Background
The Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund (IICF) has been developed by Interface and the Scottish Government to attract and support businesses, not yet located in Scotland but with an interest in developing a presence here. The fund is aligned with Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan and Scottish Government’s values centred around a fair, sustainable and inclusive low carbon future.
As well as funding the project, it provides an opportunity for the company to develop relationships and give insight into other aspects of the Scottish ecosystem, such as further investment opportunities, supply chains and the skills base to strengthen the case for investing in Scotland.
Funding awards of up to £10,000 can be applied for to pay for input from a Scottish academic partner into projects with businesses. The fund can support the costs of an initial collaboration such as, but not limited to; feasibility study (e.g. for a joint R&D centre); roadmap to leverage investment for joint R&D; early-stage proof of concept; supporting talent and skills for R&D.
Businesses will need to demonstrate their aspiration and intent to use the fund, the outcomes from the project and relationships with academia to potentially develop a pathway towards setting up a presence in Scotland i.e. research & development or manufacturing operations.
Projects should align with at least one of the nine key opportunity areas where Scotland’s strengths match global investment flows:
- Energy Transition
- Decarbonisation of Transport
- Software and IT
- Digital Financial Services
- Digital Business Services
- Space
- Healthtech
- Transformation of Chemical Industries
- Food & Drink Innovation
Applications are now closed. Please sign up to our newsletter to find out about upcoming funding rounds from Interface.
Eligibility
The Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund is open to businesses of any size currently engaged or looking to engage with a Scottish University, College, Research Institute, Innovation Centre or Research Pool but without an existing base of operations in Scotland. Innovation Centres and Research Pools can apply via their host academic institution partner and Interface can direct you to the relevant KE personnel who can support the application.
The Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund will work on the same principles as the Scottish Funding Council’s Innovation Voucher programme with some additional allowances:
- Businesses who have previously collaborated with academia or have an existing relationship will still be eligible for consideration.
- Multi partner applications will be considered if there is a defined lead business and lead academic partner.
- An independent panel of experts will assess and approve applications.
- Previously unsuccessful applicants are eligible to apply again.
- Innovation Centres and Research Pools are eligible to apply through their lead / host university.
For any questions on eligibility or any other queries please contact: applications@interface-online.org.uk
Contact us if you do not have an academic partner or if you have any questions on the scheme: info@interface-online.org.uk
With connections into all Scottish academic institutions, Interface has established and efficient processes that can support and speed up the process of finding and accessing the most appropriate academic expertise and facilities.
Eligible Costs
Funding awards up to £10,000 in value, which will cover the Scottish University, College, Research Institute or Innovation Centre’s project costs (e.g. time, facilities and consumables) in order to carry out the project and disseminate the project findings to the company and wider industry (if appropriate). Companies will need to contribute an equal value in kind i.e. staff time, materials, equipment and data supplied / collated or cash. The award will be paid to the lead academic partner’s institution.
Documents & Forms
Download the full Terms and Conditions by clicking here: Terms & Conditions
Download the Legal Forms by clicking here: Legal Forms
Download the application form by clicking here: Application Form
Case Studies
Past recipients of the Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund have reaped significant benefits from this opportunity. Discover our case studies to explore the success stories of previous winners, including Smartify, Evolve Hydrogen and Ecomar Propulsion.
The Interface team can discuss a number of different funding opportunities with you so please contact us or, for further information on general funding, visit business.scotland.gov.uk/funding
Interface also work with a number of other organisations that offer funding to stimulate innovation. These include:
- Knowledge Transfer Partnership – accelerate business innovation by supporting knowledge exchange with academic institutions. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/knowledge-transfer-partnerships-what-they-are-and-how-to-apply
- SMART: SCOTLAND available pan Scotland – provides grants to Small / Medium Enterprises (SMEs) based in Scotland. The grant helps you undertake technical feasibility studies and research and development (R&D) projects that have a commercial endpoint: http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/services/develop-new-products-and-services/smart-scotland/overview
- Innovate UK Innovation grants for business – businesses and research organisations can apply to funding competitions to help them develop their innovations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/innovation-grants-for-business-apply-for-funding
- Intellectual asset protection – free, impartial advice to help your business identify, manage and exploit intellectual property assets – protecting your brand and ideas in overseas markets. (Any enquiries on IP for the South of Scotland should be directed to South of Scotland Enterprise.) For more information visit https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/support-for-businesses/develop-products-and-services/innovation-support
- Zero Waste Scotland Circular Economy Investment Fund
- Research and development (R&D) tax relief for SME’s – Corporation Tax relief for costs on research and development (R&D) if you’re a small or medium-sized enterprise. Learn More: Research and Development tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- R&D Grants: Discover further grant opportunities for research and development via Find Business Support: Find business support in Scotland – Find Business Support
Please note Interface do not administer any of the above funding streams. If you have specific enquires about them please visit the associated websites and contact them directly.