6 December 2023

The small grant fund set up in 22/23 has already generated over £9 million in external funding bids, with a projected further £5 million in development. 

The Wales Innovation Network (WIN) small grant fund aims to harness the strengths of Welsh universities to support growth in external research income capture and deliver impact for Wales.  

The 2023 round of the fund, which was funded jointly through WIN and Global Wales, awarded a total of £167,000 to 23 research and innovation projects across Wales. Projects ranged from innovative psycholinguistics approaches to analyse speech and breathing patterns, to how AI-based realistic synthetic media can support the creative film industry. 

Swansea University’s Regenerative Medicine Group sought funding for the development and assessment of novel neuro-angiogenetic biomaterials. The project linked with international partners in Canada and Germany to develop new materials that can help our bodies heal faster by promoting the growth of both new blood vessels and nerves. The project was granted just under £10,000 and has generated an estimated £790,000 in external funding. 

The Remote Learning for 4DWelsh project sought funding to build on their work to create the biggest 4DWelsh dataset capturing contemporary Welsh speaking. The funding was used to expand the pilot study with more data and to develop a large bid that establishes a geometry-language research group in Wales. It will not only deliver a remote teacher system for Welsh, but also innovate the necessary technologies in 4D vision, supporting digital transformation in Wales. The project’s £5,000 seed funding is estimated to generate over £1 million in external income.  

Led by Bangor University, the Place-based Climate Change project was awarded just under £5,000 which enabled them to bid for funding worth £2 million. The project builds on extensive previous and ongoing research across Wales and beyond. It aims to enable local communities to identify and implement place-based solutions for creating and saving energy through a sophisticated expert-informed and place-based online tool.  

Dr Lewis Dean, head of WIN, said:  

“I’m delighted with the success of last year’s round of small grant funding and it is highly encouraging to see what impact a small-scale investment can have when we work collaboratively. These grants enable researchers to develop active and successful partnerships, equipping them with the support and capacity required to develop and submit successful external bids.  

“I’m pleased that WIN is able to offer new small grants for the next calendar year and we look forward to welcoming excellent bids again from across Wales.” 

New applications for 2024

The fund of £100k has been set up to support WIN’s mission of harnessing the strengths of Welsh universities to support growth in external research income capture and deliver impact for Wales.

Small grants will be provided as seed funding for the development of a bid to external funders within the UK, Europe or internationally. Grants will fund the work of collaborative Welsh led research and innovation groups, based around areas of acknowledged strength. Eligible groups would include:

  • New research groupings that require seed funding to provide capacity for partnership growth, enabling them to put forward a submission for an external grant.
  • Existing collaborative research groups which have identified areas of research with significant potential for growth, but which require additional support to finalise a funding submission.

All collaborative research groups must be led by a Welsh university and include at least two other Welsh universities. The maximum amount available for any WIN Small Grant funded project in 2023/24 is £7.5k.

To apply for a WIN small grant please download and complete the application form and send it to innovation.network@uniswales.ac.uk by 29 January 2024. Submissions will be reviewed by WIN with decisions communicated to applicants by 1 March 2024.