Innovation Vouchers

Innovation Vouchers

What is an Innovation Voucher?

Innovation vouchers will provide access to facilities and expertise to deliver Collaborative Research and Development projects with the University of Derby. Vouchers can be used to:

• Access specialist equipment and facilities
• Undertake proof of concept to de-risk investment  
• Work with academic experts on a short term project
• Complete research with an academic expert in priority target sectors

Innovation vouchers can be used for a range of aspects and are not just limited to the above.  If you have a question/idea for this, then please ask.

Example: A local SME is looking to reduce the weight of a product they sell in the automotive industry. Lightweighting this product will increase the fuel efficiency of their client's product, thereby contributing to carbon reduction targets. A project is agreed with the university to explore the feasibility of lightweight materials from a range of composites. This testing would include finite element analysis to identify a minimum of three candidate materials to take forward into further research and development testing.

An Innovation Voucher secures access to University Research Centres, equipment and academic/technical expertise.

Where applicable, applicants can also apply for a capital grant to complement their innovation voucher.  This will be treated as a separate grant.

What are the timeframes for an Innovation Voucher?

There are three options available to organisations, depending on what you are wanting from the voucher and how long you have available for this (if you are unsure, we will discuss this prior to starting the Innovation Voucher to help scope out the duration):

• Shorter Collab Research - 1 weeks' worth of support (37.5 hours) completed over a maximum of a 2 month period
• Medium Collab Research - 1 months' worth of support (150 hours) completed over a maximum of a 4 month period
• Longer Collab Research - 2 months' worth of support (300 hours) completed over a maximum of a 6 month period

What is the value of an Innovation Voucher*?

With the Innovation Voucher there is no money transferred over to an organisation (this falls under the R&D grant element of the project), however, the voucher cost is calculated by the academic member of staffs time, research time, use of machinery, etc and calculated as below:

Shorter Collab Research - 1 weeks' worth of support (37.5 hours) = up to £2,500

Medium Collab Research - 1 months' worth of support (150 hours) = up to £8,500

Longer Collab Research - 2 months' worth of support (300 hours) = up to £17,000

*Innovation Vouchers will be dealt with on a case by case basis.