EPG funding

Enterprise Project Group (EPG) funding is available to support academic staff, research staff and research students in creating impact from their work.

EPG funding aims to accelerate the creation of social, cultural and economic impact through research-informed knowledge exchange

The dates for upcoming funding calls are available on the calendar. If all funding is allocated, deadlines may be withdrawn.

For more information about the application process as well as recently funded activity, please visit the How to apply and EPG projects pages.

EPG criteria

EPG funding supports a wide range of activity, including:

  • Bought in specialist expertise / consultancy
  • Stakeholder engagement activities
  • Public engagement activities as a route to impact generation
  • Development of research for commercialisation and impact
  • Enterprise training for academics/ researchers
  • Market analysis and business case development
  • Project specific marketing materials
  • Proof of concept / prototype development
  • Secondments – people movement in / out
  • CPD development as a route to impact
  • IPR protection

Projects may include more than one of the above activities.

To see what EPG has previously funded, take a look at the Recent EPG-funded projects page.

EPG are particularly keen to support short-term secondment activity which should:

  • involve the secondment of academic or research staff into external organisations, or the secondment of industrial or other research-user personnel into the University to work alongside academics
  • comprise clear knowledge transfer with the potential to generate impact for both the academic team and the collaborating organisation
  • include a letter of support from any collaborating organisation, detailing their commitment to the project

The EPG cannot fund research activities or dissemination to academic audiences.

The EPG administers two funds for enterprise activities:

  • The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) which is administered by Research England to support HEIs to work with businesses, public and third sector organisations, community bodies and the wider public. Activity that can help the country’s economic growth and productivity is currently a high priority and will continue to be so.
  • The EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) which supports the creation of an exploitation culture and realise impact from research that resides within the research remit of the EPSRC.

 

If EPG funding is not available, there are plenty of other funding sources to explore. Some are outlined in our Sources of alternative funding document.