The Innovation Vouchers Programme offers up to £2,500 to help small to medium sized enterprises create innovation and growth.

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Applications for grants are currently closed

Innovation Vouchers scheme offers up to £2,500 to help small to medium sized enterprises create innovation and growth

SMEs in need of a cash injection to drive innovation and growth could be eligible for up to £2,500 in this year’s Innovation Vouchers scheme.

For every £1 a company can put up towards innovation and growth will be matched with a £1 contribution from the project. The typical Innovation Voucher is £2,500 which means eligible businesses can unlock a total business innovation fund of £5,000 to access external expertise with knowledge base organisations (research institutes).*

Applications must be for future projects, which can be complete within a three month period on being approved. 

The EU funded initiative, managed by Aston University in partnership with Birmingham City University, was set up to help smaller businesses pay for new processes and systems that will improve efficiency and help bring new products to market.

The money can be spent on various activities, which can be found on our Eligibile activities section

European
Regional Development Fund

The project is
receiving up to £803,273 of funding from the England European Regional
Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth
Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing
Authority for European Regional Development Fund.

Established by
the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas
stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will
support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.
For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding

Professor Nicholas Theodorakopoulos, Professor of Entrepreneurship Development and Associate Dean International at Aston Business School, alongside Director of the Innovation Vouchers project (pictured in the above video) said: “Aston has a long history of working with SMEs. Innovation Vouchers were launched to promote external knowledge sharing in business. The regional scheme will provide start-up, small or medium-sized enterprises with the opportunity to collaborate with external experts to gain new knowledge to help their business innovate, develop and grow.

After the success of the 2013 – 16, and 2016 – 19 Innovation Voucher programmes, Aston has – in partnership with Birmingham City University – received funding from the European Regional Developing Fund (ERDF) to work with SMEs in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Redditch, Bromsgrove, and the Wyre Forest.”

The support we plan to provide will comply with the State Aid rules using the de minimis exemption (in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013, OJ L 352/1). Under this exemption a single undertaking may receive up to the limit of €200,000 of De Minimis aid from the Member State within which it does business and which provides the aid over any period of three fiscal years. As part of the Innovation Voucher application process you will be asked to complete the Statement of Previous Aid received under the De Minimis exemption and arrange for a director of your business to sign it. Using this information we will assess your eligibility to receive assistance. 

The estimated value of De Minimis aid you will receive by receiving a grant through the Innovation Vouchers 3 programme is €1,677.33 (for a grant of £1,500) or €2,795.54 (for a grant of £2,500) at the relevant exchange rate dated July 2019. An up-to-date figure may be supplied to successful applicants. It is your responsibility to ensure that the value of the aid you receive does not cause you to exceed the State Aid threshold. 

Download the Application form Here

Eligibility
Suitable Business Types
Eligible Business Sectors & Locations
Ineligible Business Sectors
Eligible Projects & Activities
Ineligible Projects & Activities
Recently Approved Projects
How to Apply
Eligibility

Businesses that meet the following criteria can apply:

• Must have a registered or trading address in one of the target LEP areas; Birmingham, Solihull, Redditch, Bromsgrove, and Wyre Forest (based on Kidderminster);
• Businesses in an eligible sector;
• Have not received an Innovation Voucher in the current phase of the programme;
• Have received less than €200,000 de minimis state aid in the last three years*;
• Meet the European Union definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) i.e. employ less than 250 full-time staff (or equivalent), have an annual turnover of no more than 50 million euros and/or annual balance sheet no more than 43 million euros;
• Able to contribute a minimum of £2,500 (ex. VAT) to match fund the grant (based on an Innovation Voucher of £2,500 allocated to a company that is VAT registered). Note – the project costs cannot include bank or legal fees associated with paying the supplier;
• Meet the eligibility activity guidelines for use of the Innovation Voucher 

 *The support we plan to provide will comply with the State Aid rules using the de minimis exemption (in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013, OJ L 352/1). Under this exemption a single undertaking may receive up to the limit of €200,000 of De Minimis aid from the Member State within which it does business and which provides the aid over any period of three fiscal years. As part of the Innovation Voucher application process you will be asked to complete the Statement of Previous Aid received under the De Minimis exemption and arrange for a director of your business to sign it. Using this information we will assess your eligibility to receive assistance. The estimated value of De Minimis aid you will receive through the programme is €1,677.33 (for a grant of £1,500) or €2,795.54 (for a grant of £2,500) at the relevant exchange rate dated July 2019. An up-to-date figure may be supplied to successful applicants. It is your responsibility to ensure that the value of the aid you receive does not cause you to exceed the State Aid threshold.
Suitable Business Types

Suitable Business Types

• Start-ups of all sizes, whether or not VAT registered
• Self-employed & sole traders
• Partnerships/limited liability partnerships
• Companies (private or public limited companies; private unlimited companies)
• Independent spin-outs from established businesses, universities and other research and development organisations;
• Not for profit companies, co-operatives, community enterprises, social enterprises
• Farm enterprises
• New to the region branches of businesses which remain established elsewhere in the UK (i.e. expansions)
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) bringing new enterprises to the region;
• Time investment and subsequent expansions

Eligible Business Sectors & Locations

Eligible Sectors

Companies from priority sectors (and those associated with these sectors) will be given priority access to the grants (see table below). To be eligible geographically, a company must be registered or have a trading address in one of the below districts. 

This list is complied using the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities Code (SIC) which will be listed on your business’ Companies House page. 

• Greater Birmingham and Solihull

Districts:

• Birmingham
• Solihull
• Redditch
• Bromsgrove
• Wyre Forest (based upon Kidderminster)

Priority Sectors:

• Advanced Manufacturing including Automotive and Aerospace
• Low Carbon
• ICT
• Digital and Creative
• Life Science

Eligible Sectors:

• Section C: Manufacturing (except SIC codes 24100: Manufacture of Basic Iron and Steel of Fore Alloys & 24200: Manufacture of tubes, pipes, hollow profiles and related fittings of steel) 
• Section F: Construction 
• Section H: Transportation & Storage 
• Section I: Accommodation & Food Service Activities 
• Section J: Information & Communication 
• Section M: Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities 
• Section N: Administrative & Support Service Activities 
• Section R: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 
• Section S: Other Service Activities 
• Section T: Activities of Households as Employers; Undifferentiated Goods – and Services – Producing Activities of Households of Own Use 
• Section U: Activities of Extraterritorial Organisations & Bodies 

Ineligible Business Sectors

We are unable to fund businesses in the following sectors 

This list is complied using the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities Code (SIC) which will be listed on your business’s Companies House page.

If your SIC code is not in an eligible sector, the Innovation Vouchers programme cannot provide support for you.

•  Section A: Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 
• Section B: Mining & Quarrying 
• Section D: Electricity, Gas Steam & Air Conditioning Supply
• Section E: Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management & Remediation Activities 
• Section G: Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles & Motorcycles 
• Section K: Financial & Insurance Activities 
• Section L: Real Estate Activities 
• Section O: Public Administration & Defence; Compulsory Social Security 
• Section P: Education 
• Section Q: Human Health & Social Work Activities  

Eligible Projects & Activities

• New Product / Service Development & New Service Delivery
• Customer Interfaces
• Process Improvements
• Market Research
• Innovation Planning & Business Model Improvement
• Supply Chain Management & logistics
• Exploiting Advanced Information Technologies

For Full details see HERE

Ineligible Projects & Activities

• Marketing & Web Design
• Travel Expenses / Subsistence
• General Business Expenses
• Property Expenses
• Professional Fees
• Non-Bespoke Software

For Full details see HERE

Recently Approved Projects

Have you had any project ideas which would benefit your business, but you would like help with the costs? 

Innovation Vouchers can support your business in accessing external expertise to develop new products, new services, or new internal processes *

Here are some projects we have recently approved: 

• Bespoke software development 
• Bespoke hardware development 
• App Development (note – must have an innovative element) 
• Marketing for the launch of a new product (note – the grant cannot pay for general business marketing) 
• Creation of a bespoke online platform or portal (note – must have an innovative element and not be traditional web design) 
• Development of a bespoke CRM system for internal use 
• Consultation to prepare a business for ISO accreditation (note – the grant cannot pay for the ISO accreditation itself) 
• Consultancy to enter new markets 
• Prototyping for a new, physical product 
• An initial product run of a new product designed by an applicant 
• Consultancy to develop new marketing processes 
• Consultancy to develop energy efficiency within a business 
• Consultancy to develop new routes to market 
• Consultancy to refine the concept of a new product 

 * You are advised to contact the Innovation Vouchers team ahead of making an application to confirm whether your project is eligible.
How to Apply

To apply for an Innovation Voucher 

• Check the Eligible Project & Activities tab to see whether your business and project idea is eligible
• Send your complete Innovation Vouchers application form (download the form above) to innovation-vouchers@aston.ac.uk
• Collect procurement (three quotations from different suppliers for the same work) and send these with your application form. Your procurement process must adhere to the rules in the ESIF National Procurement Requirements (ESIF-GN-1-001). You can find out more information here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/917826/ESIF-GN-1-001_ESIF_National_Procurement_Requirements_v7.pdf
• Contact us for more information using our Contact Form