What are ‘Innovation Vouchers’?

The Innovation Vouchers Scheme makes it possible for SMEs in our region to win vouchers worth £3,000. The vouchers can be ‘spent’ at Yorkshire's universities and other academic institutions, purchasing knowledge and expertise which will help the businesses to innovate, compete and succeed.

Who’s eligible to apply?

If you own or manage a small- or medium-sized business (that is, up to 250 employees), and you have a business innovation idea that you want to develop, you can apply for an Innovation Voucher worth £3,000.

Who’s behind the scheme?

The vouchers are funded by Yorkshire Forward, and delivered by Business Link Yorkshire. They form part of Solutions for Business, a publicly funded suite of products and services which offers solutions to business needs.

What does the scheme hope to achieve?

At an individual business level, it will help companies develop their ideas and specific innovations into real commercial success. However, the spin-offs for the region include:

• greater collaboration between industry and academia
• a more innovative (and therefore more competitive) business base for Yorkshire & Humber
• greater economic growth for the region (including more jobs created or safeguarded).

How do you apply?

Each month, businesses are invited to enter into a voucher draw. Businesses can also get together if they wish to work with an ‘innovation expert’ to solve a common problem—the ‘pooled application form’ should be used by groups of up to 10 companies wishing to work collaboratively.

What sort of projects could be supported?

• Research into markets; identifying new materials and products; alternative uses for production skills.
• Testing the performance of the CAD model against that of the physical product.
• Research to find a solution to a problem—eg sustainable, environmentally friendly, easy-to-open yet protective packaging
• Use of specialist facilities, eg for the analysis of products
• Business process design, eg a new customer interface process
• Exploiting new web technologies for the region and/or industry.

Want to find out more?

For more information or to apply for your vouchers, visit the webpages at Business Link Yorkshire.