Follow-on funding is designed to help demonstrate the commercial potential of ideas arising from Research Council funded research. It provides financial support at the very early or pre-seed stage of turning research outputs into a commercial proposition. The programme enables activities essential to preparing a robust business plan and secure further funding to progress commercially. This might include:

• Undertaking further scientific and technical development of an idea.
• Improving an IP position through, for example, supporting further work to exemplify or broaden patent claims.
• Gaining further information about the market for the new products or process.
• Identifying potential licensees or opportunities for joint ventures.

Eligibility: Applicants must be researchers employed by a UK university or BBSRC funded institute and must hold a permanent academic post and have or have had grant funding, with relevance to the application, from the BBSRC. Projects must draw substantially on previous BBSRC-funded research.

Funding: Typical grants are expected to be under £250,000 (fEC) and 12 months in duration, of which BBSRC will pay the standard 80% fEC proportion. A small number of larger strategic awards (Super Follow-on Funding) are also available which will be valued between £250,000 and £1M per annum (fEC) and will be 12-24 months in duration, of which BBSRC will pay the standard 80% fEC proportion.

Applications for this call require a letter of support from Cambridge Enterprise and their involvement in the management of any successful grants. Potential applicants should contact Iain.Thomas@enterprise.cam.ac.uk as soon as possible to discuss their project.

For more information see: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/business/commercialisation/follow-on.aspx

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