlingh, Co-Founder of SFR Medical Tear down the barriers My work at Innovate UK promotes Equa ..read more

A new 7-year European research and innovation programme called Horizon Europe has launched this year, including funding for research into democracy, governance, cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, and social and economic transformations. This programme is the largest transnational funding programme in the world with a budget of at least €95.5 billion. Image © European Commission Horizon Europe is open to participation to all kinds of organisations – be it universities, industry, charities, museums, civil society or government departments. The programme provides unprecedented ..read more

If you work in health research and innovation, there are plenty of European funding opportunities coming up. The EU is just launching Horizon Europe, its latest research and innovation programme, which will run until 2027 with a budget of at least €95.5 billion. All types of UK organisations - including academia, industry, the NHS, and charities - can apply for funding on the same terms as EU-based applicants, as the UK will ‘associate’ to Horizon Europe. Image © European Commission Many of the research and innovation funding opportunities for Health are from Horizon Europe’s ‘Health Cluster ..read more

With a budget of €95.5 billion (excluding the additional contributions associated countries like the UK will make), Horizon Europe will be the largest ever transnational research and innovation programme – they say that every time! More newsworthy, the European Commission has published its Work Programmes for 2021/22 (the calls) for the central, and largest pillar, of its Horizon Europe Programme focused on “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness” This pillar of the programme provides funding for the bulk of the collaborative activity with over €50 billion of funding to faci ..read more

Monday, 23 March 2020 is a date that will be etched into the records of British history. The day we locked down. Since then, COVID-19 has turned the world upside down - taking millions of lives and disrupting families, societies and economies. Borders closed. Shops shuttered. Streets emptied. For individuals, living rooms became offices, gardens became gyms, and kitchens became classrooms. We embraced dressing from the waist up, as teleconferencing became our primary means of collaborating, learning and socialising. For businesses, challenges extended far beyond the need to integrate a remote ..read more