Secure Software for Resilient Growth

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• have total grant funding request of between £250,000 and £750,000

• be led by a UK registered business

• have at least one other project partner

• contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application

• carry out all of its project work in the UK

• intend to commercially exploit the results in the UK

• start by 1 August 2026

• end by 31 January 2028

• last between 12 and 18 months

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

Lead organisation

To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size

• academic institution

• charity

• not for profit

• public sector organisation

• research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in the IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application

• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application

• ensure any one partner does not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs

Non-funded partners

Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project. Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.

Where non-funded partners have been invited to the application on IFS, their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

Number of applications

A business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

If you have previously submitted an application that reached our assessment stage, you can re-apply once more with the same proposal.

If there are minor differences to the proposal, but it is judged by us to be ‘not materially different’, the same rule applies.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project

• an overdue independent accountant’s report

• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding to enterprises using the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme.

The Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme can be viewed on the subsidy database here: SC10780.

This is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.

Funding

Up to £5 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

For industrial research you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

Category 2 Industrial research projects

Funding available for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes, refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 50% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 50% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

• 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.

2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.

3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to drive the growth of secure and resilient software supply chains in the UK, through the adoption of the Software Security Code of Practice (SSCoP).

The Codes of Practice, and the UK government’s Cyber Essentials scheme, set out good practices to reduce cyber security risks which are not being sufficiently addressed by industry.

Before applying, you are strongly advised to read the Software Security Code of Practice and the Implementation Guidance in full.

The Software Security Code of Practice is designed to support software vendors and their customers in reducing the likelihood and impact of software supply chain attacks and other software resilience incidents. These kinds of attacks and disruptions are often caused by avoidable weaknesses in software development and maintenance practices.

Organisations should implement applicable DSIT codes of practice as a minimum, although more stringent measures may be needed in higher risk contexts such as Critical National Infrastructure, (CNI).

The SSCoP is aimed at senior leaders in software vendor organisations to ensure that the measures outlined in the SSCoP are prioritised and followed through within the organisation. With clarity on the software vendor’s responsibilities, those senior leaders can ensure that relevant teams across their organisations take the necessary steps to meet those expectations, and have the resources, tools and knowledge they need to do so.

For businesses, early adoption of these codes can act as stepping stones towards new markets, incoming UK regulations or standards, For example, the NHS Cyber Security Charter for Suppliers already includes SSCoP.

The codes also present new market opportunities for innovative companies to develop products and services that support SSCoP adoption.

Your project must:

• increase adoption, awareness and implementation of the SSCoP

• drive the commercial growth of cyber resilient technology supply chains in the UK

• increase the baseline level of cyber resilience of UK software supply chains.

• support at least 2 or more of the 4 SSCoP Themes

To support the technical teams implementing the Software Security Code of Practice, NCSC have provided implementation guidance.

This guidance provides more detailed information about how the principles can be implemented. It will also signpost to existing guidance and frameworks where possible.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities, cost. We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following:

• tools, techniques and systems to accelerate or incentivise adoption, implementation and assurance of the SSCoP

• engagement, training and communicating to drive adoption of SSCoP across both the supply chain and customers

• enabling, informing and upskilling procurement professionals and specifiers to drive adoption through contracts and negotiations

• tools, data, metrics and testing that use the SSCoP to improve understanding of the cyber resilience of complex software systems

• tools, data, measurements and techniques that accelerate or automate SSCoP compliance or assurance

• enabling integration or translation of the SSCoP into sectors and supply chains such as energy infrastructure, defence, advanced connectivity, transport

• development of automated analysis tools and techniques for SSCoP compliance of AI generated code

• developing measurable and reproducible uses of AI to aid compliance to the SSCoP

• mapping of SSCoP to pre-existing frameworks or standards such as ISO27001, Cyber Assessment Framework, NIS2, ETSI TS104223, SLSA, etc 

• development of sector-specific guidance and tools, especially for non-cyber experts, to help in supplier management

• enabling or demonstrating SSCoP adherence and adoption in cloud CI/CD pipelines

• enabling market differentiation for SSCoP compliant vendors

(This list is not exhaustive.)

Research categories

We will fund industrial research projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We cannot fund projects that:

• are not in scope for this competition

• are from a single applicant

• do not increase adoption, awareness and implementation of the SSCoP

• do not drive the commercial growth of cyber resilient technology supply chains in the UK

• do not increase the baseline level of cyber resilience of UK software supply chains

• do not support at least 2 or more of the 4 SSCoP Themes

• are dependent on export performance: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of its products to another country

• are dependent on domestic inputs usage: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it uses a set percentage of UK components in their product

25 March 2026

Online briefing event: Register to attend - 11am(Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event)

3 June 2026

Applicants notified

1 August 2026

Project start from

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct

• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria

• all sections of the application are marked as complete

• if collaborative, that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into four sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

4. Project Impact.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 6. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions. Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long.

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. If you do, your application will be made ineligible.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

• In the process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored)

Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored)

You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Question 6. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)

You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications

• a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List

If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Question 7. Need or challenge

What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation?

Explain:

• the main motivation for the project

• the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity

• whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development

• any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one

• the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 8. Approach and innovation

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Explain:

• how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified

• how you will improve on any similar innovation that you have identified

• whether the innovation will focus on existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas, or a totally disruptive approach

• the freedom you have to operate

• how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings

• how it will make you more competitive

• the nature of the outputs you expect from the project, for example reports, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design, and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 9. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Explain:

• the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking

• the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them

• the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project

• if your project is collaborative, the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project

• any roles you will need to recruit for

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix, with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Market awareness

What does the market or markets you are targeting look like?

Describe:

• the target markets for the project outcomes and any other potential markets, either domestic, international or both

• the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available

• the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes

• the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist

• the current UK position in targeting these markets

• the size and main features of any other markets not already listed

If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:

• what the market’s size might be

• how your project will try to explore the market’s potential

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 11. Outcomes and route to market

How are you going to grow your business and increase long term productivity as a result of the project?

Explain:

• your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position

• your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example, why they would use or buy your product

• your route to market

• how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction

• how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term

• how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model

• your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

• your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale

• how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 12. Wider impacts

What impact might this project have outside the project team?

Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:

• external parties

• customers

• others in the supply chain

• broader industry

• the UK economy

Describe and, where possible, measure:

• any expected impact on government priorities

• any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative

• any expected regional impacts of the project

Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example:

• quality of life

• social inclusion or exclusion

• jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them

• education

• public empowerment

• health and safety

• regulations

• diversity

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 13. Project management

How will you manage your project effectively?

Explain:

• the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one

• your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome

• the management reporting lines

• your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 14. Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Explain:

• the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks

• how you will mitigate these risks

• any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets

• any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and other requirements identified, and how you will manage this

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 15. Added value

How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved?

Explain:

• what advantages public funding would offer your project, for example: appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market

• the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved

• what other routes of investment or means of support you have already engaged with and why they were not suitable

• how any existing or potential investment or support will be used in conjunction with the grant funding

• what your project would look like without public funding

• how this project would change the R&D activities of all the organisations involved

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 16. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

In terms of your project goals, explain:

• your total eligible project costs

• the grant you are requesting

• how each partner will finance their contributions to your project

• how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer

• how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise

• the balance of costs and grant across the project partners

• any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

3. Finances

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.

For an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria:

Secure Software for Resilient Growth Assessor guidance for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window)

Background and further information

Innovate UK Business Connect has support and guidance to help you with this competition.

The Software Security Code of Practice is a voluntary set of principles designed to reduce software supply chain attacks and disruption, and improve cyber resilience across the economy.

The SSCoP - which is co-sealed by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security - is the product of extensive engagement and has been co-designed with technical experts at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and a group of industry and academic experts. It was also refined using feedback from a public call for views undertaken from May to August 2024.

The government published its response on the code of practice for software vendors in March 2025.

The Code consists of 14 principles software vendors are expected to implement to establish a consistent baseline of software security and resilience across the market.

The Code was launched at the CyberUK 2025 event on 7 May 2025 by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden.

The Software Security Ambassador Scheme has been developed to help drive adoption of the Software Security Code of Practice.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have written a joint blog explaining the background to the Software Security Code of Practice. The blog explains the thinking behind the new Code and why technology - including software - needs to be ‘secure by design’. The NCSC has also provided further detail on the Code for developers, vendors and consumers.

Read the joint NCSC/DSIT blog on software security

See the NCSC pages on the Software Security Code of Practice

The Software Security Code of Practice sets out the fundamental security and resilience measures that should reasonably be expected from all organisations that develop and/or sell software to businesses or other organisations. This includes those that supply standalone software or software services, or organisations selling goods or services that contain software.

The software or software component may be any kind of software, including application or systems software. The Software Security Code of Practice is most relevant to the sale and distribution of proprietary software in the context of business-to-business commercial relationships.

The principles that form the Code of Practice are relevant to any type of software supplied to business customers. The SSCoP principles are divided into four themes, the government has identified these principles as fundamental and achievable measures that should be reasonably expected from organisations of any size, type or sector.

If carried out, these principles would represent a robust approach to software security and resilience, helping to secure the foundations of the digital technologies and services that connect digital supply chains.

Assurance and self-assessment

The UK Government is providing a self-assessment form to accompany this code of practice. This form can be used for internal compliance monitoring or can be shared with customers to provide software security assurance.

The assurance approach for this Code of Practice has been developed to follow the NCSC’s Principles Based Assurance approach. This breaks the Code of Practice down into a set of Assurance Principles and Claims (APCs). Using the Code of Practice as the core principles, the APCs derive a set of ideal-scenario claims that, if met, mean the software vendor is achieving the principles of the Software Security Code of Practice.

The kind of evidence provided may vary depending on the specific processes used by each organisation, which provides flexibility in how organisations can demonstrate compliance using the form provided.

NCSC has facilitated a number of Cyber Resilience Test Facilities that can support evaluations against the Principles Based Assurance (PBA). Applicants are advised to review the information on the CRTF page.

DSIT publishes a range of Cyber Codes of Practice setting out good practices when it deems a particular area has significant cyber security risks which are not sufficiently being addressed by industry. Organisations should implement applicable DSIT codes of practice as a minimum, although more stringent measures may be needed in higher risk contexts.

The codes may act as stepping stones towards further tailored guidance, international standards or domestic regulation. For Innovative businesses, early adoption of these codes provides a glide-path to future compliance with the Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill (and other incoming regulations). However, the codes also present an opportunity for developers to create products and services to enable the adoption of the codes.

Applicants are encouraged to read the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill: factsheets.

The UK Government is seeking feedback on the Software Security Code of Practice and applicants are encouraged to fill out the monitoring and evaluation survey. Evaluation survey for the Software Security Code of Practice - GOV.UK.

Applicants may be interested to read the Home Office Guidance on Supply Chain Resilience.

Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme Information

This award is being offered under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme in accordance with section 10(4) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Projects funded must meet the following definition(s):

Category 2: Industrial research​

​The planned research or critical investigation that is aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services. It can also be for projects that are aimed at bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services. ​

This would include digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies). ​

Industrial research comprises the creation of component parts of complex systems. It may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines. Where necessary, this would be for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.​

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing recording and slides will be available to download here after the briefing event.

What happens if you receive a grant offer

If you have passed your initial assessment and have received an email with a grant offer, you will be asked to complete the project setup process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). Watch our video on what steps are there before a project starts.

We will ask for information that will allow us to undertake mandatory checks on your organisation and the eligibility of your costs, as well as review the documentation for your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your project's dedicated IFS Set Up portal, where we gather the information required to set up your project, for example your bank details. Watch our video on how successful applicants receive their funding.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

We would like to remind you that eligible non-funded business can still benefit from fully funded and bespoke support from the Innovate UK Business Growth service.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth service

Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.

Our innovation and growth specialists provide our fully funded and bespoke support to clients nationwide. Visit the service’s website to discover whether you could benefit from this advisory support, which is available to Innovate UK funded and non-funded businesses alike.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is operated by Innovate UK.

Innovate UK is directly accountable to you for its holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with our own policies.

Innovate UK may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

UKRI is committed to maximising the contribution that intellectual and knowledge assets (including intellectual property), arising from research and innovation we fund, can make to supporting national security and defence, including through dual use. Please see UKRI published guidance on National Security and Defence research for more information

Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.