Competition summary
Opportunity to apply for funding to deliver ambitious or disruptive R&D innovations that can make a significant impact on the UK economy.
Dates
Expression of Interest (EOI): by 30th June 2024
Competition closes: 31st July 2024, 5pm
Applicants notified: Mid-August 2024
Project start date & duration: start by 1st October 2024, last 4-6 months, complete by 31st March 2025
Scope
The Innovate UK Textile Fund is part of the £15M trilateral UKRI Circular Fashion and Textile Programme. It is being administered by the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) and Future Fashion Factory (FFF), University of Leeds, on behalf of IUK. The programme has been developed to help the fashion and textile industry integrate more sustainable and responsible practices, catalysing innovative solutions and increasing industry competitiveness.
The IUK Textile Fund aims to support innovative projects that will drive a company’s economic growth and support the transition of UK fashion and textiles industry to meet Net Zero deadlines. Projects must be innovative, generic business support or business growth projects are not eligible. Project must also align with the UKRI Circular Fashion and Textile Programme strategic objectives.
Specific Themes
Applications must be fully aligned with one or more of the trilateral programme key themes:
- Circular Business Models
- Novel Technologies
- Sustainable Manufacturing
- Sustainable Fashion Ecosystem
- Diverse and Future-Proof Workforce
- Green Growth
Eligibility
- Subsidy Control and EC State Aid funding rules apply
- industrial partners must either have textile design or textile manufacturing as their core business
- or have an innovative application of their technology / product that will add-value to these industries.
- Project must be led by a UK micro or small business with a turnover of at least £50,000 per year, lead applicant companies must have been established since at least 1st March 2023.
- Project must include formal academic input, either as a partner or subcontractor, from one or more of the named academic institutions
- R&D work must be planned to be carried out in the UK and project results exploited from UK. Where it is essential for project delivery to carry out some project work outside the UK a clear rationale must be provided.
- Subcontractors are allowed, preferably UK-based, with appropriate and justified costs.
Funding Rates
- Total eligible project costs up to £50,000 (£1M pot). Industrial partners can apply for 100% of their eligible project costs.
- Where academic institutions are partners within the project then costs can be claimed at 80% FEC. Academic partner staff may be contracted to work within an applicant company to help deliver the project if appropriate.
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 or fill out the contact form below.
