Innovate UK funding

Innovate UK funding is the UK’s flagship programme for business-led innovation. It supports ambitious companies working on novel products, services or technologies—particularly those developed in partnership with academic researchers.

Heriot-Watt University works closely with partners to apply for and deliver Innovate UK-funded projects. These collaborations span diverse sectors including energy, photonics, health technologies, manufacturing and data science.

Whether you’re an SME with an idea for a new solution, or a larger organisation leading a consortium, Innovate UK offers a route to de-risk R&D investment and accelerate development through shared knowledge and resources.

We’ve supported dozens of successful bids through schemes including:

• Smart Grants – Supporting disruptive innovations with strong commercial potential.
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) – Part-funded projects embedding a high-calibre graduate into your business to drive innovation.
• Collaborative R&D – Larger-scale projects involving multiple partners working together on transformative technologies.
• Sector-specific challenges – Opportunities aligned with government priorities like net zero, future mobility, or AI.

Our academics bring world-class research capabilities and a collaborative approach, and our professional services teams can support proposal development, budgeting, and compliance. Heriot-Watt has extensive experience in leading and contributing to multi-partner Innovate UK bids—and we welcome conversations with organisations who are exploring ideas at any stage.

Work with us

If you’re planning an application or want to learn more about how Heriot-Watt can support an Innovate UK proposal, our team is here to help. We can advise on partnership models, proposal readiness, and connections to the right academic experts.