Grants of £50,000 available for businesses to develop new ways of working and build resilience
A £20 million government investment aims to help boost the UK’s resilience to the long-term impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Grants of up to £50,000 will be available for technology and research-focussed businesses with the aim of developing new ways of working and building resilience in industries such as delivery services, food manufacturing, retail and transport.
This is according to a join announcement by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK on 3 April.
Innovations could include technology allowing retailers to respond to sudden spikes of consumer demand; services for families to connect with and remotely monitor elderly or vulnerable relative; or education tools to enable schoolteachers to work remotely.
Science minister Amanda Solloway described the response of researchers and businesses to the outbreak as “remarkable”.
“This new investment will support the development of technologies that can help industries, communities and individuals adapt to new ways of working when situations like this, and other incidents, arise.”
Projects should begin by June 2020 and will last up to six months, BEIS said.