Notice

Research Ventures Catalyst

A pilot programme that is stimulating the creation of novel research ventures, via entrepreneurial team-based approaches in collaboration with partners drawn from the public sector, industry and the third sector.

From:
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Published
14 June 2023
Last updated
11 February 2025 — See all updates

Documents

Research Ventures Catalyst application guidance (pilot)

PDF, 256 KB, 15 pages

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Research Ventures Catalyst: question and answer (Q&A) document, updated 17 August 2023 (pilot)

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Research Ventures Catalyst privacy notice (pilot)

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Details

Update: 11 February 2025

3 projects selected out of a shortlist of 12 proposals are receiving substantive funding totalling £37.9 million, alongside matched non-public co-investment, to establish their new venture via the Research Ventures Catalyst (RVC) programme.

The RVC programme invited initial proposals to establish new organisational models to tackle a research challenge across any discipline.

Background information

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) invited bids for up to £100,000 of ‘seed corn’ funding to support successful applicants in developing full plans for their new research ventures. Of applicants that applied to stage 1 of the programme, only applicants that were successful in receiving seed corn funding were invited to submit full plans. These plans were assessed via peer review and an independent expert panel to determine which proposals received substantive funding from DSIT of up to £25 million per successful application. Proposals were also required to attract co-investment from partners in industry, philanthropic organisations or other third sector bodies.

Some research efforts can be hindered by the incentive structures of typical research performing organisations like universities, businesses, or public bodies; whether that be because researchers work in disciplinary silos, or chase publications or profit over significant but distant research breakthroughs. The RVC aims to seed, and ultimately back with multi-million-multi-year funding, new ways of performing research.

Research Ventures Catalyst seeks to bring together researchers, experts and operators from different scientific and industrial disciplines and sectors, or with complementary forms of technical expertise, to tackle a complex problem in a new organisational setting. A core objective of the programme is to create and stimulate deeper public-private partnerships around a research agenda.

For further information on the programme, please contact researchventures@dsit.gov.uk.

Updates to this page

Published 14 June 2023
Last updated 11 February 2025 + show all updates

  1. 3 projects selected out of a shortlist of 12 proposals have received seed corn funding via the Research Ventures Catalyst programme.

  2. Successful applications published.

  3. Research Ventures Catalyst closed for applications at 23:59pm on 23 October 2023.

  4. Research Ventures Catalyst question and answer (Q&A) document updated. Update to footnote 2 in the Research Ventures Catalyst application guidance document.

  5. Research Ventures Catalyst question and answer (Q&A) document updated.

  6. Research Ventures Catalyst open for applications question and answer document added, privacy notice updated.

  7. First published.

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