Grant funding for triple helix partnerships to develop innovation clusters within the Belfast–Derry/Londonderry Innovation Corridor.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 4pm on 3 December 2025.
Who it is for
Triple helix partnerships made up of academia, industry and civic organisations. To be eligible, partnerships must be based within the Belfast-Derry/Londonderry Innovation Corridor – ie areas included within the boundaries of
- Belfast Region City Deal
- Derry~Londonderry and Strabane City Region City Deal
Lead organisation must be an eligible research or public sector organisation, or another form of regional leadership body with the necessary capacity and resources. Eligible lead organisations include
- higher education providers
- research institutes
- public sector research establishments
- NHS bodies
- independent research organisations
- local government partners that have been granted non-standard eligibility for this funding opportunity
Business and international organisations cannot apply as the lead organisation.
Partnerships must operate within a specific functional economic geography and meet criteria for the supported activities. They also need to provide clear evidence of private sector match funding and explain how their activities will help develop the identified priority clusters.
Support you can get
The full economic cost of your project portfolio including administrative costs can be at least £30 million. Up to £300,000 of your total award can be used to cover administrative and operational costs to support delivery.
Funding is designed to support a broad range of research and development activity that accelerates commercialisation, technology adoption, business scale-up and private investment.
The maximum duration of this award is five years.
How to apply
Submit an expression of interest (EOI) to the Department for the Economy (DfE) to help them determine the clusters the Innovation Corridor will focus on. Guidance on submitting the EOI, including the EOI form, is available on the nibusinessinfo.co.uk website.
DfE, working with UKRI, Invest Northern Ireland and an Innovation Panel, will use the EOI information to prepare the readiness check for UKRI by 3 February 2026. A portfolio of cluster-focused projects will be developed after this and submitted to UKRI in May 2026.
Support organisers
- Department for the Economy (DfE)
- Invest Northern Ireland
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Next Steps
on the nibusinessinfo.co.uk website
Published
18 November 2025
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