Getting the R&D grant funding your business deserves

R&D grants can provide an essential source of match funding for your innovative project. These projects must seek to resolve a technical uncertainty by undertaking risky or innovative research and development. R&D grants are often awarded to projects considered too risky for private sector investment. Proposed R&D projects and costs must also be realistic, with a clear commercial opportunity, and have the aim of creating new growth within the market.

Government funding incentives currently available for Irish businesses

Irish Enterprises can apply for a number of Irish-based government grants and European grant funding. The main source of Irish R&D grant funding is from Enterprise Ireland, the government’s innovation agency. Enterprise Ireland runs funding competitions which can help you:-

• Test whether your idea will work, through a feasibility study
• Create a new product, process, or service, or improve an existing one, through R&D
• Work on collaborative projects with other businesses or research organisations.

For SMEs, Enterprise Ireland offers an online tool to help small businesses discover which of over 170 government supports could fit their business.

European grant funding for Irish enterprises includes Horizon Europe, with nearly €95.5 billion of grant funding available over 6 years (2021 to 2027) and EUREKA Eurostars, for innovative SMEs wanting to take part in collaborative research with partners across Europe and associated countries.

Horizon Europe has many funding opportunities across multiple areas with several topics and cut-off dates throughout the year.

External funding - whether from public or private sources - can also help start-up companies, and other innovative businesses, set themselves up for success. Investment can help companies to speed up innovation, do things they couldn’t do alone, and access market opportunities, including additional funding.

What are the stages of an R&D grant application?

You’ll need the right combination of people to cover the grant application’s key aspects: the technology, market knowledge, commercialisation plan, and the financial details. Preparation of a grant application can take over 200 hours of work, so it’s best to make sure you have everything in place before you start the application process.

Once you’ve made your application, it will be evaluated by the grant funding organisation. This process varies by competition, with some competitions subject to a ‘portfolio’ approach to ensure that funds are allocated across all the strategic areas in the competition scope. Successful applications must usually meet a quality threshold.

It will generally take up to 3 months (although it can be longer) after you make your submission to be notified of the funding decision.

What types of digital innovation projects qualify for R&D grants?

Your R&D grant funding application is more likely to succeed if it:

• Shows how the project results in a real innovation and doesn’t replicate products currently on the market.
• Provides a convincing company description which explains why you are more likely to succeed than a competitor.
• Includes a clear and thorough description of the business opportunity, not just a description of the project.
• Demonstrates a clear understanding of the target market, including commercialisation and competitor information.

How can I find the right grant for my project and my business?

This is the tricky bit. With such a baffling array of R&D grants on offer and new competitions being launched across the year, it’s incredibly hard to understand which ones are relevant. It’s also way too easy to miss deadlines, leading to rushed applications or losing out altogether. And when there’s potentially millions of euros at stake, you’ll want to be on the ball.

This is why organisations in Ireland that are planning to engage in innovative, cutting-edge projects - or have recently done so - come to a specialist R&D grants consultancy like Myriad Associates.

Our team will go through your R&D project with you, teasing out the elements that are eligible for particular grants and where we think you’ll have most success. We’ll then work with you to put together a high quality, successful application that stands out from the crowd, helping you ‘win’ the competition and walk away with the money.

Why Myriad Associates?

The Myriad Associates team has an enviable track record when it comes to compiling R&D grant applications that get results. By using our grant application services, you’re giving yourself a huge competitive advantage over all the other applicants.

Our grant bid writers have secured over €130 million for our clients in the last 12 months, with another €30 million expected by the end of 2022. We are also very proud to have achieved some of Europe’s highest scoring applications, with five of our projects scoring 15/15.

Myriad’s templates make creating and preparing a winning bid easy. You can also rest assured that our success rates are some of the highest in the industry, currently sitting at 70%. Our complete service also means that once you’ve received your letter, we’ll help you with all the administration required in receiving your grant promptly.

Our results speak for themselves. In fact we're proud to have already won €70 million in Disruptive Technologies Innovation funding and €97 million in Horizon Europe funding.

“I would highly recommend Marc and the Myriad Associates team. They are thorough professionals and a pleasure to deal with. I can’t emphasize enough the value Marc brings to any project. His exemplary track record of success speaks for itself.” - Prof. Michael O'Dwyer, CSO ONK Therapeutics.

Could now be the time to get your disruptive innovation off the ground?

Get in touch with our team today for an informal discussion and see where it could take you. This could be the year an R&D grant puts your innovation on the map.

Call us on +353 1 566 2001 or drop us a message and a member of our team will call you back.