Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme is aimed at supporting SMEs and the most innovative businesses to progress their ideas toward commercialisation.
Each Launchpad region benefits from various forms of support such as funding for research and development, opportunities for networking and collaboration, and access to innovation specialists including Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs).
Innovate UK has opened eleven Launchpads. In 2022 two pilots were opened for Liverpool City Region and Teesside, through which £15 million of funding was provided. In 2023 a further eight Launchpads were rolled out to support clusters across the UK, into which an initial £16 million of funding has been offered to support over 100 new projects. During 2024, further investment of up to £44 million will be made available across these eight clusters. Most recently, an additional Launchpad of up to £5 million was announced in Spring Budget 2024 for mid and north Wales.
There are nine Launchpad competitions currently running, these are national competitions that are open to any business.