Call for Evidence: Help Shape Norfolk & Suffolk’s Bid for the Local Innovation Partnership Fund (LIPF)

As announced in the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are delivering a £500m Local Innovation Partnership Fund (LIPF) programme responsible for the development and scaling of high-potential innovation clusters across the UK. £300m of this funding is deployed via the Earmarked Strand to existing Mayoral Strategic Authorities, leaving £200m for the Competed Strand for the rest of the UK.

As set out in UKRI’s full guidance document published this month, places may submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) under the Competed Strand for up to £20m. Submissions must demonstrate strong local leadership, embedding the triple helix model of public, private and academia collaboration. They must also clearly evidence clusters and show the scale of impact.

The LIPF aims to support a portfolio of projects that enables established clusters to scale and deepen their impact, while helping emerging clusters mature and realise their economic potential. Projects must have a distinct focus on near-to-market research and innovation with strong potential for commercial application, industry adoption and scalable impact. The portfolio should deliver high-quality and investment-ready proposals that can deliver significant impact.

We are therefore seeking your views on key projects and clusters that could form part of this portfolio submission to UKRI.

A non-exhaustive list of eligible activities for this funding can be found here:

• Research commercialisation – tech transfer to industry, new product development, IP protection, and securing IP for research outcomes.
• Adoption and diffusion of new technologies – enable adoption and diffusion of cutting-edge technologies through Collaborative R&D with industry (e.g., Launchpad projects).
• Support for high-growth SMEs and spinouts to boost their growth, including access to private finance to support scaling.
• Collaborative (translational) R&D with strong industrial outcomes – partnerships between businesses and research base
• Cluster development, networking and leadership – sharing and embedding best practice / collaboration agreements / develop skills and solutions / attract inward investment
• Talent & Skills – support for research fellowships and KTPs
• R&D infrastructure – incl. investment into scale-up infrastructure and equipment critical for building capabilities of the innovation ecosystem.
• Knowledge exchange and R&I networking – activities to strengthen relationships between stakeholders across research and innovation (core CI activities)
• Seed corn funding – early-stage funding building on cluster strengths, building resilience of business base by supporting tech adoption and growth of cluster.
• Access to / attracting overseas business and investment – incl. collaborative research, growing supply chains, and potential delegation activity.

The portfolio must demonstrate a minimum 2:1 ratio of private to public investment across their lifespan, not on a per project basis, and 1:1 ratio during the delivery phase. The LIPF is intended to de-risk innovation and leverage in additional investment from partners, the private sector and institutional investors to advance promising technologies, solutions, and businesses.

The Connected Innovation team, in close collaboration with key regional partners including the Norfolk and Suffolk Business Boards, are co-ordinating a joint EoI for the region.  This collective effort builds on Connected Innovation’s role as the delivery vehicle for the region’s Innovate UK Local Action Plan and its established relationships with Government Departments. The EoI will reflect a unified regional approach to innovation, leveraging the strengths of the region’s innovation ecosystems to present a compelling case to UKRI.

We are currently shaping the Expression of Interest response and invite you to submit project ideas for consideration to info@connectedinnovation.co.uk by close of play on Friday 24 October.