Talent and innovation grants available for local businesses to access expertise
A programme of grants and support for local businesses is being rolled out by the city’s two universities that provide access to a wealth of talent and expertise to help drive innovation, productivity and skills in the city.
By Sarah McLeod | Published on 14 May 2025
Categories: Press office;
The Talent and Innovation Grants project has received £124,441 from the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The scheme was run for the first time last year and saw 60 businesss receiving financial support through a mixture of Talent Grants and Innovation Vouchers.
Under the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham are again working with Nottingham City Council to offer Talent Grants of up to £2,000 which can be used to subsidise the recruitment of a university graduate or student for a minimum of eight weeks.
In addition, Innovation Vouchers of up to £5,000 will be offered to city businesses through the Universities for Nottingham Innovation Centres of Excellence, enabling them to access a range of technically-focussed support and consultancy leveraging research facilities and expertise from across the two universities.
One of the businesses who benefitted from the scheme last year was BACKLIT Gallery.
Suzanne Golden, Co-Director at BACKLIT Gallery said: “Business support initiatives of this nature are rare and have a great impact on businesses like BACKLIT, it expands capacity ,skillset, partnership development and team dynamics.”
To qualify for either grants, businesses need to demonstrate that the graduate/student project /role would be used to implement or improve technology or processes, enable the business to enter new markets, improve or implement new products or services, improve productivity or increase business sustainability.
The support available has been expanded this year with more delivery groups offering a wider variety of expertise that can be applied to a range of industry sectors:
- Food Innovation Centre: providing science and technology consultancy, new product or process development support for food and drink focussed businesses.
- Chemistry Innovation Laboratory: providing analytical and product development support across chemistry and materials using and life sciences businesses.
- Institute of Aerospace Technology: working across the aerospace supply chain.
- Precision Manufacturing Centre: providing consultancy on design for manufacturing, manufacture of prototypes or small batches of innovative products, and measurement and inspection services.
- Design Matters: providing professional sustainable product and packaging design consultancy.
- Virtual and Immersive Production Studio (VIP Studio): providing technical research and innovation support for creative and digital businesses and innovation support for tech companies moving into cultural and creative sectors.
- UNIEI & UNIP: Providing executive and enterprise education and the opportunity to benefit from colocation with university researchers.
Trevor Farren, Professor of Practice (Science and Innovation) at the University of Nottingham’s Faculty of Science is leading the project, he said: “The Talent and Innovation model has proved to be very effective in helping businesses access the necessary support to drive forward innovation and growth, putting them ahead of the competition, and ultimately enhancing the economic prosperity in our region. We are excited to be able to continue and expand this opportunity for businesses in Nottingham.”
Matthew Staniforth, Regional Employer Engagement Manager from Nottingham Trent University said: “We’re delighted to be offering this unique support again this year, particularly as the business landscape gets ever more challenging. Pooling the talents of both universities’ students and graduates gives businesses a huge amount of skills, knowledge and experience to choose from and with additional support available this year, the project will be able to reach even more businesses, helping them to achieve their goals and find innovative solutions for business challenges.”
The grants are available thanks to UK Shared Prosperity Funding awarded to Nottingham City Council by the government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The UKSPF aims to support activity on the three main themes of Communities and Place; Supporting Local Business; and People and Skills.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Sarah McLeod, Corporate Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8735, or via email.
About Universities for Nottingham
The Universities for Nottingham initiative is a pioneering collaboration which brings together the combined strength and civic missions of 11 anchor institutions from across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Working with local communities and partners we aim to improve levels of economic prosperity, educational opportunity, environmental sustainability and health and wellbeing for the benefit of our people and place. As part of the response to the challenges we collectively face, the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement sets out our joint plans for the future working as a partnership.
The positive impact of Nottingham’s two universities goes beyond those who study or work with them, bringing far reaching social, economic and cultural benefits. They add £3.8billion to the UK economy every year, supporting 25,000 jobs across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire alone, according to analysis by Public First.