Launchpad: life and health sciences, Northern Ireland – Rd3 MFA

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request between £25,000 and £100,000

• last between 6 and 12 months

• carry out all of its project work in the UK

• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

• not start before 1 April 2026

• end by 31 March 2027

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.

You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

Lead organisation

Your business must:

• be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME)

• be growing your innovation activities in the life and health sciences cluster in Northern Ireland

• have a demonstrable ambition for business growth

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

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 cannot use non-UK based subcontractors.

We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

Number of applications

A business can lead on only one application for this competition. Any subsequent applications submitted by the same business will be ineligible and will not be forwarded for assessment.

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 Innovate UK in relation to other projects.

Minimal Financial Assistance (and De minimis where applicable)

Grant funding in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a three year rolling financial period.

In your application, you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer.

To establish your eligibility, we need to check that our support added to the amount you have previously received does not exceed the limit of £315,000 in the ‘applicable period’.

The applicable period is made up of:

(a) the elapsed part of the current financial year, and

(b) the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year.

You must include any funding which you have received during the applicable period under:

• Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights)

• De Minimis Regulation

You do not need to include aid or subsidies which have been granted on a different basis, for example, an aid award granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

EU Commission 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, you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or your legal obligations.

Funding

A minimum of £1.2 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition, 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.

Your total project costs will be eligible for up to 100% funding, up to the maximum grant value of £100,000, subject to MFA subsidy rules. If your grant funding request exceeds the £100,000 maximum then your application will be made ineligible.

You can make reference to any additional voluntary contribution in your application answers. It must not be detailed in the finance section.

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

If you are applying for an award funded under European Commission 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.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses.

Your project must focus on innovation in life and health sciences.

Your project must contribute to growing your innovation activities in the cluster in Northern Ireland, both during and after your project.

Your ongoing contribution could, for example, be demonstrated by:

• your local innovation activities

• the value that your innovation activities create in the cluster

• an increase in related innovation activity by your supply chain partners or subcontractors in the cluster

• your engagement with other innovation active organisations in the cluster, such as with Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI), this Launchpad’s cluster management organisation

Your application may be considered ineligible if you do not describe clearly how your main project activities and work packages meet the scope of this competition. This includes the main project activities of any subcontractors. If you do not describe how your innovation activities in the cluster will continue after your project, then you are unlikely to be offered funding in this competition.

The geographical requirement is set to align this competition to the UK Government’s goals for local economic growth.

Portfolio approach

Following the independent assessment, all applications scoring over 70% will be reviewed by a panel including Innovate UK and our local partners on this Launchpad. The panel will review the applications in line with the portfolio criteria, which will inform Innovate UK's decision on the funding awards offered.

We want to fund a variety of projects across different criteria. We call this a portfolio approach.

We reserve the right to prioritise projects that:

• can demonstrate more innovation activity or value creation in the cluster or outside of the Greater South East of England, during and after your project

• can demonstrate more engagement in the innovation cluster, during and after your project

• can demonstrate closer alignment to this competition’s scope and specific themes

• are from applicants who have not led successful applications to the MFA Round 1 or MFA Round 2 competitions for this Launchpad for Northern Ireland

Specific themes

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

Diagnostics, therapeutics and biomarkers

• multi-omics

• medical imaging

• liquid biopsy

• biomarker or genetic testing

• diagnostic or therapeutic development

Data, digital and medical devices

• point-of-care testing

• wearable or ambient sensors

• clinical trials decision support

• augmented reality

• digital health

Innovations in healthcare service delivery

• health service productivity

• integrated care platforms

• remote rehabilitation

Your project can also consider the following enabling areas:

• artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum

• advanced therapies, novel formulation or delivery

• regulation or ethics

• supporting innovation in skills development

These lists are not exhaustive.

Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this Launchpad competition you can focus on other themes.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• do not meet the competition eligibility or scope requirements

• request grant funding of less than £25,000 or more than £100,000

We cannot fund projects that:

• involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture

• involve primary production in agriculture

• are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions

• are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance

• are dependent on export performance, for example, giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country

• are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, if we give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

23 October 2025

Online briefing event: register to attend

Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event.

3 February 2026

Applicants notified

1 April 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

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

Application details

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

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. In your answer you must outline how your project will grow your innovation activities in the cluster both during and after your project.

Your answer will be used in our eligibility checks and, due to the competitive nature of this competition, may be used in our portfolio approach for prioritising projects.

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 5. 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. Do not include any website addresses (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 subcontractors working on your project, and the work location for your project if different to the registered addresses.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants and your answer will be used in our eligibility checks and may be used in our portfolio approach for prioritising projects.

Your answer can be up to 150 words long.

Question 2. Minimal Financial Assistance declaration (not scored)

You must download the declaration template. You must complete this, declaring any funding received under Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) or De minimis awards, (from any source of public funding) in the applicable period.

Each partner must complete all the fields on their form before uploading.

The lead applicant must write ‘declaration attached’ in the question text box.

The lead applicant must upload all the completed declarations as an appendix. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It must be legible at 100% zoom.

You must keep all documentation relating to Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) and other De minimis awards for a period of six years. You must be prepared to release it to any public funding body which requests it.

Question 3. 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 4. 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 5. 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.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 6. Need, challenge and market awareness

What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation? What does the market or markets you are targeting look like?

Explain:

• the main motivation for the project

• the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity

• 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

• 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

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 600 words long.

Question 7. 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 the nearest current state of the art identified

• whether the innovation will focus on the application of 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 report, 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 8. 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

• any roles you will need to recruit

• the main work packages of the 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

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

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.

You can also 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 9. 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 10. Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Describe:

• 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 so on, 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 11. Costs, value for money and added value

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

In terms of the project goals, explain:

• the total eligible project costs

• the grant you are requesting

• how you will finance any contributions you are making to the 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

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

• 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 approached 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 your R&D activities

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

3. Finances

You must complete your own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application.

Your projects total grant funding request must not exceed the maximum of £100,000. If your grant funding request does exceed this maximum, then your application will be made ineligible.

You can make reference to any additional voluntary contribution in your application question answers but these must not be detailed in this finance section.

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.

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:

Northern Ireland MFA - Assessor Guidance for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window)

Background and further information

In considering the eligibility of your proposal you are encouraged to review:

• the Department for Economy (Northern Ireland) DfE Business Plan 2024-25

• Life and health sciences (LHS) sectoral action plan

• Matrix (the Northern Ireland science industry panel) reports on Northern Ireland’s LHS sector

Further information about the innovation cluster will be provided in the online briefing event that will be available for you to view.

For further guidance on your eligibility, you can contact Innovate UK by email.

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 set up process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).

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.

Watch our videos on what steps there are before a project starts and how successful applicants receive their funding or read more about Project Setup in our General guidance.

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 or the Invest NI business support team.

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 jointly operated by Innovate UK and Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) (each an ‘agency’).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to Invest NI and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

• the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants

• scoring and feedback on the application

• information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Service Provider reports and Independent Accountant Reports

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.

Innovate UK and Invest NI are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect and Invest NI will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Invest NI’s 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.