Commercialising your research with UKRI
Foreword
Turning ideas into research, research into innovation, and innovation into societal and economic impacts is a crucial process.
At UKRI, we are proud of the role we play in supporting researchers and innovators, fostering academic-business co-creation, and facilitating opportunities for those at the cutting edge of research to move their discoveries through the commercialisation pipeline, translating research outputs into tangible products, processes and services.
Within this guide, we outline how we enable, encourage and catalyse these partnerships every step of the way, enhancing capabilities at universities and research institutes, promoting knowledge exchange between the public and private sectors, and spurring innovation.
We invite you to explore these pages to discover how UKRI can help you contribute to a vibrant and sustainable future.
Professor Charlotte Deane
UKRI Research Commercialisation Executive Champion, Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
"Turning ideas into research, research
into innovation, and innovation into societal and economic impacts is a crucial process"
Professor Charlotte Deane - UKRI Research Commercialisation Executive Champion, Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Professor Charlotte Deane - UKRI Research Commercialisation Executive Champion, Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Our vision for research commercialisation
UKRI brings together a wealth of expertise from across our nine research councils to deliver a coordinated approach that improves your research commercialisation outcomes by:
Influencing and incentivising
Cultivating an open, inclusive and collaborative culture across the UK research and innovation ecosystem that unites researchers, institutions, businesses, investors and policymakers and facilitates the advancement of early-stage ideas to national and global markets.
Maximising support
Developing our funding, products and services to ensure they maximise opportunities for research commercialisation, drive economic growth and help address significant economic and societal challenges.
Advocating
Creating clearer evidence to enhance the visibility of UK research commercialisation and better demonstrate its importance to society and the global economy.
Routes to commercialisation
Research commercialisation transforms ideas and outcomes into market-ready products, processes and services. This powerful mechanism enables us to address major societal challenges while fuelling economic growth. The route to success is shaped by the unique nature of your innovation, your target market and long-term goals.
Click on the icons below to find the best route for you
For researchers
Are you trying to grasp the commercial potential of your research, assess its market viability, develop a proof of concept or enhance your commercialisation skills? We provide comprehensive support to researchers to help maximise the commercial relevance and value of your work.
Fellowships and training
UKRI supports knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship and commercialisation through fellowships and training, cultivating the next generation of researchers and innovators. These programmes help develop essential skills and bolster the UK's research commercialisation capacity. They offer competitive funding with project support, training, career development and networking opportunities tailored to various career stages and commercialisation needs.
Find out more about fellowships and training at UKRI
Project funding
Project funding directly supports knowledge exchange, translation and commercialisation initiatives. Funding is allocated for a specific, time-limited endeavour and plays a key role in advancing research commercialisation, whether for translational research, developing proof of concept or assessing market readiness.
Find out more about project funding at UKRI
Block funding
Block funding allocates a lump sum to research institutions without requiring detailed project by project proposals in advance. It offers flexibility to the research organisation and researchers to allocate funds based on strategic priorities, responds swiftly to commercialisation opportunities, aligns with research strategies, reduces administrative burden and allows quick reallocation of funds if projects don't materialise as expected.
Find out more about block award funding at UKRI
Are you a researcher looking to maximise the impact of your work?
Visit the UKRI website to find out how our commercialisation products could help you
CASE STUDY: The 20-year journey to restore vision
Innovation challenge: Develop novel gene therapies for blindness
UKRI support: UKRI helped Professor Robin Ali and his team at UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology to revolutionise retinal disease treatment by translating their research into clinical gene therapies for blindness.
Commercialisation journey:
2007: Professor Ali and team launch world's first clinical trial for inherited retinal disease gene therapy
2008: Early results show improved retinal sensitivity and night vision in the first three patients
2015: Longer-term results confirm benefits lasting at least three years post single-gene therapy administration, establishing proof-of-principle for retinal gene therapy in humans
2015: UCL spins out Athena Vision to develop eye disease gene therapies. Athena partners with MeiraGTx to commercialise treatment with an initial investment of $20m
2016: MeiraGTx acquires Athena Vision to enhance its gene therapy technology portfolio
2018: MeiraGTx receives funding from Innovate UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support the development of a next-generation gene-therapy manufacturing platform
2019: MeiraGTx collaborates with Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc, receiving $100m upfront and $390m in future milestone payments
2022: MeiraGTx announces a new gene therapy manufacturing facility in Shannon, Ireland, set to create 100 jobs initially, with potential for over 300.
2023: MeiraGTx is valued at approximately $338m.
For partnerships between academia and business
Partnerships and collaborations between academia and business are hugely beneficial to both parties in driving research progress while providing insight, technical capability and additional capacity. Our products and services are designed to help your relationships flourish.
Funding for strengthening collaboration
UKRI supports capacity building, fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange and research commercialisation for economic and societal development in the UK and beyond. We provide support to higher education providers in England, working closely with colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as sector-specific and regional clusters.
Find out more about funding for strengthening collaboration at UKRI
Collaborative doctoral training
Our collaborative training programmes boost doctoral researcher skills and knowledge, address real-world challenges and strengthen ties between academia and business.
They boost collaboration between universities and external organisations, ensuring research relevance while giving businesses the freedom to lead projects with their chosen academic partner.
Our programmes equip doctoral students with valuable industry-relevant skills applicable in academia, industry and beyond while also providing comprehensive training and professional development.
Ultimately, our collaborative training programmes enable research outcomes to deliver real-world impact through practical applications that benefit individuals, organisations and wider society.
Collaborative programmes and industry-led research
These programmes foster collaboration between academia, industry and other sector partners, driving commercialisation to address industry needs and advance economic, technological and social progress.
They bring together the unique skills of experts from a diverse range of disciplines to tackle complex challenges and align research with practical industry requirements.
Our programmes also enhance the skills of UK researchers by providing insights into industry practices and valuable transferrable skills that are highly sought after in the job market.
Find out more about funding for collaborative programmes and industry-led research at UKRI
Are you looking to establish or enhance a partnership between academia and business? Visit the UKRI website to find out how we can help you or visit the konfer website to view live opportunities
CASE STUDY: Harnessing nature to advance sustainable chemical manufacturing
The innovation challenge: Develop cleaner, energy-efficient chemical manufacturing processes
UKRI support: UKRI has supported Professor Kylie Vincent and
Dr Holly Reeve at every stage of the commercialisation journey for their HydRegen technology, from fundamental research to manufacturing readiness.
Commercialisation journey:
2005: Professor Kylie Vincent secures BBSRC funding for fundamental research on hydrogenase, unveiling its potential for cleaning up fine chemical manufacturing
2013: HydRegen technology wins the Royal Society of Chemistry's Emerging Technology competition
2014: A Business Interaction Voucher from BBSRC's Metals in Biology Network supports a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline to further develop and test HydRegen technology
2016: Professor Vincent's group secures £2.9 million funding from EPSRC, Innovate UK and BBSRC’s Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst, fostering industrial collaboration and building an intellectual property portfolio
2020: Dr Holly Reeve becomes HydRegen's Entrepreneurial Lead on Innovate UK's ICURe scheme to explore markets and test business ideas.
Sustained 5-year translation funding via the IB Catalyst scheme allowed us to substantially de-risk the technology within the University setting and explore a wide range of potential applications for our catalysts, making our technology much more attractive to investors when we spun out from the University
2021: HydRegen formally spins out from the University of Oxford's Department of Chemistry
2022: HydRegen secures £385,000 funding from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund to scale up the platform
2023: HydRegen and the University of Nottingham secure funding from BBSRC, EPSRC, and Innovate UK’s sustainable biomanufacturing feasibility competition to address manufacturing readiness challenges.
For business
Innovative businesses grow twice as fast than those who don’t1
We provide a range of funding and support to drive innovation and commercialisation in UK business.
1 NESTA (2009) ‘Business Growth and Innovation: The wider impact of rapidly growing firms in the UK city regions’. Available here
Business innovation funding
At UKRI we fuel business growth by nurturing new products, processes and services. Our dynamic funding offers a host of benefits to businesses of all sizes:
- R&D support: Our funding initiatives help drive new products, enhance processes and pioneer innovative technologies
- Collaborate with experts: Forge partnerships with top research organisations, leveraging academic brilliance to elevate your R&D projects
- Startup boost: Early-stage funding empowers startups, turning innovative concepts into market-ready products and services
- Market exploration: Explore commercial potential through our programmes, evaluating the real-world applications of UK research
- Proof of concept: Validate your ideas and technologies with our funding, ensuring viability before scaling up
- Tailored support: Tailor-made funding aligns with sector-specific needs, addressing unique challenges head-on
- Innovation challenges: Participate in challenges sparking creativity, proposing ground-breaking solutions to specific problems
- Skill enhancement: Raise your innovation game with training, workshops and capacity-building opportunities.
Are you embarking on your commercial business journey and don’t know where to start?
Visit our Innovation Hub to find out how we can support you in setting up, expanding and scaling your commercial venture
Are you an established business looking to expand your commercial horizons?
Visit the UKRI website to find out how our business innovation funding could support you
CASE STUDY: Revolutionising mental health assessments with Egrist
The Innovation challenge: Create user-friendly software empowering UK healthcare professionals to conduct precise mental health risk assessments, eliminating the need for extensive training
UKRI support: Dr Fif Buckingham and his Aston University team harnessed ESRC's Health Disparities and Inequalities grant to revolutionise their Egrist technology. With a fresh decision-making flow integrated into the software, Egrist Ltd, bolstered by two grants from Innovate UK's ICURe programme and a follow-on fund, emerged as an independent entity
Impact:
- Egrist, one of just four UK specialist mental health datasets, empowers thousands of UK health and social care workers to safely conduct mental health risk assessments with the need for extensive training
- It has already been used by 3,500 UK mental health practitioners and operates 24/7, 365 days a year
- Egrist has facilitated 2.5 million clinical risk judgments in 550,000 assessments for 240,000 patients relating to issues including suicide, self-harm, harm to others, self-neglect and vulnerability
Find out more about Dr Fif Buckingham’s commercialisation plans for Egrist
Separating research and development from commercialisation was difficult. Nearly all GRiST funding was through grants with very different goals than developing and selling the software…it changed when we obtained two Innovate UK ICURe grants and significant follow-on funding
For investors
We’re the UK’s largest public investor in research and innovation. Every year we invest £8 billion in extraordinary people and their game-changing R&D ideas to create significant returns for society, the economy and the environment.
Solving problems, creating opportunities
Sitting at the heart of the UK's research and innovation ecosystem, we're harnessing its full power to tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges and create opportunities for positive impact across all sectors and disciplines.
Advanced materials and manufacturing
AI, digital and advanced computing
Semiconductors
Quantum, electronics and photonics
Telecoms
Medicine
Pharmaceuticals
Nutrition
Critical national infrastructure
Defence and security
Food supply chain
Biotechnology
Bioinformatics and genomics
Engineering biology
Biodiversity
Energy and fuel
Infrastructure
Net zero and clean growth
Agriculture and food
Creative
Textiles
Fashion
Space
Transport
Finance
Why partner with UKRI?
Align with world-class problem solvers: We invest in remarkable individuals and high-potential early-stage businesses capable of transforming visionary ideas into ground-breaking solutions. Establish a competitive advantage by gaining early access to world-class problem solvers and aligning your investments with their proprietary technologies and products.
Reduce risk: We fund and support innovation, taking on ground-breaking technical and scientific challenges, while you focus on the commercial and market risks that you're best placed to understand.
Grow, scale and diversify: UKRI covers a broad spectrum of disciplines and focuses on areas of strategic importance to the UK economy and society. Strengthen your portfolio businesses, foster growth and scaling potential and diversify your investments by tapping into opportunities in key sectors such as AI, high-value manufacturing, biotech, energy, healthcare and medicine.
Shape future markets and enhance global competitiveness: UKRI provides a unique gateway that connects you with like-minded communities and networks to leverage syndication opportunities at a local, regional, national and international level. What’s more, this all-important exposure provides you with deep insights and intelligence into emerging trends, technologies and market needs – all of which are key in helping you establish and maintain a competitive edge.
Enhance your corporate reputation and drive ESG goals: We invest in research and innovation to address major societal challenges. Align your investments with mission-led and socially responsible innovation that delivers societal impact as well as financial returns.
Drive nationwide success: Economic growth is mission critical to UKRI. And when we say we're committed to creating nationwide impact, that means in every corner of the UK. When you partner with UKRI, your investments bolster regional resilience by helping cutting-edge ideas, burgeoning start-ups and scaling businesses thrive. In return you gain a more diverse portfolio and unprecedented access to previously untapped potential.
Partnership opportunities
UKRI offers a range of opportunities to help maximise your investment goals.
- Catapult Network: Spanning more than 50 UK locations and comprising nine technology and innovation centres, the Catapult Network represents the vanguard of technological advancement and market innovation. Specialising in the transformation of ideas into market-ready products and services, the network offers you early access to ground-breaking research and development.
If you’re looking to build valuable partnerships and exchange knowledge with leading industry experts, researchers and entrepreneurs, then the Catapult Network is for you.
As an investor, the network will help to diversify and de-risk your investment portfolio, positioning you for early market entry to maximise potential returns.
Find out more about investing in the Catapult Network.
- Innovation Clusters and Launchpads: Our innovation clusters and launchpads offer investors unparalleled access to concentrated areas of dynamic startups and high-growth businesses across the UK.
Developed in collaboration with industry and public sector leaders, they focus on leveraging local strengths to enhance SMEs' job creation, growth and productivity potential.
Tailored to address specific innovation challenges, they drive key government agendas for regional development and economic equality.
For investors looking to strengthen their portfolio with leading-edge businesses, our clusters and launchpads provide direct connections to burgeoning innovators and disruptive technology industries in all corners of the UK.
Find out more about investing with our Innovation Clusters and Launchpads.
- Innovation Loans Future Economy Programme: If you're an investor looking to seize growth opportunities to maximise your investment portfolio, then look no further than our Innovation Loans Future Economy programme.
Targeted specifically at UK-registered SMEs engaged in late-stage R&D projects that promise to introduce (or innovatively re-introduce) ground-breaking products, processes or services, this programme presents a pivotal opportunity to back high growth potential scale-ups that not only offer a clear path to commercial success, but far surpass current market offerings.
With a focus on scaling over starting, the Innovation Loans Future Economy programme is perfect for investors seeking:
- lower-risk investments
- products and services that tackle a specific issue
- a clear USP
- timely solutions that benefit a well-defined target market
Find out more about our Innovation Loans Future Economy Programme
- Investor Partnerships Future Economy Programme: These partnerships offer investors a way to collaborate directly with innovators and other investors. This collaborative approach not only spreads risk - it also amplifies potential returns by pooling resources and expertise to back high-potential ventures.
Find out more about the Investor Partnerships Future Economy Programme
- Research & Innovation Campuses, Incubators, Accelerators and other Large-Scale Critical Infrastructure: Investing in these UKRI infrastructures provides a tangible asset and a stake in a vibrant ecosystem of innovation. These environments nurture startups and research projects, offering investors a diverse portfolio of potential breakthroughs and market leaders.
Find out more about investing in our Research & Innovation Campuses, Incubators, Accelerators and other Large-Scale Critical Infrastructure
- Skills Exchange, Training and Capability Development: By supporting skills and training initiatives, investors can help cultivate the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. This ensures a sustained flow of investable projects and businesses while aligning with CSR and ESG goals.
Find out more about supporting skills exchange, training and capability development
- UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S): UKI2S offers investors an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of some of the most promising and dynamic science and technology startups. As a seed fund, it targets early-stage ventures, providing high-risk but potentially high-reward investment opportunities.
Find out more about UKI2S
- UK Research Partnership Investment Fund: This fund is designed to foster collaboration between universities and private investors. Investing here means contributing to large-scale research projects with the potential for significant commercial and societal impact, leveraging the expertise of academic research for commercial success.
Find out more about the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund
Investing in success
Case study: SugaRox
Market need: Increase productivity, resilience, sustainability and profitability of crop production
Solution: A bio-stimulant technology platform developed by Rothamsted Research and Oxford University spin-out SugaROx has demonstrated increased wheat yields between 12 and 22%. Field trials also indicate remarkable results for barley, millet and sorghum.
Investment: UKI2S and Regenerative Ventures (RV) were pivotal in helping SugaROx secure £1.4 million funding during its Seed Round. A further £850k investment has enabled platform registration and scale-up activities.
Case study: Tokamak Energy
Market need: Deliver a clean, secure, affordable and readily available energy source to global populations by 2030
Solution: Tokamak Energy is pioneering compact and efficient fusion reactors using advanced technology and high-temperature superconductors. Their innovation combines cutting-edge magnetic confinement techniques and materials science to overcome traditional fusion energy challenges.
Investment: The UK Atomic Energy Authority spin-off has raised significant investment totalling $250m, which includes funding from UK government and Innovate UK. UKI2S was the founder investor in Tokamak Energy, providing a £25k pathfinder investment to help shape initial thinking as to how a fusion neutron device might be developed commercially.
Case study: Advanced Electric Machines (AEM)
The challenge: Offer the most sustainable electric motor technologies on the market while keeping rare earths and copper in the ground without compromising on performance
Solution: University of Newcastle spin-out AEM has manufactured a range of electric motor technologies that removes rare earth magnets from the motor design, simultaneously improving efficiency, increasing performance and lowering cost. The rotor magnet has been replaced with electrical steel and can swap the copper coils in the stator with highly compressed aluminium windings. The materials used mean that AEM's motor is fully recyclable at end-of-life, leading to less e-waste.
Investment: Following a £2.9m Innovate UK grant and completion of the seed funding investment round in 2019, AEM secured a new £23m investment in late 2023 to scale up production capacity at its facility in the North East, deliver on ambitious growth plans to establish a global sales footprint and bolster R&D capabilities. The Series A funding round was led by Legal & General Capital and Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital with significant additional investment from Par Equity. Other investors included Northstar Ventures, the Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 and Turquoise Capital LLP.
Interested in partnering with UKRI?
Click on the links provided above to find out more about specific partnership opportunities. Alternatively, if you have any other questions or queries about working with UKRI, feel free to email us at commercialisation@ukri.org
Keep up to date with activity across our Investor Network
Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest news and events across our investment network.
Beyond financial support
At UKRI we recognise that there are other crucial facets involved in maximising the commercial potential of research than just funding. UKRI offers a range of initiatives beyond the provision of funding to support you in commercialising your research.
Research campuses and clusters
UKRI's research campuses and hubs create dynamic ecosystems that drive collaboration, innovation and research translation. They help drive scientific discovery, technological advancement and economic prosperity through:
- Collaboration and interdisciplinary research - Our hubs foster diverse collaboration, leading to innovative solutions by exchanging ideas and expertise across disciplines
- Knowledge exchange - They provide spaces for researchers, industry experts, policymakers and stakeholders to interact, accelerating research translation into practical applications, policies and commercial products
- Entrepreneurship - Hosting startups and innovation hubs, we help nurture entrepreneurship by offering resources, mentorship and networking opportunities. Our hubs incubate research discoveries into market-ready products and services
- Economic growth - Our campuses and hubs drive regional and national economic growth by fostering innovation. Successful research outcomes lead to new industries, job creation and enhanced global competitiveness
- Talent development - Our diverse ecosystems help attract and retain talented individuals, offering a collaborative and cutting-edge environment ideal for career advancement in research and innovation
- Addressing grand challenges - Our campuses and hubs bring experts from various fields together to address multidisciplinary challenges including climate change, healthcare and sustainable technologies, enhancing collective efforts on a global scale
- Infrastructure and facilities - They provide cutting-edge facilities, equipment and infrastructure, enabling researchers to push the boundaries of current knowledge through experiments and simulations
- Global competitiveness – Our hubs and campuses enhance the UK's research and innovation ecosystem, attracting international collaborations and investment, bolstering the nation's position as a global science hub
Find out more about our research campuses and clusters
Business development services
Our business development services play a key role in facilitating the commercialisation of research by providing specialised support, resources and opportunities. We offer a wide range of business development services, including:
- personalised one-to-one coaching
- mentoring
- creating business models
- identifying market opportunities and developing go-to-market strategies
- networking and partnering support
- product development guidance
- scalability
By nurturing innovation, providing a conducive environment and connecting research with practical applications, our services play a vital role in driving economic growth, fostering entrepreneurship and ensuring that research outcomes have a tangible impact on society and the economy.
Find out more about business development services at UKRI
Access to facilities and infrastructure
We provide access to high-quality facilities. Through our infrastructure and facilities, UKRI address many of the barriers that early-stage companies face in terms of equipment costs, technical expertise and research capabilities. Our facilities offer access to a supportive ecosystem and cutting-edge resources that empower and accelerate your journey towards research commercialisation.
By accessing our facilities, you will benefit from a range of unique opportunities, including:
- Cutting-edge laboratory facilities with enhanced R&D capabilities
- Support with prototyping including controlled environments for testing and refinement
- Access to collaboration, knowledge exchange and expert guidance from other partners sharing the facilities
- Significant cost savings and efficiencies
- Rapid idea translation
- Opportunities to improve product development and manufacturing processes
- Process optimisation and data analysis
Find out more about accessing UKRI facilities
Business and policy engagement
Business and policy engagement can be key to successful research commercialisation. It helps bridge the gap between the research community, industry, government and other policy stakeholders and promotes effective engagement to help shape decision making around regulation, university spin-outs and mobility among other key topics and themes. We’re actively supporting the right regulatory environment for innovation and future industries to thrive.
Find out more about business and policy engagement at UKRI
Do you need access to expertise, state of the art equipment, facilities and networks to progress your innovation journey?
Visit the UKRI website to find out more
CASE STUDY: Transforming creative ideas into commercial success
The innovation challenge: Maximise InGAME's creative potential for commercial success
UKRI support: AHRC’s creative industries clusters
programme empowered InGAME's
commercialisation efforts
Commercial support:
- Market insight: the creative industries clusters programme enabled InGAME to conduct in-depth market research, identifying emerging trends and consumer demands
- Business development: InGAME received mentoring and guidance to develop robust business strategies, helping them refine their monetisation models and establish revenue streams for their creative endeavours
- IP protection: with support from the programme, InGAME adopted robust IP strategies to safeguard their innovations
- Investor relations: the programme facilitated new connections and funding opportunities, leading to increased investment and scalability.
InGAME’s commercial Impact:
- 40 per cent revenue increase within one year of the creative industries clusters programme
- 30 per cent growth in the IP portfolio, securing patents and trademarks for their innovative technologies
- Successfully expanded its market reach, entering new territories and securing global contracts
- The partnership with the creative industries clusters programme boosted investor confidence, resulting in a 50 per cent increase in project investment
Find out more about InGAME’s commercial success as part of the creative industries cluster programme
Built with Shorthand