This competition will help to establish a portfolio of tools and services which will improve competitiveness and profitability within the UK synthetic biology industry, while also opening up new market opportunities for the providers of those tools and services.
As well as projects developing commercial offerings, we are looking for innovations intended for in-house deployment, or which may be available to others via other business models.
Proposals must be collaborative and business-led and can include companies of any size. We expect to fund mainly industrial research projects in which a business partner will generally attract up to 50% public funding for their project costs (60% for small to medium-sized enterprises - SMEs).
We expect projects to range in size from total costs of £100k to £350k, although we may consider projects outside this range. Projects should ideally last for no more than 12 months, although in certain circumstances projects lasting up to 18 months may be considered.
The competition opens on 18 November 2013. The deadline for registration is at noon on 8 January 2014 and the deadline for applications is at noon on 15 January 2014.
A briefing event for potential applicants will be held in London on 26 November 2013.
Click here for full competition details and updates.