2017/18 Innovate UK priority areas

Innovate UK have now published their 2017/18 funding priorities for the year. In a marked change from previous years, the SMART scheme has closed and been replaced by four thematic priorities. A new open scheme will open however only twice a year. Details on the priority areas and requested projects are below.

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Manufacturing and Materials

Round 1 – May
Round 2 – November

Focused on advancing manufacturing readiness so R&D and technology developments can be delivered at scale across a range of sectors to increase productivity and grow to capture the value in the UK. The priority areas are:

• using digital technologies in new ways to increase productivity, systems flexibility and resource efficiency
• manufacturing readiness at scale
• supporting automotive and aerospace research
• early stage manufacturing and materials concepts

‘Open to all’ competition

Round 1 – June
Round 2 – December

Funding competitions and programmes open to all innovative businesses, regardless of the technology or sector in which they are working. This enables businesses to address high-growth opportunities outside the core thematic areas.

Infrastructure systems

Round 1 – July
Round 2 – January

Covering major global market opportunities optimising transport and energy systems and integrating them with other systems such as health and digital in an urban context. The priority areas in the field of infrastructure systems are:

• energy – systems and supply
• transport systems
• urban living
• smart and resilient infrastructure

Health and Life Sciences

Round 1 – September
Round 2 – February

Focusing on agriculture and food and healthcare. The sector is underpinned by technologies developed in bioscience and medical research and enabled by expertise in engineering and physical science. The priority areas are:

• precision medicine
• advanced therapies – cell, gene and others
• preclinical technologies
• improving agriculture productivity
• pathogens
• enhanced food quality
• biosciences

Emerging & Enabling Technologies

Round 1 – October
Round 2 – March

Identifying technologies and capabilities that will lead to the new products, processes and services of tomorrow – all with the potential to create billion-pound industries and disrupt existing markets. The priorities include:

• quantum technologies
• synthetic biology
• non-animal technologies
• biofilms
• energy harvesting
• graphene
• new imaging technologies

New technologies and capabilities can improve productivity and efficiency in existing industries across the UK economy. These areas include:

• cyber security
• data
• the internet of things
• satellite earth observation
• electronics, sensors and photonics
• robotics and autonomous systems