The Dairy UK guide to sourcing
the finance, equipment, products, training and knowledge
for innovation
The Dairy UK guide to sourcing
the finance, equipment, products, training and knowledge
for innovation
There is a very wide range of schemes available to encourage and support
companies which are based in Northern Ireland that wish to invest in research,
design and technology and the main contact for these is Invest Northern
Ireland on 02890 239090. In particular, the schemes that support innovation are:
http://www.investni.com/index.htm
The Product/Process Development (PPD) programme
http://www.investni.com/index/develop/research_and_development-3/near_market_product_and_process_development/product_and_process_development.htm
This aims to support smaller Northern Ireland businesses developing new
market-led products and/or more efficient manufacturing/production processes.
Expertise is available within Invest NI to assist companies to draw up a
project plan (including definition of project costs) and a grant of up to
40% will be considered on eligible project costs.
These may include: market/technical research, in-house costs, consultancy
, sub-contract, intellectual property (patents, trademarks etc), materials
(consumed during the production of a prototype or during tests/trials)
and trials and testing
The grant is dependent on the nature of the company and the product/process costs. Maximum grant for this type of project will not exceed £35,000.
In order to be eligible to apply, you have to be registered as a client of Invest NI. For further information, please contact your Invest NI client executive or:
John McAleavey, Technical Team Bedford Square, Bedford Street, Belfast BT2
7ES
E-mail: john.mcaleavey@investni.com
Phone: 028 9069 8810
SMART
http://www.investni.com/index/develop/research_and_development-3/near_market_product_and_process_development/smart.htm
The SMART award scheme is a competition that aims to help small businesses
develop new products and processes to improve their competitiveness. The
programme supports individuals and small firms (with fewer than 50 employees
worldwide) to carry out technical and commercial feasibility studies over
a 6-18 month period. The awards are set at 75% on the first £60,000
of eligible costs up to a maximum level of £45,000. One third is paid
immediately to the winners and the remainder is normally paid quarterly against
claims submitted.
Smart Micro
http://www.investni.com/index/develop/research_and_development-3/near_market_product_and_process_development/smart.htm
For smaller projects, the Smart Micro programme offers grant assistance of
up to £10,000 to help fund the development of low-cost prototypes of
products or processes which involve technical advance and/or novelty.
Paul Malcomson, Invest NI, 17 Antrim Rd, Lisburn BT28 3AL
E-mail: paul.malcomson@investni.com
Phone: 028 9069 8836
Compete
http://www.investni.com/index/develop/research_and_development-3/near_market_product_and_process_development/compete.htm
Compete aims to help local companies become more competitive by providing
support for developing innovative market-led products and manufacturing processes.
It is run in two distinct phases:
Compete is open to Northern Ireland businesses engaged in, or about to engage in, manufacturing and to internationally tradable service businesses. In order to be eligible to apply, you have to be registered as a client of Invest NI.
Andy Reilly, Invest NI, Compete Team, Bedford Square, Bedford Street, Belfast
BT2 7ES
E-mail: andy.reilly@investni.com
Phone: 028 9069 8765 Fax: 028 9043 6536
Start a Business Programme
http://www.sabp.co.uk/
The Start a Business
Programme is
FREE, is available right across Northern Ireland and provides a package of
support to anyone interested in starting
a business.
To find out more about the Programme please clickthis link.
Export
Start
http://www.investni.com/index/start/st-start-up-programmes/exportstart.htm
An Export
Start is a business with the potential to trade outside Northern
Ireland, generally exploiting near-market opportunities such as Great
Britain, and the Republic of Ireland, but also with the potential to do
business
further afield.
Support includes:
Further information: please contact your local Enterprise Northern Ireland office – see the end of this section for full details.
FP7
Invest NI can help local companies participate in the European Commission's
Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) – see the entry in the Collaboration
with European Organisation section for more details about this scheme. The
services include: advice, searching for a partner and guidance for proposal
writing.
Invest Northern Ireland, The Mount Business & Conference Centre, 2 Woodstock
Link, Belfast BT6 8DD
E-mail: europe@investni.com
Phone: 028 9073 5867
Fax: +44 (0) 28 9073 5864
Further schemes available in Northern Ireland
http://www.investni.com/index.htm
To
see the range of other schemes that are available to assist companies based
in Northern Ireland with design, research & development and technology
transfer, please contact Invest
Northern Ireland or visit the website.
Bedford Square, Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7ES
E-mail: info@investni.com
Phone: 028 9023 9090
Fax: 028 9043 6536
LOCAL INVEST NI OFFICES
To find the contact details for your local Invest NI office, please click this link.