UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced a shortlist of 24 projects from across the UK in the first phase of its Strength in Places Fund. Each of the projects has been awarded up to £50k in early-stage funding, which will allow applicants to develop full-stage bids. Teams behind these projects will submit bids to UKRI in late 2019, with four to eight of the strongest to receive between £10m and £50m each to carry out projects designed to drive substantial economic growth in places across the UK and in diverse technology and industry sectors.
The Strength in Places Fund was announced in November 2017 as part of the Industrial Strategy. In the 2018 Budget the Government confirmed that the Fund would receive a further £120m to bring the budget for the period up to 2021/22 to £236m. Projects bring together research organisations, businesses, and local leadership on projects that have the objective of achieving significant economic impact, high-value job creation and regional growth.
A full list of the sucessfull bids can be seen on the UKRI website.