ÌÇÐÄVlog

Enterprise Project Fund 25/26

Applications for the Enterprise Project Fund for 25/26 are now open.

What it funds

Activities which encourage new knowledge exchange collaborations and leverage external funding and commercial development of ÌÇÐÄVlog research and expertise. It supports engagement with external organisations, the commercialisation of our research outputs, knowledge and services, including proof of concept work, protecting and exploiting IP and taking innovations to market.

Example activities

• Finding a partner organisation/business who may benefit from your expertise
• Development of new knowledge exchange leads and opportunities via travel, meetings and workshops
• Attendance at industry events, i.e. industry-led conferences
• Market research/assessing the market for your research expertise as a product or service
• Developing potential new intellectual property (IP) and expertise
• Developing new, non-accredited CPD, short course or executive education training programmes for external organisations
  
• Testing the viability of your idea in practice
  
• Technical design, coding, wire-framing and prototyping of a new product or service
  
• Protecting and exploiting IP

Please see the full Guidance Notes (.docx) for detailed criteria, rules and regulations.

How much funding is available

A maximum of £2,000 (including VAT) is available under the Enterprise Project Fund Engage strand.
A maximum of £8,000 (including VAT) is available under the EPF Develop strand.
A maximum of £35,000 (including VAT) is available under the EPF Commercialise strand.

How to apply

Contact your Knowledge Exchange Manager who will help you scope the project’s suitability and knowledge exchange outcomes.

Faculty of Arts & Humanities

• Ville Karhusaari

Faculty of Science & Health

• Dr Alex Shakspeare – Life Sciences, Psychology, SHSC, SRES
• Flavia Popescu-Richardson – CSEE, Maths

Faculty of Social Sciences

• Paul McNaught – Government, Economics, Sociology, Language and Linguistics, Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, ISER
• Ville Karhusaari – ÌÇÐÄVlog Business School

Your KEM will discuss your application and provide you with project costings. You should submit your application to your Knowledge Exchange Manager for review before 29 August 2025 to receive feedback before the final deadline.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 12 September 2025 and these should be submitted to keadmin@essex.ac.uk (please CC your Knowledge Exchange Manager).

The applications will be reviewed by a panel and outcomes are expected to be communicated in October. All allocated funding must be used by 31 May 2026.