Up to £250,000 to Commercialise Creative Industries Research – UKRI

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is offering funding for a university-led team to develop a new sector-specific guide that improves how creative-industries research from UK universities is turned into commercial ventures, spin-outs, partnerships and other business models.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Up to £250,000 in grant funding

• 100% of full economic costs funded

• £250,000 total fund available

• Funding for staff and project-management costs directly involved in producing the guide

• Workshops, roundtables and stakeholder consultation

• Travel and subsistence for project activities

• Development and dissemination of the final commercialisation guide

• Work exploring areas such as founding equity, licensing, intellectual property, investment and university commercialisation processes

• No institutional matched funding requirement.

Who can apply?

• Organisations meeting UKRI's standard eligibility requirements

• The project must be university-led

• Partnerships should include organisations with proven experience commercialising creative-industries research

• Investors or investment-facing organisations with relevant sector experience must be involved

• Teams should demonstrate experience supporting spin-outs, founders, investment and other creative-industry commercialisation models

• Applicants need the networks and credibility to consult universities, investors, founders and wider creative-industry stakeholders.

Deadline: 15 October 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.