Technology Strategy Board Smart Grants
Smart (and Smart in Scotland) are government grants to help small and medium sized businesses carry out research or development into innovative technologies that will lead to commercial products or processes. In England the grant is administered by the Technology Strategy Board, and Scottish Enterprise administer Smart in Scotland. An SME is defined as fewer than 250 staff and a balance sheet total of less than €43m or a turnover less than €50m.
There are three categories of grant available : Proof of Market, Proof of Concept, Development of Prototype
Proof of Market
To test that a market exists for a proposed technology product. Projects can last up to 9 months and the grant rate is 60% of project costs to a maximum grant of £25,000.
Proof of Concept
Proof of Concept projects are to support the early proof of concept work leading to a "bench-top" prototype or early alpha software code i.e. the result will not be suitable for direct commercialisation and will require a further development stage. The grant rate is 60% of the eligible project costs up to a maximum grant of £100,000. Projects can last up to 18 months.
Development of Prototype
Development projects are to support the development of innovative technology through to pre-prduction prototype stage. The grant rate is 45% for small enterprises and 35% for medium sized enterprises, both with a maximum grant value of £250,000. Projects can last up to 24 months.
General points
The grants are discretionary and competitive, which means that to maximise the chances of being funded the application has to be the best it can be, this is where we can add value. On average less than 20% of applications gain funding. We offer a variety of services and can either draft your application for you, or review your application if you have it ready, to ensure that your project proposal actually addresses the points it is being assessed on.
In addition, if desired, we can provide full project management, or a lesser service of claims management (highly recommended), to ensure that the project is delivered in time or to ensure claims are submitted regularly to maximise the business cash flow.
Please note our services cover the whole of the UK.
Research and Development Tax Credits
Research and Development Tax Credits were introduced to enable businesses to offset the cost of carrying out research and development (R&D) against corporation tax. There are ways that they can be utilised in conjunction with Smart. These options will be discussed with you as part of our consultancy service.