CSIRO Innovate to Grow

Innovate to Grow is a free 8-week online program that helps Australian SMEs work out whether their idea is worth taking through R&D, and prepares them to apply for R&D funding. Participants get a self-paced learning platform (Practera), a half-day virtual workshop, fortnightly guest-speaker webinars, an R&D coach drawn from CSIRO or partner universities, and a CSIRO facilitator who reviews their program exercises. Time commitment is around 2–3 hours per week. There is no cash grant attached. The program runs as sector-specific intakes (one per month), with each application window open for about four weeks. Intakes are often co-sponsored by state governments or industry bodies — e.g. the 2026 Agrifood and Agtech (WA) intake supported by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Eligibility is intentionally light: an Australian-owned and operating business with an ABN, fewer than 200 employees, and a research idea or challenge fitting the advertised sector. Since 2020 Innovate to Grow has worked with over 800 SMEs. Intellectual property remains with the participating SME at all times.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.