Dates:
Competition opens: Monday 31 March 2025
Competition closes: Thursday 29 May 2025 11:00am
Applicants notified: 1 August 2025
- Project start date & duration: start on or after 1 October 2025/ end by 31 March 2026, last between 3 and 6 months
Scope
The aim of the Create Growth Programme is to provide a package of targeted support to high growth creative businesses, to scale, build investor networks and reach their potential. This funding is designed to help creative businesses explore new innovation projects as a stimulus for growth. Your project must:
- offer an innovative and ambitious idea which demonstrates a clear growth opportunity
- have a demonstrable impact to your growth plan, for example, start the process of creating a new revenue stream, such as new products, services or intellectual property (IP)
- demonstrate a route to commercialisation within 12 months of receiving support
- benefit the wider creative cluster or region in England you are based in
- be able to start rapidly/be new to your business/ demonstrate value for money
Specific Themes
Your project must focus on one or more of the following sub-sectors: advertising and marketing , architecture, crafts, design and designer fashion, film, television, video, radio, photography, IT, gaming, software and computer services, publishing, museums, galleries and libraries, music, performing and visual art.
Projects that will not be funded
- support business as usual (BAU) activities /sit outside of the creative industries
- do not address how potentially negative outcomes will be considered
- are without innovation, for example the creation of information only websites
- are registered or operational outside of the 12 appointed DCMS regions
- are not operational in one of the 12 appointed DCMS regions
Eligibility
- Subsidy Control and EC State Aid funding rules apply
- For industrial research you can get grant funding for your eligible project costs of:
- up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation/ up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
- Project must be led by a UK business, micro, small or medium size enterprise (SME)
- be registered or operational in one of the twelve Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme appointed regions/ have a demonstrable ambition for growth
- Subcontractors are allowed from anywhere in the UK, with appropriate and justified costs.
Funding Rates
- Total eligible project costs between £50,000 and £200,000 (£8M pot)
- For this competition we expect micro and small business to claim a maximum grant of up to £140,000 and maximum grant of up to £120,00 for medium businesses.
- Strand 2: DCMS Create Growth Programme Competition 4: large projects (this strand)
- For industrial research you can get grant funding for your eligible project costs of: up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation/ up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
How PNO can support you
The UK team has a strong track record in securing some of the most competitive national and European grants on behalf of its clients, with a full understanding of how a project should be presented to stand the highest chance of success. Each year in the UK alone, we are responsible for the submission of more than 100 funding applications across all sectors and priority areas. Based on this extensive experience, through careful project selection and using key insight into how a project should be best positioned, we consistently achieve success rates that are more than 5 times the typical success rates for UK national schemes and EU programmes.
For further information or to discuss a project idea please contact PNO Consultants
0161 488 3488 | info.uk@pnoconsultants.com
