SMART: SCOTLAND grants for feasibility studies for SMEs

The SMART: SCOTLAND grant is one of Scottish Enterprise’s research and development (R&D) grants that aims to support high-risk, highly ambitious projects.

It provides support to conduct feasibility studies. It’s only available to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based in Scotland, and supports activities that have a commercial endpoint.

The grant can support feasibility studies that help to show your idea could work in the real world. Your business will need to own any intellectual property (IP) generated from your project.

The SMART grant aims to support our priority areas for economic transformation. These are:

• Creating an internationally competitive energy transition industry in Scotland
• Scaling the impact of Scotland’s innovation strengths into high-growth industries of the future
• Driving capital investment to deliver a step-change in Scotland’s productivity

You may be eligible if:

• You’re a small or medium-sized business, university spin-out or an individual
• You’re based, or planning to set up, in Scotland
• Your project represents an advance in technological innovation for the UK industry or sector concerned
• There are technical risks and challenges associated with defining and developing the technology
• You own, or have rights to use, the intellectual property required to undertake the project
• You’ll own all intellectual property developed during the project
• You have the necessary management and technical expertise and resources (either in-house or brought-in) to make the project a success
• Both the project and the business are financially viable
• Financial assistance from SMART: SCOTLAND is essential for the project to go ahead

All companies which are awarded SMART: SCOTLAND grant funding need to meet the Scottish Government’s approach to Fair Work and net zero. See the link below for full details.

Once you submit an application form and other relevant documents, you’ll be assigned a case officer who will take you through the whole process.