R&D funding roundup – February 2025

A roundup of recent funding opportunities for researchers, companies and creatives.

CoSTAR LiveLab – New Frontiers in Live Performance : This call invites applications from teams with creative R&D projects focussed on the live performance sector, that would benefit from access to the CoSTAR Live Lab’s cutting-edge infrastructure to accelerate and advance their innovation activity (closes 20 March 2025).

CoSTAR National Lab – Ideate: CoSTAR ideate is a UK wide 5-month growth lab and residency programme for 24 ambitious startups and SMEs to seed new ideas whilst building the foundations for commercialisation and business growth (closes 25 March 2025).

Innovate UK Investor Partnerships – digital technologies, North East, round 2: UK registered SMEs can apply for grant funding for projects that grow their innovation activities in the digital technologies cluster in North East England, alongside private investment from selected investor partners (closes 9 April 2025).

Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2025 – 2026 Round 1: UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £9 million to fund innovation projects with businesses or not for profits (closes 9 April 2025).

UKRI Metascience AI Early Career Fellowships: A funding opportunity from the UKRI Metascience Unit for early career fellows to learn more about how the growing adoption of AI is changing the research landscape (closes 10 April 2025).

EIT Short Innovation Projects 2025: An opportunity from the European Institution of Innovation and Technology (EIT) for applications from fast-paced, results driven innovation projects with a strong emphasis on Fashion, Architecture, Cultural Heritage, Audio-Visual Media, and Gaming. Call segment 1 (single applicant) closes on 11 March 2025. Call segment 2 (consortia) closes on 11 April 2025.

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships: round 10: Funding to support ambitious research and innovation across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s remit. Applicants must be an early career researcher or innovator who is either looking to establish or transition to independence or developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting (closes 18 June).

Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants: Grants of between £1,000 and £100,000 to support individual practitioners, community and cultural organisations working on arts, libraries and museums projects. Priority is currently given to Supporting Grassroots Music, Museum Unlocking Collections and Universal Library Offers projects (open call – no end date). 

AHRC responsive mode: catalyst awards: Awards to support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, to unlock their potential, build leadership and convenor experience (open – no end date).

BFI Doc Society Features Fund: Support of up to a maximum of £150,000 per feature documentary film or immersive non-fiction project in the form of grants (open call – no end date).

British Film Council Film Festival XR Showcase Travel Grants:  Grants to help Short and Feature filmmakers, and XR creatives, travel to international events where their work is being screened (open – no end date).

Creative Growth Finance Fund: Scale-up loans for UK businesses in the Creative Industries (open – no end date).

Creative UK: Creative Enterprise Business Builder: Grants to support companies who work in moving image for storytelling, spanning film television, games, animation and immersive industries (open – no end date).

Daphne Jackson Fellowship Grants: Fellowships for those looking to return to a research career after a break of two or more years for family, health or caring reasons. The aim is to give participants the confidence and skills they need to make a successful return to research (open – no end date).

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: Funding to help businesses to partner with an academic organisation, research organisation or a Catapult, or to employ a graduate with the skills and knowledge that can help the business to innovate and grow (open – no end date).

Coming soon

CoSTAR Realtime Lab Call: Opportunities for UK based companies with expertise in software tools and pipeline development to collaborate and via access to Realtime Lab’s facilities and research expertise, push the boundaries of what is creatively and technically possible for the UK’s screen and performance sectors. (opens 17 March 2025).

BFI Doc Society Research and Development Fund: Funding to support and nurture independent non-fiction films and immersive projects by UK filmmakers: prioritising expansive, director-led storytelling. The fund backs ambitious, independent feature documentary films and immersive projects intended for theatrical release, from both emerging talent and more established directors (new applications open from 1 April 2025).

Published on 26 February 2025