EIRA Funding Opportunities

By Brigette Currin 4 minute read

ABOUT EIRA

EIRA supports innovation in the East of England by providing businesses with access to academic expertise, including consultancy and collaborative research, and funding.

This ground-breaking project harnesses the expertise of seven universities and colleges to offer knowledge exchange across three key areas: artificial intelligence, biotech and digital creative. These themes support a known market need within the region.

Could your organisation benefit from additional funding or expertise? We’re happy to discuss which options would best support your business needs.

FUNDING AND OPPORTUNITIES

EIRA offer a range of majority-funded grants to help you develop new products and services, as well as opportunities to work collaboratively with partners on important topics and issues for your business.

We also have opportunities for start-ups, students, graduates, and university staff.

What support is available for my business?

Innovation Vouchers

Innovation vouchers can provide your small or medium-sized business with up to £5k to engage with EIRA expertise, with the opportunity to foster a long-term partnership. Funds pay for our academic experts to provide you with tailored expertise.

We can help you with:

  • scoping or developing new products
  • solving problems
  • developing your employees
  • carrying out a feasibility study
  • scoping a new business idea
  • improving business efficiency
  • exploring other ways to stimulate your company’s growth

EIRA funds 80% of the total value of innovation vouchers, with companies funding the remaining 20%.

Research and Development Grants

Research and Development grants can provide companies of all sizes with £20-50k of funded support for collaborative R&D activity for projects.

We can help you with:

  • feasibility testing
  • development of a product or service
  • identifying the next development required
  • de-risking a complex innovation
  • applying our expert knowledge to enhance your products
  • expanding your current knowledge
  • diversifying product range
  • enhancing products from prototypes
  • providing underpinning research evidence
  • optimising organisational processes

EIRA funds 75% of the total value of Research and Development grants, with companies funding the remaining 25%.

i-Teams

Bring fresh thinking and new ideas to your organisation by mentoring a team of interdisciplinary students to develop a product solution for issues affecting your business.

Hothouse Events

Explore business and academic collaboration for the topics most relevant to your organisation. Attending events hosted by BT at their Adastral Park R&D headquarters, or our partner institutions, provides opportunities to network with the wider business community and draw upon BT’s new interdisciplinary graduate research centre.

Innovation Internships

An EIRA internship programme is in development and more details will be available soon.

TALK TO US ABOUT SUPPORT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

What is available for early-stage businesses, student and graduate start-ups, or students?

Start-up Microfinance

Students and recent graduates from the University of East Anglia (UEA), University of Essex, and University of Kent, can apply for a grant of up to £3k to help kick-start a business idea.

i-Teams

Bring fresh thinking and new ideas to your organisation with facilitated mentoring of a team of interdisciplinary students to develop a product solution for issues affecting your business.

Innovation Internships

An EIRA internship programme is in development and more details will be available soon.

EIRA Enterprise Accelerator

We will run a series of events for HE students from EIRA instutions to build entrepreneurial thinking and develop skills in areas such as idea generation, market research and pitching.

What opportunities are there for academic staff?

Proof of Concept Fund

The Proof of Concept Fund provides support for academic staff to develop an idea with a commercial focus. The fund can help academics to apply to develop further their innovative idea, to produce more robust data or generate more data to support a patent application, test feasibility, and prove market potential.

Businesses can benefit from the outcomes of this fund by accessing the new products or services developed.

TALK TO US ABOUT PROOF OF CONCEPT FUND

TechEast is the collective voice of the tech sector in the East of England and we are proud to be a partner of EIRA.

CONNECT – Connect with TechEast members and explore new ideas for collaboration.

ACCELERATE – Scale-up your business and promote your success with our tailored support package.

LEAD – Engage with the TechEast community and policy-makers on key industry issues