This 2 year pilot initiative will offer funding and practical support to researchers who wish to work in collaboration with a commercial partner to turn their research into an industry application.  The Collaboration Fund is a £2m grant fund financed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and managed by Finance South East (FSE).  The Fund will award grants of up to £100k to eligible researchers and offer additional mentoring and advice to successful projects. 

In delivering this initiative EPSRC has chosen to work with FSE (a not-for-profit regional funding organisation, backed by SEEDA) who offer valuable experience in managing proof-of-concept and early stage funds.  This funding opportunity is open to eligible research organisations across the UK and will facilitate the transition of research previously financed by the EPSRC into a viable commercial application. 

Support Offered

All projects must include at least one collaborating partner who will work with the applicants in taking forward commercial opportunities generated by previous EPSRC research funding.  The focus of this collaboration should be the commercial exploitation of the research and the transfer of knowledge from academia to industry.  A collaborating partner must be a commercial entity based within the UK; it may be of any size and in any sector. 

The Fund will support technical and business development necessary for the technology to become appropriate for a commercial application.  The Fund will not finance early stage research or applications that suggest a technology ‘push’.  It will be necessary to demonstrate market need and support from industry.  The package of support offered to successful projects will include:

• Funding: Research organisations will receive a standard EPSRC grant in respect of the project costs (collaborative partners are not eligible to receive EPSRC funding)
  
  
• Mentoring: The fund offers the opportunity for the project team to work with an experienced entrepreneur, assigned to them as an impartial and objective mentor
  
  
• Commercial Advice: Access to funding advice and assistance with business planning
  

Calls for Proposals

Applications to the Collaboration Fund are managed through calls for proposals, with three calls per annum.  Calls are open to all UK research organisations eligible to hold EPSRC grants and where the ideas to be exploited have substantially arisen from EPSRC research funding.  It will be necessary to identify the relevant research to demonstrate this link. 

Enquiries and Application

Please direct all application enquiries to Finance South East

Applicants are initially invited to submit an Expression of Interest.  Further information, including Call for Proposals, closing dates and how to apply, is available on the Collaboration Fund page of the FSE web site.

Application enquiries to: Asim Zahir at Finance South East via email: asim.zahir@financesoutheast.com or telephone 01276 607304.

EPSRC Contact: David Mahoney david.mahoney@epsrc.ac.uk or telephone 01793 444395

Collaboration Fund, EPSRC press release