This document provides a summary of funding opportunities, events, support programs, reports and articles relevant to UK creative and digital businesses in March 2017. Key opportunities highlighted include the Innovate UK funding calls on emerging technologies, infrastructure innovation, and nuclear decommissioning. It also summarizes the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument and the Longitude Prize challenge. Support programs featured are the IoTUK Boost accelerator and TECNIOspring PLUS fellowship.

1. Creative, Digital & Design
Business Briefing
A digest of useful information for UK businesses seeking
funding and support, updated monthly
March 2017
@KTNUK

2. If you would like to receive updates from KTN, you
can subscribe here: bit.ly/KTNregister

3. Contents
• Feature
• Innovate UK funding calls
• Horizon 2020
• Funding
• Events
• Investment
• Support
• Market Research/Reports
• Articles
• Personal Data Network

4. Opens: 06.03.17. Registration deadline: noon on 03.05.17. Application
deadline: noon on 10.05.17.
Key feature: Innovate UK is investing up to £15 million innovation projects
that inspire and stimulate the products and services of tomorrow.
The aim of this competition is to help UK businesses broaden their
innovation activities, disrupt existing markets and find new revenue
sources. It should support the competitiveness of small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs), as well as large companies.
Briefing events:
Wed, 8 Mar, London | Mon, 13 Mar, Belfast | Tue, 14 Mar,
Edinburgh | Thu, 16 Mar, Cardiff | Thu, 23 Mar, Manchester
For further information click here
Emerging and Enabling Technologies funding competition
***Feature***

5. Opens: 16.01.17. Registration deadline: noon on 15.03.17. Application
deadline: noon on 22.03.17.
Key feature: Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in projects to
stimulate innovation that creates UK business growth in infrastructure
systems. They want businesses to collaborate to develop new integrated
solutions and new business models. Projects may include technical
feasibility, industrial research or experimental development and range in
size from total eligible costs of £25,000 to £5 million. Projects must show
significant innovation in one of Innovate UK's priority areas: ‘smart’
infrastructure; energy systems; connected transport; urban living
For further information click here
Innovation in Infrastructure Systems (round 2)
Innovate UK funding calls

6. There will be 3 competitive funding rounds over 12 months, the first opened
on 9 January 2017 with two further rounds in May 2017 and August 2017.
Key feature: Design Foundations is a new £3m grant funding programme
from Innovate UK to help businesses identify innovation opportunities and
generate better propositions for desirable, useful and feasible products,
services and business models. The aim is to build collaborations between
businesses looking for new ways to innovate, and designers with the
creative tools to provide this insight. It means using design interventions to
address critical business challenges.
For further information click here
Design Foundations
Innovate UK funding calls

7. Opens: 30.01.17. Registration deadline: noon on 19.04.17. Application
deadline: noon on 26.04.17.
Key feature: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield
Ltd and Innovate UK are to invest up to £3 million in projects that will
integrate and demonstrate flexible innovative technologies for the
nuclear decommissioning sector. The aim of this competition is to
develop an innovative and integrated demonstrator. This should
minimise human intervention, achieve a significant increase in
productivity and reduce the cost of nuclear decommissioning.
For further information click here
Integrated Innovation for Nuclear Decommissioning
Innovate UK funding calls

8. Horizon 2020 funds high-potential innovation through a dedicated
SME instrument, which offers seamless business innovation support
under the section Societal Challenges and the specific part
Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEITs).
Provided with about € 3 billion in funding over the period 2014-2020,
the SME Instrument helps high-potential SMEs to develop
groundbreaking innovative ideas for products, services or processes
that are ready to face global market competition.
During the first two years of implementation (2014-2015), more than
1200 SMEs were selected to receive funding under the SME
instrument call; as such, 513 million Euros were invested in the
success of innovative SMEs. By the end of Horizon 2020, the SME
instrument should have supported some 7500 SMEs to get their
innovations delivered onto the market. Find out more
The SME Instrument

9. Funding
Horizon 2020: Security: Businesses can apply for a share of €130
million under Secure Societies – protecting freedom and security of
Europe and its citizens work programme. Opens: 01.03.17.
Registration deadline: noon on 24.08.17. Application deadline: noon
on 24.08.17.
Longitude Prize is a challenge with a £10 million prize fund to reward
a diagnostic test that helps solve the problem of global antibiotic
resistance. It is being run by Nesta and supported by Innovate UK as
funding partner. The Discovery Awards are small seed grants to help
teams and individuals further develop their ideas for the Longitude
Prize. Application deadline: 21.04.17.

10. Expression of Interest: KTN InnOvaTe zone at Smart IoT London
2017 - 15-16 Mar 2017, London
Digital Business Drop-in - 9 Mar 2017, London
VentureFest South - 9 Mar, Winchester
Quality Assurance in Additive Manufacturing Seminar - 16 Mar,
London
Future Infrastructure Systems - 22 Mar, London
Venturefest East Midlands - 22 Mar, Derby
Digital Revolution Conference - 24 Mar, Manchester
Events

11. Private Investment Directory
Digital Refer now includes more than 250 organisations that provide
private investment to Digital and Creative businesses in the UK,
including:
Accelerator Programmes
Business Incubators
Start-up Studios
Venture Capital Funds
Angel Investor Networks
Corporate Venture Capital firms
Check out the new entries: bit.ly/ktnrefer
Investment

12. IoTUK Boost is funded by Government, through IoTUK and the Digital
Catapult, underlining the importance of IoT for the UK’s digital economy.
They will support a minimum of 10 SMEs in their quest to find solutions to
genuine challenges faced within the Cambridge region and to explore the
market opportunity for the products and services they create. All solutions
must make use of Cambridge’s newly deployed LoRaWAN™ Low Power
Wide Area Network (LPWAN). The LPWAN-driven technologies and
services will address the locally identified societal challenges of Transport,
Air Quality Monitoring, Primary Prevention or Monitoring of Ill Health in
Older People, Digital Buildings. Other societal challenges relevant to the
Cambridge region will be considered.
Application deadline: noon on 15.03.17
TECNIOspring PLUS is ACCIÓ's fellowship programme. It provides
financial support to individual mobility proposals presented by
experienced researchers in liaison with a host organisation. Fellows are
offered 2-year employment contracts in order to develop applied research
projects.
Support

13. Go To Grow - The Mayor’s International Business Programme
A new three year programme of mentoring, expert advice and real
business opportunities for high-growth companies Programme
focussed on ‘internationalising’ scale-ups – London based
companies wanting to grow outside of the UK.
The programme is open to fast-growing companies in London
operating in three broad sectors: technology, life sciences, and
urban. Your business will need to demonstrate that it is already
generating revenue.
The PwC startup Growth Programme is a platform for fast growth,
disruptive startups who want to shape the future through scalable
innovation. 12 startups, 12 weeks, 2 programmes: Future of Work &
Future of Health
Support

14. Immerse UK is a new cross-sector network for businesses and research
organisations across all parts of the UK economy that are interested in the
way that augmented and virtual reality can help drive productivity, social
and economic growth.
We are building a rolling programme of work, developed with our
members and the IET, which addresses the pressing issues that slow
down R&D and identifies the opportunities for growth and collaboration in
the emerging marketplace.
It is free to join, find out more and sign up here
Save the date:
Access to Finance for Immersive Technology businesses April 26th
6:30pm London
Immersive Audio - Listen Up: March 29th 10am London
Immerse UK

15. Tech and digital policy for skills, investment & trade
Headline recommendations include:
1. To drive a large-scale expansion in software development
apprenticeships. Many current funded university routes have poor
employment outcomes, while courses that are highly successful in
the market cannot attract Government funding.
2. To move to a system where all 16-19 year-olds are expected to
study mathematics, usually to a level above GCSE, as is the norm in
many other countries.
3. To make basic levels of literacy and numeracy (GCSE level) a
requirement for all further and higher education.
Report

16. Why do we need a digital economy strategy?
The Government's new Digital Strategy puts digital at the heart of
business. The Digital Strategy is useful in that it highlights several
strategic opportunities for the UK, which can encourage industrial
development, research and private finance.
Articles

17. Personal Data and Trust Network
The network aims to build and nurture a community that brings
together industry, the public sector, funders, research organisations
and innovators to support the UK in becoming the global leader in
trust and responsible innovation with personal data.
The partners are calling on any organisation interested in personal
data, trust and reputation to join the network. Membership is free
and will plug you into a vibrant community that we are bringing
together. For more information and to join visit pdtn.org.