SMART Innovation Funding

SMART Innovation Funding

Funds Wales-based businesses of all sizes to research and develop new products, processes, or services through discretionary Welsh Government R&D grants.

Eligibility · Wales (UK)

SMART Innovation Funding is a discretionary R&D grant programme run by the Welsh Government through its Business Wales delivery arm, sitting under the broader SMART Flexible Innovation Support (FIS) scheme. It covers research and development of new or significantly improved products, processes, or services. The Welsh Government does not publish fixed award amounts — funding is assessed case by case on the merits and needs of each project.

The SMARTCymru guidelines (the programme's predecessor framework) showed award phases ranging from Innovation Vouchers (up to GBP 25,000) through Industrial Research (up to GBP 100,000) to Experimental Development (up to GBP 200,000), with funding rates of 50–70% of eligible costs depending on company size. Exact current figures for the SMART Innovation Funding brand are not published on the live programme page; the engine logged this as an absent field. Projects must be primarily carried out in Wales and deliver measurable economic benefits to Wales.

Eligibility covers businesses of all sizes — micro, SME, and large — as well as social enterprises. The company must have an active base of operations in Wales. Non-SME organisations must show that the grant is critical for the R&D to proceed. Applications are assessed on innovation quality, programme fit, business plan viability, and Well-being of Future Generations alignment. Priority sectors are digital transformation, net zero and decarbonisation, agri-tech and food, creative industries, life sciences and biotech, and materials and manufacturing.

To apply, complete the Business Wales contact form at the SMART FIS enquiry portal. A specialist adviser will respond and, if the project is eligible, invite a formal application. There is no published submission deadline — the programme operates on a rolling basis. The application is assessed by a Welsh Government panel against motivation, innovation, challenge, and value-for-money criteria.

Key practical points: the project must not have already started when you apply. Work being carried out mainly by third parties is not supported. Low-level or incremental innovation is excluded. Companies without a physical operational base in Wales cannot apply as the lead (though they may be collaborators).