Innovation Vouchers are distributed through a programme of support managed by Aston University, in partnership with Birmingham City University. The scheme offers grants of £2,500 to eligible companies from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which needs to be matched £1 for £1 with a company’s own funds to spend on business innovation and business growth activities.

A grant of up to £2,500 can be reimbursed, so the minimum cost of a project is £5,000 (note if VAT registered, VAT cannot be claimed).  

Eligible business growth activities can include; specialised consultancy, software development, and market research. There is a list of eligible activities available on the Innovation Vouchers website:  https://www.innovation-vouchers.com/innovation-voucher/

Businesses must apply for an Innovation Voucher ahead of beginning their project. Once their application has been approved, a business will have three months to complete their project. Once the project is complete and evidence of project payment and completion is received by the Innovation Vouchers team, a reimbursement will be paid into the beneficiary businesses bank account.

The programme also offers free Business Innovation Workshops; receive the support you need to drive innovation and business growth for your company.

The workshops will help participants identify, understand, and assess essential and strategic and cultural competences, as well as organising mechanisms needed to effect innovation in their organisation. Participants will be given the opportunity to consider their own funding strategies and how best to pursue commercial finance in the future. In short, the Business Innovation Workshops will give you the initial  tools from which to work directly on your business and drive innovation.

On completion of a minimum of two workshops, delegates will receive a prestigious “Managing Innovation in Business” certificate.

If you follow these links, you can book your free place on the workshops:

• Wednesday 13th May 2020: Workshop 1 – Envisioning for Growth through Innovation
• Wednesday 20^th May 2020: Workshop 2 – Strategy and Leadership for Innovation
• Wednesday 3^rd June 2020: Workshop 3 – Marketing for Innovation