£5,000 funding to help businesses access academic expertise and develop innovative products, services, or processes.
The next call for applications will open on Monday 26 January 2026.
Who it is for
Innovation Vouchers are open to businesses, social enterprises and third sector organisations based in Northern Ireland that fall within one of these size categories
- small (fewer than 50 employees, turnover or balance sheet under €10 million)
- medium (50 to 249 employees, turnover under €50 million or balance sheet under €43 million)
Your business must not have received an Invest Northern Ireland Grant for R&D in the past five years, or be owned by an Invest NI staff member.
Support you can get
An Innovation Voucher provides up to £5,000 worth of expert support from a university or college to help you develop or improve products, services, business models or processes. Please note that vouchers do not involve direct cash payments to businesses. Instead, the voucher covers the cost of working with a public sector knowledge provider.
Typical eligible projects include
- expertise to help create or improve products, services, business models or processes
- access to specialist expertise in new materials
- tapping into research and scientific expertise
Ineligible activities include business planning, marketing, training, private sector consultancy, and any projects involving Invest NI staff, though this list is not exhaustive.
Support organisers
Contact
Invest Northern Ireland
Phone
0800 181 4422
Next Steps
on the Invest NI website
Published
23 January 2026
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