Business Opportunities

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Details of the main business opportunities in Peterborough's EGS sector will be posted as news on the front page of the site, but to get access to all the opportunities available as they arise, please register with EnviroCluster for free and opt-in to our regular email bulletin service.

Funding Opportunities

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has funds available for companies in the six counties of East Anglia. Information about these funds can be found below.

EnviroCluster is happy to assist you with any grant applications you wish to make - please contact us if you would like us to help.

EEDA Research and Development Grants

EEDA has grants available for companies who wish to carry out R&D work on innovative products and processes. There are four types of grant available which are summarised below.

Micro project grant - for simple, low-cost prototypes of an innovative product or process. Finance available: 45% of total up to £20,000.

Research project grant - for helping to assess the technological and commercial feasibility of turning highly innovative technology into a new product or process. Finance available: 60% of total up to £100,000.

Development project grant - for development of pre-production prototype of a new product or process involving significant technological advance. Finance available: 35% of total up to £250,000.

Exceptional development project grant - for developing a new technology that is strategically important to an industrial or technology sector. Finance available: 35% of total up to £500,000.

For more information and to apply, please click here.

WRAP Grants

WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has launched the Construction Waste Capital Grant Programme 2008 offering funding to increase capacity to process construction, demolition and excavation waste for the construction sector. It could be provided to build a new facility or to expand existing facilities for the specific purpose of collecting, segregating and/or processing waste arising from construction and demolition sites.

To achieve this, the Capital Grant Programme can provide financial assistance towards the cost of plant, equipment and infrastructure for projects in England.

The deadline for tender applications is 1.30pm on Wednesday 16th July. For further information, click here.

ERDF Funds

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is a €308 billion, seven year programme (2007-13) of European Structural Funds across member states in the European Union (EU). The East of England has been allocated approximately €110 million (approximately £75 million) of this funding to be invested in the region under the EU "Competitiveness and Employment objective". This allocation can be used to part-fund projects with additional finance coming from UK public and private sources. Under this objective, the ERDF Programme aims to strengthen the competitiveness and attractiveness of regions throughout the UK, promote employment and growth through promotion of the knowledge economy and investment in human resources.

Any organisation that is legally formed can deliver projects using ERDF funds . Partners can apply as a consortium as long as a bid or tender is led by one legal entity. Organisations can put themselves forward to deliver projects in line with the East of England ERDF competitiveness programme in one of three ways:

Responding to open bidding rounds - where individual organisations or partnerships can submit project applications in response to the timetable published in the programme prospectus.

Responding to an Invitation to Tender - Invitations to Tender will be published where there is a clearly defined need for a type of project in the region and a variety of potential partnerships or delivery bodies with the expertise to undertake this.

Commissioning - one organisation may be directly commissioned to deliver specific projects where there is a single, clear lead body to undertake a particular area of work on behalf of the region.

For more information and to apply, please click here.

Proof of Concept Funds

The Proof of Concept fund is a scheme designed to help you and other entrepreneurs in the East of England test the commercial viability of innovative business ideas. It is specifically aimed at helping you define the market and assess your customers' needs. Grants of between £5,000 and £40,000 are available but limited to 75 per cent of the project's total cost.

For more information and to apply, please click here.

Selective Investment for Finance

Selective Finance for Investment in England is a discretionary scheme designed to support businesses intending to make investments in order to grow.

The primary objective of this scheme is to drive growth in the East of England's businesses by improving productivity and creating or safeguarding skilled jobs. Typically a grant could be used to buy or lease a plot of land or building to enable business expansion. Alternatively, funding may be used to refurbish a building or invest in new machinery or manufacturing processes to develop new products. It may even be used to invest in patent rights and licenses.

Grants will, on average, cover 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent of the project's total cost. £10,000 is the minimum grant value available.

For more information and to apply, please click here.

Shell Springboard Funding

Shell Springboard Logo Every year this programme offers funding to only a few small businesses spread across 3 regions of the UK, South, Central and North to help them fund product development which is designed to specifically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This year's funding application deadline is coming up on Friday 7th November 2008 so get your applications in soon!

For more information click here.

Framework Programme 7

Creating new products and services that convincingly out-perform competitors' offerings is seldom cheap or simple. And that's why smart firms are using new approaches to build business development networks.

Boasting a budget of over 50 billion Euros, Framework Programme 7 (FP7) is the European Union's biggest initiative for funding collaborative research and development projects across Europe. Moreover, it could provide your businesses with a unique opportunity to build those pan-European supply chains while developing new products for international markets.

FP7 project proposals should be developed by a collaboration of organisations, which may include small to medium-sized enterprises, larger businesses and research institutions. Furthermore, there should be representation of at least three separate EU countries within the consortium.

Involvement in such collaborations can offer your business rich rewards including control over of a wealth of intellectual property borne out of the project, easy-access to highly knowledgeable and skilled partners, as well as the opportunity to develop and promote new products to international customers.

For more information and to apply, please click here.