Innovate UK Smart Grant

Innovate UK Smart Grant sits under Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency within UK Research and Innovation. It is a UK innovation route for high-impact projects and, when active, covered all sectors rather than a narrow thematic list. The programme is currently paused from January 2025, with no Smart rounds listed for 2025/26 and a replacement pilot launched in spring 2025. The live eligibility profile points to UK-registered companies, with at least one SME in the project, and the idea must be entirely new to the market. The programme is built for commercialisation work with a clear demand case and a realistic route to market, rather than for general research or early concept exploration. The current pause means applicants should treat it as a dormant route rather than a live competition. For applicants, Smart was strongest as a quick-turn innovation route for SMEs with a clear market need and a defensible plan to scale. Until the programme returns in a new form, the relevant takeaway is status rather than timing: this is a paused Innovate UK route, not a live call.

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