SME Initiative

South Coast CoE SME Initiative

The South Coast Centre of Excellence SME Initiative worth up to £5,000 is provided by the South Coast Centre of Excellence to carry out initial testing to determine whether a proposed project would be viable. It can be used to work alongside any consortium member and must be spent within 3 months of allocation.  In this way, the innovation vouchers can be used for Industrial Research, Technical Feasibility Studies & Experimental Development.

Please note that the industrial partner must be willing to make a cash or in-kind contribution to the academic partner which at least matches the value of the voucher. The voucher is paid to the Consortium Member who then undertakes work which is relevant to the needs of the industrial partner.

By working with a consortium member on a novel idea or using their expertise within your business, the expectation is that a project will be identified and then progressed into a formal application for external funding, with the full support of the Centre of Excellence team.

Eligibility

To qualify for the South Coast CoE SME Initiative you must:

  • be starting up or running a micro, small or medium-sized UK business
  • need help with something that’s a real challenge for your business, not just a small improvement or change
  • have not worked with this expert before
  • have not had an Innovation Voucher from Innovate UK or the Technology Strategy Board before

You cannot use the South Coast CoE SME Initiative to fund:

  • staff training
  • equipment
  • off-the-shelf software
  • marketing or branding items
  • standard business advice

You can use the South Coast CoE SME Initiative to cover

  • the cost of man hours provided by the Consortium partners.

All Applicants must have attended one of the Centre of Excellence Sandpit Events or spoken with our Operations Director prior to proceeding to the application stage.

Funding Calls will open on the following dates:

July 1st 2017 (available for SCCoE Partners with facilities only)

September 1st 2017 (available for SCCoE Partners with facilities only)

November 1st 2017

January 1st 2018

Closing dates for applications are the last day of the same month.

Application and other useful information:

SCCoE Model_FUNDING_Innovation Initiative SME_Eligible and ineligible costs_templatev.001 (1)

SCCoE_Model_FUNDING_Innovation Initiative SMEs_Application Form_Templatev.001

SCCoE_Model_FUNDING_Innovation Initiative SME_Financial Documentation Requirements_Templatev.001

Please email sccoe@port.ac.uk for more information.

Space to Accelerate

If you are looking to take your business to new levels, find a dynamic business space and get the support you need to facilitate your growth and success, then your company could benefit from this new and innovative programme designed for companies looking to work in the downstream space sector.

The South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications is supporting the Space to Accelerate programme which offers a select number of companies in the Solent region the opportunity to take part in a customised business growth programme and take up exclusive business space in one of two dedicated business incubation centres at the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre in Southampton in Southampton or the Innovation Space at the University of Portsmouth.

To take part you need to have a dedicated business idea or growth aspiration that could operate in the downstream space sector.

Examples of this could be, but not limited to:  using satellite imagery to analyse soil composition, measure flood water depth to understand water flow characteristics to predict the impact of flood events; developing a communications toolkit using satellite data for telemedicine in remote areas or where connectivity is poor or coverage is limited; tackling the rising costs of fuel using Global Navigation Systems; offering a service for the tracking of assets and people 24 hours a day in remote or hazardous environments to ensure safety and allow SOS messages to be sent and retrieved in real time.

To find out more visit http://projects.noc.ac.uk/uksa/