An Innovation Voucher gives you up to £5,000 to work with an external expert for the first time. It allows you to gain new knowledge to help your business innovate, develop and grow.

That expert help could be advice on a novel idea, on using design within your business or on how to make the most of intellectual property (IP).

The national Innovation Voucher scheme gives you access to a wide range of expert suppliers. They include universities, further education colleges, research and technology organisations, Catapult centres and technical, design and IP consultancies. For instance, equipment.data.ac.uk is an excellent source of advice on university research equipment.

You may wish to contact University of West London, to understand how they can help you with this. Matt Snowden, Head of Enterprise Operations at UWL may be contacted on 020 8209 4326 or Matt.Snowden@uwl.ac.uk

Innovation Vouchers are allocated after a ballot from all applications. If successful, you will be awarded an innovation Voucher of up to £5,000 to engage an expert of your choice. You can spend more if you wish, but  only up to £5,000 will be reimbursed – and you must pay any VAT due.

Applying for an Innovation Voucher

The application process is online through the Innovate UK website. You can apply at any time, with around 100 vouchers being awarded every three months – in October, January, April and July.

In making an application, you must register with the online network _connect, entering your business details. You can also register in advance.  _connect also gives you access to a wide range of information and useful contacts.

You then need to answer a few short questions about your idea, the impact it could have on your business and the kind of supplier that you might consider working with.

This should take around 30 minutes, provided you are clear from the start what you want to do.

The process will also ask about the size of your business and any public support you may have received in the last three years. That’s so you can check that you meet the eligibility rules.
 

You are eligible for Innovation vouchers if:

• you are a start-up, micro, small or medium-sized business located in the UK
• it’s the first time you have worked with your chosen knowledge supplier
• you need specialist help to meet a business challenge
• you have not previously had an Innovation Voucher from Innovate UK (previously the Technology Strategy Board).

An Innovation Voucher will give you experience of working with external experts as well as helping you to move forward with a particular idea. It can also help you think through an idea that might lead you to apply for other support from Innovate UK.

Innovation Vouchers cannot be used to fund staff training or to buy equipment, off-the-shelf software, or marketing or branding items. Nor can they be used to source standard business advice.