Translational funding

Translational funding is used to ‘bridge the gap’ in development between early stage technology resulting from university research and its commercialisation.

The funding can help develop and support your opportunity by de-risking the project to potential commercial partners therefore making it more attractive. Some funding of this type is available from EI, but there are also many other translational funding streams available for academics looking to commercialise their research.

Fund	Details	Call status
BBSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) supports translational and commercialisation activities as well as engagement with external organisations through proof of principle/concept studies, market research and secondments/placements. Contact: bbsrc.iaa@ei.ed.ac.uk.	Call currently closed. Dates for the next call will be announced in the 2024/25 academic year
beLAB1407	beLAB1407 provides drug discovery resources and expertise, thereby significantly reducing timelines and ensuring a greater success rate for emerging therapeutic concepts to reach preclinical and clinical proof-of-concept. We catalyse innovation to create sustainable companies.	Contact: Mark Craighead Rolling deadlines
EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding is available to develop impact from engineering and physical sciences research through support to activities such as collaboration with external organisations, secondments, travel and events. Contact: EPSRC IAA	Review the EPSRC IAA page. Innovation Competition – applications open on an ongoing basis for Early Career Researcher. Open Call - 21 November 2024 application deadline. Option to register your idea by 21 October to join our online Q&A sessions. Scottish Cross-Institutional Funding Call – 14 November 2024 application deadline. Travel and Events funding - applications open on an ongoing basis.
ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding is available for activities aiming to develop impact from social science research, including collaborative projects, seed funding for industry engagement, secondments, and challenge-led workshops. Contact: Knowledge Exchange Office	Review ERO pages for current information on deadlines for collaborative projects and secondments/seed funding
Harmonised Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)	NEW: Funding for translational projects of £20k to £60k, for up to 12 months, that include at least two researchers representing separate IAA council remits (BBSRC, EPSRC, MRC/Wellcome Trust). Contact: harmonised.iaa@ei.ed.ac.uk	Call currently closed.
Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF)	ISCF is part of a £4.7 billion government investment in transformative research and innovation to respond to the Grand Challenges set within the UK’s Industrial Strategy: AI and Data Economy, Ageing Society, Clean Growth, Future of Mobility. Through a series of targeted funding calls, ISCF supports collaborations between industry and academia to tackle these challenges, with an ultimate aim to increase UK productivity, economic growth and global competitiveness whilst also benefitting wider society. Contact: Caroline Woodside (ISCF Project Manager)	Rolling deadlines
Innovate UK	Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, is part of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI). Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas, including those from the UK’s world-class research base. To this end, Innovate UK’s funding programmes often facilitate collaborations between companies and research organisations, such as universities. Review our Innovate UK Bid Development Toolkit	Rolling deadlines
MRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)	Medical Research Council (MRC) funding support for translation and commercialisation of biomedical projects that have a high potential to attract follow on translational funding, investment or industrial partnership. Contact: Lorraine Jackson	MRC Impact Acceleration Account No live call at present MRC IAA Engagement Fund Open call
STFC Knowledge Exchange Institutional Award	The Science and Technology Facilities Council (SFTC) fund aims to increase, advance and accelerate the achievement of Impact to UK plc from STFC-funded research via industry/stakeholder engagement and commercialisation activities. Contact: Craig Sheridan	Call currently closed

This article was published on 2024-07-01