ISCF Robotics for a More Resilient Future: Competition Briefing

Robotics for a more resilient
future
Applicant briefing
20 October 2020
• The webinar will start at 14:00.
• We are currently on mute, whilst waiting for more people to join.
• We will conduct a sound check before the briefing starts.
• The briefing will be recorded and available for you.

1 Welcome and introductions
2 Part 1
Scope, eligibility criteria
3 Part 2
The Innovation Funding Service, application finances,
academic partners
4 Part 3
Submitting your application, assessment, project setup for
successful applicants
Agenda

• Andrew Tyrer – Challenge Director, ISCF Robotics
• Sharon McHugh – Portfolio Manager, Competitions Team
• Trias Gkikopoulos – Innovation Lead, ISCF Robotics
Welcome and Introductions

ISCF Robots for a More Resilient
Future (Safer World)
Andrew Tyrer
ISCF Challenge Director

The Existing Challenge
Robotics for a Safer World
The robotics challenge is a £93m+, 4-year programme that
will develop robots to take people out of dangerous work
environments, and go into areas beyond human limits. The
challenge will:
• Develop robotic solutions to make a safer working
environment in industries such as offshore energy,
nuclear energy, space and deep mining
• Offer large productivity and quality gains in high-value
global markets
• Open up new cross-disciplinary opportunities applying
solutions to other priority challenge areas

Off-shore
Nuclear
Space
Cross-Cutting
No. projects 35
No. partners 109
Grant £34.8m
Match £26.3m
No. projects 8
No. partners 23
Grant £12.6m
Match £9.7m
No. projects 22
No. partners 66
Grant £12.4m
Match £6.9m
No. projects 16
No. partners 49
Grant £33.5m
Match £33.3m
ISCF RAI Portfolio

The Challenge will:
• Accelerate the speed of developed Robotics and AI technologies to market
• Target markets with growth potential, (Robots for a Safer World – focussed
on areas such as nuclear decommissioning, satellite servicing, oil and gas and
renewable energy)
• Demonstrate alignment, leverage and grow market share for UK companies
in Robotics and AI activities
• Ensure that opportunities for collaboration are identified and exploited
• Build a cohort of UK organisations to enable collaborative applied research to
be demonstrated in real world problems, in live field test conditions leading
to the development of fully integrated working solutions
Expectations

Introduction to
Innovate UK and
UKRI

We work with the government
to invest over £7 billion a year
in research and innovation by
partnering with academia and
industry to make the impossible,
possible. Through the UK’s nine
leading academic and industrial
funding councils, we create
knowledge with impact.

ISCF Robots for a More Resilient
Future (Safer World)
20th October 2020
Competition Briefing
Trias Gkikopoulos
ISCF RAI Innovation Lead

Competition Briefing Overview
Robotics for a more Resilient Future
• Introduction
• Short summary
• Scope
• Your application
• Application questions
• Networking event

Introduction
Economic disruptions create opportunities and change consumer
habits and business operations
They also highlight weaknesses in current operations

Introduction

Introduction
Pandemics
31% contraction in national output
UK GOV £210 bn
£47 bn furlough scheme
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library

Introduction
Climate change
1-2% GDP achieve net zero targets 2050
£20-40 bn per year

Introduction
Natural disasters
UK Government £450 million (FCERM)
2007 floods in Yorkshire  £2.7 billion

Financial crisis
$2 trillion financial institution
$10 trillion lost growth
Introduction
https://wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/

Introduction
Ageing population
Shortage of workers
Increased healthcare system pressure
Cost of healthcare increases 1-2%

Introduction
Technology talent gaps
19% of UK workforce is employed in the engineering
sector
Shortage of 59,000 graduates/technicians
Rapid technology advancement

Introduction
Technology talent gaps
• Easy to use
• Abstraction interfaces
• General purpose by design

Short Summary
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £6 million in grant
funding for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. This funding
is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).

Short Summary
Service robotics
The International Organization for Standardization defines a “service robot” as a robot “that performs
useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial automation applications”.[1]
1. Provisional definition of Service Robots English, 24 September 2018

Short Summary
• Feasibility strand
• UK SMEs
• £25,000.00 to £100,00.00
• https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/756/overview
• Collaborative R&D
• UK business of any size
• £75,000.00 to £500.000.00
• https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/754/overview

Scope
We are looking for robotic solutions that exploit business opportunities in areas such as,
but not exclusively:
 healthcare
 logistics, warehousing and transportation
 agriculture and food production
 construction
 ‘general-purpose’ remote working robotics
 robotics that can contribute towards the UK’s net-zero greenhouse gas commitment.

Scope
Your proposal must:
 clearly identify the operational needs and the market segments and sizes that the proposed Robotics and
Artificial Intelligence (RAI) technology or system will be addressing
 identify the precise operational scenario or scenarios that the RAI system is expected to operate if successful
 quantify the system’s performance objectives and targets and explain the technological maturity at the start
and end of the project
 be based around a service robotics sector
 articulate what is innovative about the proposed project
 clearly identify how proposed solutions will improve resilience of the UK’s industries to future disruptions to
economic activity, supply chains or productivity.
 clearly demonstrate understanding of the market and provide a commercialisation plan for the solution
developed

Scope
We strongly encourage participation and engagement of end-user organisations
as either funded or non-funded partners.
Your solution should be designed and developed to operate within the constraints
of any relevant regulatory environment impacting robotic operations in your
chosen sector.

Scope
We are looking to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of:
 technologies,
 markets
 technological maturities
 research categories

Scope
We are not funding projects that:
 do not identify the commercial benefits arising from your innovation
 do not demonstrate awareness of the addressable market
 do not provide sufficient detail on the path to commercialisation
 are based around the use of robotic systems in assembly-line manufacturing roles
 are focused solely on ‘Robotic Process Automation’ or other forms of software
automation of business IT processes: there must be a moving, physical (robotic)
component of the system being proposed.

Eligibility Criteria
Feasibility studies organization
This competition is open to single applicants only.
Single applicant organisations must:
• be a UK registered micro small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
• carry out your project in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from the UK

Feasibility studies project costs
Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £25,000 and £100,000.
For feasibility studies, you could get funding 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

Feasibility studies project dates
Your project must:
• start on or after 1 April 2021
• end by 31 March 2022
• last between 3 and 12 months

Feasibility studies number of applications
There is no limit to the number of applications an applicant can submit.
We are looking to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of:
 technologies,
 markets
 technological maturities
 research categories

Collaborative R&D organization
This competition is open to collaborations only.
To lead a project your organization must:
• be a UK registered business of any size
• carry out your project in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from the UK
• involve a micro, small or medium size enterprise (SME) if you are large business

Collaborative R&D project costs
For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Collaborative R&D project costs
For experimental development projects which are nearer to market you could get funding for your
eligible project costs of:
• up to 25% if you are a large organisation

Collaborative R&D project dates
Your project must:
• start on or after 1 April 2021
• end by 31 March 2022
• last between 6 and 12 months

Collaborative R&D project partners
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must:
• be a UK registered business, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit, public sector
organisation, research organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO)

Feasibility studies & Collaborative R&D subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and must be selected through a participant’s normal procurement process.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK. If an overseas subcontractor is selected, a case must be made as to why
no UK-based subcontractor can be used including a detailed rationale, evidence of UK companies that have been
approached and reasons why they were unable to do so.
We would expect subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. A cheaper cost is not
deemed as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.
Any subcontracting costs must not exceed 20% of total costs. If subcontracting is expected to exceed 20% of any partner’s
total costs and no alternatives are available, you must provide justification by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org at
least 10 days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

Your application
Collaborative R&D
https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/754/overview
Feasibility studies
https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/756/overview

Application questions
Question 1. Need or challenge Question 6. Wider impacts
Question 2. Approach and innovation Question 7. Project management
Question 3. Team and resources Question 8. Risks
Question 4. Market awareness Question 9. Added value
Question 5. Outcomes and route to market Question 10. Costs and value for money

Question 1. Need or challenge
What is the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity behind your innovation?
Describe or explain:
 the main motivation for the project
 the business and societal need and how it delivers resilience to emerging pressures
 the nearest current state-of-the-art, including those near market or in development, and its limitations
 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, using our Horizons tool if appropriate

Question 2. Approach and innovation
What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?
 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
You can submit one appendix. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger
than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
quantify the system’s performance objectives and targets and explain the technological
maturity at the start and end of the project
identify the precise operational scenario or scenarios that the RAI system is expected to
operate if successful

Question 3. Team and resources
Who is in the project team and what are their roles?
 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
 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 taking into account the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the team structure
You can submit one appendix. This can include a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your
answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 4 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at
100% zoom.

Question 4. Market awareness
What does the market you are targeting look like?
 the markets (domestic, international or both) you will be targeting in the project, and any other potential markets
 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, the impact COVID-19 has had on businesses or sectors that
are a focus of your project

Robotics for a more Resilient FutureApplication questions
Question 5. Outcomes and route to market
How are you going to grow your business and increase your productivity into the long term as a result of the project?
 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, particularly if COVID-19 has changed market dynamics
 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

Question 6. 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

Question 7. Project management
How will you manage the project effectively?
 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, taking
into account the possible impact of further COVID-19 restrictions
You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2
A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 8. Risks
What are the main risks for this project?
 the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and
environmental risks, providing a risk register
 how you will mitigate these risks
 any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, data sets
 any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and so on, and
how you will manage this
You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up
to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 9. Added value
What impact would an injection of public funding have on the businesses involved?
 whether this project could go ahead in any form without public funding and if so, the difference the
public funding would make, such as a faster route to market, more partners or reduced risk
 the likely impact of the project on the businesses of the partners involved
 why you are not able to wholly fund the project from your own resources or other forms of private-
sector funding, and what would happen if the application is unsuccessful
 how this project would change the nature of R&D activity the partners would undertake, and the
related spend

Question 10. 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 the project goals, describe or explain:
 the total eligible project costs
 the grant you are requesting
 how each partner will finance their contributions 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
 the balance of costs and grant across the project partners
 any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to the project

Summary
• Service Robotics
• Single applicant Feasibility studies and Collaborative R&D
• Up to 12 months long but must end by 31st March 2022
• Strongly encourage participation of end-users

Networking
• Networking event and consortia building
• Friday 23rd October
• https://ktn-uk.org/events/iscf-robotics-for-a-more-resilient-future-competition-briefing/

Networking
• Trias Gkikopoulos
email: trias.Gkikopoulos@innovateuk.ukri.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/triantafyllosgkikopoulos/

Resubmission Not a resubmission
A resubmission is:
an application Innovate UK judges as not materially
different from one you've submitted before (but it can
be updated based on the assessors' feedback)
A brand-new application/project/idea that you have
not previously submitted into an Innovate UK
competition
OR
A previously unsuccessful or ineligible application:
 has been updated based on assessor feedback
 and is materially different from the application
submitted before
 and fits with the scope of this competition
Resubmissions
This competition does allow resubmissions.

Feasibility R&D
Project eligibility
 Single applicant
 Must be a UK registered SME
 You must carry out your project in the UK
 Exploit the results from / in the UK
 Must be collaborative
 Must be a UK registered business (RTO by
prior agreement)
 If you are a large business include an SME
 You must carry out your project in the UK
 Exploit the results from / in the UK
Project cost £25,000 to £100,000 £75,000 to £500,000
Project length between 3 to 12 months between 6 to 12 months
Start/End Start on or after 1 Apr 21. End by 31 Mar 22 Start on or after 1 Apr 21. End by 31 Mar 22
Eligibility criteria

• Business – Small/Micro, Medium or Large (EU definition) registered in the UK
• Research Organisation (RO):
• Universities (HEIs)
• Non profit distributing Research & Technology Organisation (RTO) including Catapults
• Public Sector Research Establishments (PSRE)
• Research Council Institutes (RCI)
• Public sector organisations and charities doing research activity
• Check out the EU definition of a business (it may affect the grant you are able to claim)
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_en
• If you are 100% owned by a large parent company as a small subsidiary this means by EU rules you are classed as a large
company and will only be entitled to the relevant grant
Types of organisations we fund

Eligibility for State Aid
• Innovate UK is offering funding for this competition under the General Block Exemption Regulation. This is
available to eligible UK businesses.
• We are unable to grant funding to limited liability companies meeting the condition known as ‘undertakings in
difficulty’.
• This is where more than half of a company’s subscribed share capital has disappeared as a result of
accumulated losses.
• This test only applies to companies that are more than 3 years old.
• If you have a parent company the test can be performed on your parent or holding company.
• When submitting an application you must certify that you are eligible for state aid. If you are unsure, please
take legal advice before applying.
• Should you be successful, we will apply this test as part of our viability checks before confirming the grant
offer.
• Further information is available on our website in the general guidance under state aid

State Aid – Article 25
• Funding for R&D projects split in to 3 categories; Feasibility studies, Industrial research & Experimental development.
• Applies to almost all sectors of the economy and has a wide range of eligible costs. Pre-approved state aid covers:
o Aid for research and development and innovation,
o Regional aid
o Aid to SMEs in the form of investment aid, operating aid
and SMEs access to finance,
o Aid for environmental protection,
o Training aid,
o Recruitment and employment aid for disadvantaged
workers or workers with disabilities.
o Aid to make good the damage caused by certain natural
disasters,
o Social aid for transport for residents for remote regions,
o Aid for broadband infrastructures,
o Aid for culture and heritage conservation,
o Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational
infrastructures,
o Aid for local infrastructure.
• Special rules apply to:
o Fisheries, agriculture,
o Companies in difficulty,
o Companies undergoing a state aid recovery order.

• The aim of our State Aid scheme is to:
• optimise the level of funding to business and
• recognise the importance of research base to project
• At least 70% of total eligible project costs must be incurred by business
• The maximum level (30% of project costs) is shared by all research organisations in the project
Participation Rules

In all collaborative projects there must be:
• at least two organisations claiming grant within the application (including the lead)
• a business or RTO-led consortium, which may involve both business and the research base
and
• evidence of effective collaboration
• we would expect to see the structure and rationale of the collaboration described in the
application.
What is collaboration?

Making more than one application
Feasibility R&D
There is no limit to the number of
applications an applicant can submit.
When a business or RTO leads on an application it can collaborate in a further 1
application.
If a business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to 2
applications.
If an RTO is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of
applications.
An academic institution can collaborate on any number of applications.

Other Innovate UK projects
• If you have an outstanding final claim and/or Independent Accountant Report (IAR) on a live
Innovate UK project, you will not be eligible to apply for grant funding in this competition, as a lead
or a partner organisation.
• If you applied to a previous competition as the lead or sole company and were awarded funding by
Innovate UK but did not make a substantial effort to exploit that award, we will award no more
funding to you.

Timeline Dates
Competition Opens 12 October 2020
Briefing Event 20 October 2020
Submission Deadline 11am 20 November 2020
Applicants informed 8 January 2020
Key Dates

Innovation Funding
Service (IFS)

Search for a funding competition and review criteria

Applicant: create an account
To create your account:
UK based businesses - Use Companies House
lookup as it speeds up our checks by providing your
company number and you are unable to enter it at a
later date
Research organisations, academics &
Universities - Enter your information manually so
you’re not listed as a business on IFS and ensure you
receive the correct funding

Project Details
• Application Team
- Collaborators: Invite organisations who you are working with on the project (R&D strand)
- Contributors: Invite colleagues from your own organisation to help you complete your application
• Application Details
- Title, Timescales, Research Category, Innovation Area & Resubmission (y/n)
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Questions on gender, age, ethnicity, disability status, option ‘prefer not to say’
• Project Summary
- Short summary and objectives of the project including what is innovative about it
• Public Description
- Description of your project which will be published if you are successful
• Scope - How does your project align with the scope of this competition?
- If your project is not in scope, it will be ineligible for funding

Application form
Question 1 Need or challenge
Question 2 Approach and innovation
Question 3 Team and resources
Question 4 Market awareness
Question 5 Outcomes and route to market
Question 6 Wider impacts
Question 7 Project management
Question 8 Risks
Question 9 Added value
Question 10 Costs and value for money
Appendix Q3
Appendix Q7
Appendix Q8
Appendix Q2
Application Questions
Detailed Guidance
Available on IFS

To claim funding:
Your business does not have to be UK registered with Companies House when you apply but it must be
registered before you can receive funding.
You are unable to claim funding if:
• You are an overseas organisation so your company number begins with FC
• You organisation is setup as a branch so your company number begins with BR
• Your company is based in Jersey so your company number begins with JE

Ineligible:
• Dividends
• Bonuses
• Non productive time
Eligible:
• Staff working directly on
project
• Paid by PAYE
• NI, pension, non-
discretionary costs
Labour

Overheads
Innovate UK’s definition: additional costs and
operational expenses incurred directly as a result of
the project. These could include additional costs for
administrative staff, general IT, rent and utilities
Indirect (administration) overheads
• please ensure they are additional and
directly attributable to the delivery of the
project
Direct overheads
• E.g. office utilities, IT infrastructure, laptop
provision not covered by capital usage
• must be directly attributable to the project
• Provide detailed breakdown together with
methodology/basis of apportionment

Material costs
Please be clear on what the
materials are, just putting
consumables doesn’t provide
enough detail and we will
request more information
should you be successful

Capital equipment usage
Eligible:
• Used in the project or shared with
day-to-day production
Calculations will need to be in line with your
accounting practices.
Even if the equipment is depreciated fully over the
life of the project this must be added under capital
equipment.

Subcontractors
Eligible:
• Justified and quantified
• If using non-UK sub-contractors
are being used you will need to
provide strong justification on why
an UK-based sub-contractor is not
being used
• If you’re sub-contracting to a
parent or sister company, please
ensure you list at cost and do not
include profit.

Travel & subsistence
Eligible:
Costs must be directly linked to the
project
Please breakdown your costs as
follows:
• Travel
• Accommodation
• Subsistence
If you have an annual trip to visit
the parent company this is not an
eligible cost

Other costs
Eligible:
• Costs that could not be added under
previous headings.
• Do not double count
• Patent filing costs for new IP – SMEs
up to £7,500

Funding
• Funding rules
• The level of funding awarded will depend upon the type of organisation and the type of
research being undertaken in the project
• Funding is calculated by project participant
• IFS will advise the maximum grant % you can request based upon your answers to:
• Type (and size) of organisation
• Research category defined by the lead applicant in the Application Details section of the
application

Organisation /
type of activity
Technical feasibility
studies and industrial
research
Experimental development Notes
Business
(economic activity)
Micro/Small – 70%
Medium – 60%
Large – 50%
Micro/Small – 45%
Medium – 35%
Large – 25%
Research Organisation
(non-economic activity)
Universities – 100% (80%
of Full Economic Costs)
Other research
organisations can claim
100% of their project costs
Other research organisations must:
• be non-profit distributing and
• disseminate the project results &
• explain in the application form how this will be done
Public Sector Organisation
or Charity
(non-economic activity) 100% of eligible costs
Must be:
• Be performing research activity &
• disseminate project results & explain in the application form how
this will be done
• ensure that the eligible costs do not include work / costs already
funded from other public sector bodies
Research Organisations
(undertaking economic
activities) Organisations
receive funding related to
the size of their
organisation
Micro/Small – 70%
Medium – 60%
Large – 50%
Micro/Small – 45%
Medium – 35%
Large – 25%

Worked example – £500k total cost project:
Project costs for 5 partners (2 SME, 1 University, a Catapult and 1 large), doing industrial research.
Consortium example
Total Eligible
Project Costs
Maximum % of
eligible costs which
may be claimed as
a grant
Innovate UK
Grant
Project
Contribution
Business Medium £130,000 60% £78,000 £52,000
Business Medium £90,000 60% £54,000 £36,000
Business Large £130,000 50% £65,000 £65,000
University HEI (80% FEC) £75,000 100% £75,000 nil**
Catapult RTO £75,000 100% £75,000 nil
Total £500,000 £347,000 £153,000
** 20% FEC not to be shown as a contribution
Research Base Costs £150,000
Research base % of Total Eligible costs (cannot exceed 30%) 30.00%

Why Je-S?
• We use the Research Councils’ Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S) to collect academic
finances
• The Je-S system automates the collection of Full Economic Costs (FEC) based costs from academic
partners and tells them exactly what numbers should be used in the application form for their costs
• Also to collect project finance details from non-HEIs (e.g. RTOs) that are claiming they are carrying
out academic quality work and want to be funded on an FEC basis
• Using Je-S means that Innovate UK follows standard Research Council guidelines on funding
universities and enables Research Councils to easily co-fund Innovate UK projects
• The Je-S system is completely separate from Innovate UK and we cannot advise on its usage

• Enter the TSB reference number here
• Enter the TSB Contribution column figures
from your J-eS output document into the
project costs section of the application
• Upload the Je-S with council status form
as a PDF at the bottom of the screen
Queries about Je-S:
Contact Je-S Helpdesk (not Innovate UK)
• jeshelp@je-s.ukri.org
• 01793 444164
Project costs – academic partners

Project cost summary
All organisations can see a
summary of project costs
Ensure the highlighted costs
fits the criteria for this
competition:
Feasibility £25k-£100k
R&D £75k-£500k

Checking your finances are complete
IFS checks
• all organisations have marked
their finances as complete
• research organisation participation
is no greater than 30% (R&D
strand only) of the total project
costs
• IFS DOES NOT VALIDATE TOTAL
PROJECT COSTS

Editing a submitted application
Reopen by
clicking here
Remember to
press SUBMIT

Submit your application early!
Be aware of the
potential for last
minute technical
issues!

Application assessment
All applications are assessed by independent assessors drawn from industry and academia
What do they look for?
• Clear and concise answers
• The right amount of information
• not too much detail
• no assumptions
• Quantification and justification
• A proposal that presents a viable opportunity for growth, a level of innovation that
necessitates public sector investment and has the right team and approach to be successful
Keep your assessors engaged
and interested in your proposal.
You want them to be fascinated
and excited by your idea!

Scoring
• We review scores and feedback to check assessors are adhering to our guidelines and scoring
fairly.
• In some cases, where we feel a score is unjust and not supported by feedback, we may remove
that score as an outlier and update the total score for the application.
• Please be aware that both low and high outliers may be removed and as a result scores may
increase or decrease.
If outliers are removed we are unable to reflect this change in the scores you receive as part of
your feedback due to this decision being completed outside the system

Note on feedback
• The feedback is compiled using the written comments of the independent assessors who review
and assess the applications.
• It is intended to be constructive in nature and to highlight both the strong as well as the weak
areas of your application.
• Please bear in mind that because applications are assessed by a number of assessors, you may
receive information which appears to be conflicting. This may reflect their different interpretations
of the proposal that you submitted.
• It must also be noted that some proposals may appear to have been favourably assessed based
on their comments, in such instances it could be that your proposal simply fell below the funding
threshold, with others achieving a higher merit score overall.

Application assessment
• The score spread shows the difference between the
top and bottom scores
• If score spread is 30 or more, we will look to see if an
outlier is apparent
• If 3 or more appear in either the two columns Count
of No Scope or Count of No Recc’d we review the
applications feedback and if justified, the application
will not be eligible for funding.

• The green box = particular assessors scores on an application
• The purple box = set of scores for a particular question
• The red box = at first glance this looks like an outlier
Identifying outliers

Project setup for
successful applicants

IFS for successful applicants
Project Set up: 8 steps to complete
• Applicable to all grant claiming partners
• Project details and project team must
be completed within 30 days
• Projects must start within 90 days or
funding may be withdrawn
• Confirmation of your bank account is required to
ensure we are paying the correct organisation
you may/will be asked to provide a redacted
bank statement to confirm this
• Project change requests cannot be submitted
before the project starts

Project set up
All grant claiming project partners will be required to complete project set up. To avoid delays you should consider:
• Who will be the project manager?
• Who will be the finance contact for each consortium member?
• How will your consortium be set up? (if applicable)
Collaboration agreement
Original agreement signed by all participants
Key Features:
• Who is in the consortium?
• What are the aims, and how is the work divided up?
• Ownership of IPR
• Management of consortium
Negotiating a Collaboration Agreement can be complex and time consuming. Start work on this
at an early stage in the process.

Grant claims and payments
• All grants are claimable quarterly in arrears
• Claims can only be made for costs incurred and paid between the project start and end dates
• Claims may be subject to an independent audit (including all academic partners) according to grant size
• Claims are only paid once quarterly reporting and necessary audits are complete
• Projects over 6 months are monitored on a quarterly basis including a visit from the appointed
Monitoring Officer. Anything outside of this will be discussed on a case by case basis.
• The monitoring will be carried out against a detailed project plan and financial forecast

Project Change Requests (PCR)
• We are unable to process any PCRs before the Grant Offer Letter is issued
• If a member of your collaboration has failed UiD and is unable to resolve you will be advised
to withdraw
• PCRs will only be agreed and authorised by Head of Operational Delivery

Customer Support Services:
0300 321 4357 (Monday - Friday 9am-11:30am & 2–4:30pm)
support@innovateuk.ukri.org
Knowledge Transfer Network:
www.ktn-uk.co.uk
Innovate UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk
Contact

@InnovateUK Innovate UKInnovate UK

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