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Transforming UK construction: apply for funding

Businesses are invited to bid in 2 competitions worth up to £36 million, funding collaborative R&D and demonstrator projects.

2 architects using VR headsets to view future buildings

Both competitions focus on modern methods of construction, digital and whole-asset performance. UK Research and Innovation is providing the funding through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Transforming Construction Challenge.

Competition 1: Transforming UK construction - Collaborative R&D

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £10 million in UK businesses undertaking collaborative research and development projects. Projects should go beyond the state-of-the-art in improving productivity, quality and performance of the UK construction sector.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp project must focus on one or more of the following themes:

  • digital information management, tools, systems and standards
  • modern methods of construction and platform-based approaches
  • whole-life asset performance, including active buildings
  • business models, procurement, analytics, benchmarking and metrics
  • financial, assurance, warranty and lending products

To lead a project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business of any size or a research and technology organisation
  • collaborate with other businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations, academic institutions or charities
  • include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise
  • carry out the project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from, or in, the UK

Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £150,000 and £1.5 million.

blueprint of several buildings under construction

Competition 2: Transforming UK construction demonstrator projects

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £26 million for practical, demonstrator projects in modern methods of construction, digital and whole-life asset performance.

This competition aims to invest in approximately 10 world-leading practical demonstrators. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappy must establish improvements in productivity, quality and performance of the UK construction sector.

Demonstrators are the application of approaches, deployed at scale, that aim to improve all aspects of a built assets lifecycle.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappse will include:

  • validations of new business models
  • digital approaches to design, construction and management
  • advancements in modern methods of construction
  • approaches to whole-life performance of a building or assets

Both competitions open on 28 August 2019 and close on 30 October 2019 at midday.

Potential applicants can sign up to find out more at a briefing event:

Updates to this page

Published 7 August 2019