Maximising the impact of you innovation project.

1. www.ktn-uk.org
Maximising the impact of you innovation
project
Sustainable Innovation
Fund
September 2021 Briefing

2. Content
• SIF Stories
• News
• Funding competitions
• Events
• Support programmes
• Resources
• Contact us

3. Beyond the Funding: Sign up to
hear from us
KTN is leading on a programme of support for
funded projects to drive collaboration with
industry and new partners to build better
innovation communities, support adoption and
diffusion, and maximise the impact of this
funding. Sign up to hear about upcoming events
and other activity.
Sign up here

4. #SIFStories
Showcasing projects funded through the Sustainable
Innovation Fund which worked to nourish ideas and
help turn them into game-changing solutions; so that
the UK can recover from the pandemic, stronger,
greener and fairer.

8. New Innovate UK blog
Jay Wilson, Impact and Performance Manager for the Impact and Performance Manager
for Health and Life Sciences projects within The Sustainable Innovation Fund, talks about
some of the incredibly innovative health projects in this Innovate UK blog: Sustainable
Innovation Fund from alpacas to algoithims.

9. KTN is working with Innovate UK to increase the impact of the Sustainable Innovation Fund
through communications and engagement. If you have news you’d like to share, or you
would like to be a part of our SIF Stories campaign, then please email the KTN SIF Team.
What’s next for you?

10. News

11. Join thousands of UK
businesses tackling climate
change
Start your Net Zero journey today

12. Could you be a
#OneStepGreener Ambassador?
Become the voice of the UK public on climate
change and will work closely with the government
in the lead up to COP26 .
Apply here

13. Climate
Challenge Cup
The Climate Challenge Cup is an exciting international competition
to showcase transformative civic research partnerships between
research bodies, civic organisations and local communities to
combat climate change. The competition is open for applications
and closes on 24th September > www.climatechallengecup.com

14. The Seed Stage: 1,000+
investors, one pitch
The Seed Stage is a demo day without the
accelerator. We leverage efficient process and
investor FOMO to optimise your round and
generate term sheets. We're built from within the
industry and have a founder NPS score of 100.
Successful applicants will be invited to pitch at
the remote demo day in front of the most
esteemed VC funds and angels in the Europe.
Apply to pitch on the 20th September at 6pm at
https://www.theseedstage.co.uk/.

15. Funding Competitions

16. Innovate UK Smart Grants: August | Deadline: 6 October 2021, 11:00am
Innovate UK is investing up to £25 million in the best game-changing and commercially
viable innovative or disruptive ideas > apply here.
Women in Innovation Awards | Deadline: 6 October 2021, 11:00am
Winners will receive a £50,000 grant and a bespoke package of mentoring, coaching and
business support > apply here.
ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging: Business-led R&D | Deadline: 8th
September 2021, 11:00am
This competition will fund ambitious R&D projects with the potential to significantly impact
the 2025 UK Plastic Pact targets and address widely known problems related to plastic
packaging for consumer products > apply here.
More funding opportunities here.
Funding

17. Events

18. Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund: Competition Launch
on 7th September
The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) will help shape the future of the
gas and electricity networks through innovation. With funding from
Ofgem through the price control mechanism, the SIF is expected to
invest around £450 million in energy network innovation by 2026.
Digital Business Meetup - Digital Health on 8th September
Digital innovation in health, social care and wellbeing are
transforming and accelerating the growth of the health ecosystem
and industry. From wearable devices and apps that enable users to
live healthier lifestyles to products and services that enhance
efficiencies of healthcare delivery, there is a growing potential for
SMEs with innovative ideas to contribute to making medicine more
personalised and precise.
Design Thinking for AI – Mini Forum on 16th September
Discover how design thinking methods can help overcome cultural
barriers to change and unlock business model innovation in a
professional services firm.
Photonics for...Renewable Energy on 16th September
The Photonics for… 2021 webinar series will look at photonics
technologies in a variety of sectors and applications.
Women in Technology: Empowering Innovation - Funding:
What you need to know on 23rd September
The Women in Technology: Empowering Innovation series that aims
to bring women in enabling technologies together to discuss the
challenges they face throughout their career and share experiences.
Bioeconomy Cluster Builder: The Bioeconomy - An
Investor’s Perspective on 30th September
This Bioeconomy Cluster Builder online event will provide a detailed
insight into the way in which companies who specialise in investing in
the bioeconomy sector go about their business. There will be
presentations from a number of companies who will provide a wide
range of perspectives from the investor community.
Digital Business Meetup – Sustainability on 20th October
If you are an innovative SME with new ideas and solutions that can
bring new positive change to the environment, join us for this event to
hear about the latest funding and support opportunities available.
Events

19. Support Programmes

20. Innovate UK Edge
Exploit business
innovation to grow
and scale
Source funding &
finance to grow and
scale
Enter new markets
to grow
and scale
Protect & harness your IP,
improve innovation
management and access
the innovation ecosystem
globally through their
expertise & networks
Find the best option and
get investment ready with
their help, to propel your
growth.
Connections and guidance
to expand into vertical &
international markets and
achieve scale.
All SMEs receiving Innovate UK grant funding are contacted by an EDGE advisor. If you haven’t engaged with
Innovate UK EDGE before then please reach out to your Monitoring Officer or Impact and Performance Manager.

21. Knowledge Transfer
Partnerships: 2021 to 2022
Deadline: 29th September 2021 11:00am
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships build long-
lasting connections and collaborations between
the working and learning worlds. Graduates,
businesses and academic institutions come
together to solve challenges through innovation.

22. Resources

23. Innovation Development
• Accelerators & Incubators in the UK – a creative
commons resource of UK programmes.
• Innovation Networks - Innovation programme to
bring together stakeholders across a technology
theme. To promote a shared understanding on
emerging technologies cross sector.
• Tech Nation UK Startup Ecosystem
• Innovation Development Resource Library - a tool
to plan the innovation development journey.
Supplemented with resources to help address
activities and stages of commercialisation
• British Library Business & IP Centres - access to
training, IP and market research resources
Funding & Innovation Development
Funding
• UKRI funding finder - online guides
and support before you apply and
preparing an application
• KTN Good Application Guide - a guide
on how to write a successful Innovate
UK grant application
• Pitch Guide - a guide on how to
prepare and an present an investment
pitch
• British Business Bank Finance Hub

24. • Innovate UK EDGE - regional 1:1 Business support enable ambitious, innovative SMEs to
accelerate their growth and achieve
• Catapults – provide businesses with access to their expertise and facilities, enabling them
to test, demonstrate and improve their ideas.
• Growth Hubs - promote and deliver business support based on the regional needs in
England
• Scottish Enterprise – works with business to help overcome challenges, enhance
business practices, explore new markets and opportunities to grow your Scottish
company
• Invest NI - helps new and existing businesses to compete internationally, and by
attracting new investment to Northern Ireland.
• Business Wales – provides advice and guidance you need
Regional & Thematic SME and Business Support

25. Institute for Manufacturing launches Sustainability Association to drive change in
manufacturing
The Sustainability Association, launched by the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) at the
University of Cambridge and supported by the KTN’s Manufacturing team, is a membership
group focused on ensuring manufacturing leaders can drive sustainable change in their
organisations.
Global Expert Mission technical reports
The Global Expert Missions play an important role in building strategic partnerships,
providing deep insight into the opportunities for UK innovation and shaping future
programmes. Our new AI in Germany technical report from the recent online Mission is now
published online.
Resources Continued…

26. About KTN

27. KTN exists to connect
innovators with new partners
and new opportunities
beyond their existing thinking –
accelerating ambitious ideas
into real-world solutions.

28. ©KTN All rights reserved | www.ktn-uk.org
Talk through your next steps in your innovation journey
sustainableinnovationfund@ktn-uk.org
Contact us