A business Innovation Voucher is £2,500 of part-funding offered to eligible companies by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to spend on business innovation and growth activities. They are distributed through a business Innovation Voucher scheme managed by a consortium comprising of Aston University, Birmingham City University and the University of Wolverhampton.
The aim of a business Innovation Voucher is to help your company develop new systems and processes to improve your business growth efficiency and drive the innovation needed to bring new products and services to market. A business Innovation Voucher enables you to:
Fund collaborations with external expertise within knowledge base organisations (research institutes) to deliver on your innovation and business growth project objectives
Access free support in the form of Business Innovation Workshops to make your company more competitive and able to manage business innovation and growth more effectively.
The typical value of a business Innovation Voucher is £2,500. The value can be increased and decreased to suit your business innovation requirements, along with your ability to match funds. The value of a business Innovation Voucher is decided on a case-by-case basis during the application stage.
The business Innovation Voucher is offered as part-funding only. To receive this part-funding you will be required to match the value of the business Innovation Voucher with a £1 contribution to every £1 received. With the typical value of a voucher being £2,500, you would be required to also contribute £2,500, creating a total business innovation fund of £5,000.