WIREDGOV

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million to work with partners on projects to provide affordable and accessible healthcare in India.

Innovate UK has up to £1 million for UK businesses to collaborate with partners in India and Europe on healthcare projects targeted at the Indian market.

The investment comes through the Newton Fund. This aims to harness the best of UK research and innovation to create positive development in middle income countries and forms part of the UK government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment.

It is part of the GlobalStars programme run by the EUREKA network. The programme allows EUREKA countries and non-partner countries to collaborate on research, development and innovation activities across various technology areas and markets.

UK and Indian partnerships

India is a rising global power with a rapidly growing economy. Its large, diverse market offers many opportunities for UK businesses and research organisations.

By working together, there are clear benefits for both countries – strengthening innovation, creating new investment opportunities and boosting trade links.

Joint investment in science and innovation is set to grow between the countries to around £400 million by 2021. This will enable organisations to take on the challenges India faces including agriculture, the environment, climate change and health.

Supporting more affordable healthcare provision

The aim of this competition is to bring forward innovative solutions that tackle the challenges of healthcare provision in India and make this more affordable.

We are looking for projects that are:

• economical
• sustainable
• user focused

Specifically, we are championing a ‘One Health’ approach, which seeks to provide a holistic and integrated healthcare system that improves the patient experience.

Projects should focus on:

• disease prevention and control
• point-of-care diagnostics
• the treatment of infectious and chronic diseases
• improved treatment outcomes
• efficient use of health resources

As a UK business you must submit 2 proposals for your project:

• an individual application via the Innovation Funding Service
• a joint proposal with your project partners via the EUREKA site

Competition information

• UK businesses can submit their individual applications from 13 August 2018 and must register by midday on 27 September 2018 in order to apply
• joint proposals must be submitted by 1 October 2018
• UK-based businesses of any size are eligible
• you must collaborate with at least one Indian organisation and have India as the primary market for your innovation. You can also collaborate with organisations from Flanders, the Netherlands and Spain
• total project costs can be between £350,000 and £450,000, with a maximum grant of £300,000 available to UK project partners. UK businesses could get up to 70% of their costs
• projects should start by 1 April 2019 and last up to 2 years
• projects must meet ODA and EUREKA GlobalStars requirements
• you can register to attend a briefing event on 22 August 2018 where you can find out more about the competition and how to make a quality application