Innovate UK, previously called the Technology Strategy Board and part of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, has set aside a £2m pot to reward construction industry supply chain innovation. Companies will be invited to bid for a share of it.
“If your business has ideas that will encourage the creation of more integrated, collaborative supply chains in the construction industry, you could win a share of £2m,” according to the blurb.
"Our aim is to address problems arising from the fragmented nature of the industry. With so many layers of sub-contractors and suppliers, construction clients too often find themselves divorced from those who deliver projects on-site. This lack of integration within the supply chain is leading to lost opportunities for innovation. We are therefore seeking proposals that will encourage the creation of more integrated, collaborative supply chains in this sector."
Innovate UK plans to invest the funding to explore new ways of increasing collaboration in the construction industry supply chain and improving the flow of information throughout the construction industry supply chain
Businesses are invited to apply for funding for feasibility studies that must be business-led and involve collaboration with other companies.
Selected bidders could receive up to 70% of their eligible project costs, depending on the size of the company bidding.
Innovate UK expects projects to last six to 12 months and cost anything between £50,000 and £150,000.
The competition opens on 9th March 2015 and the deadline for registration is on 15th April 2015. There will be a briefing day for potential applicants in Bristol on 19th March 2015 and a consortium-building workshop in Birmingham on 27 January 2015.
For more details, follow this link.
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