Surrey launches Covid-19 SME Grant Scheme

The University of Surrey Covid-19 SME Grant Scheme has been put in place to support our innovation ecosystem in this time of crisis and is specifically designed to support those SMEs who are engaging with us in innovation activity and contributing to economic development and prosperity in the region.

About the grant

The scheme has been allocated £100,000 of funding and we are offering grants of up to £5,000 per eligible SME. This aid will be granted under the State Aid de Minimis Scheme.

We anticipate that demand will exceed the funds available and applications will be assessed against the criteria outlined below. Decisions will be made by the University Funding Board.

Eligibility criteria

To apply for a grant your SME must be an active member of our innovation ecosystem. This includes being one or more of the following:

• A member of SETsquared Surrey Incubator
• An SME in which the University of Surrey or the University of Surrey Seed Fund Ltd already owns shares
• A resident SME in the Surrey Technology Centre, or the University of Surrey Research Park
• An SME in an collaborative project currently underway with University academics.

The SME must not have been in difficulty prior to 31 December 2019 (within the meaning of State aid General block exemption regulation (PDF)).

This scheme is designed to help those companies who are least able to access Government Covid-19 support measures. Therefore, small and micro businesses who are ineligible for the Government Small Business Grant Scheme will be prioritised.

The purpose of the grant is to help SMEs within our existing innovation ecosystem to continue to engage with knowledge exchange and business growth activities during the COVID-19 crisis, for example, to:

Maintain engagement with the University of Surrey on knowledge exchange projectsSupport virtual working and continual operation of your company that enables knowledge exchange activity with the University of Surrey innovation ecosystem.

The SME must be able to demonstrate financial business impacts that are directly related to Covid-19 restrictions and show how the grant will help to mitigate these impacts and allow it to continue in knowledge exchange and business growth activities.

How to apply

Please contact Dan Bance at d.bance@surrey.ac.uk or Charlotte Watson for members of SETsquared Surrey at c.watson@surrey.ac.uk for a copy of the application form. Then submit the form to business@surrey.ac.uk by close of play on 30 April 2020 at the latest.

Eligible proposals will be assessed by a review panel and recommendations made to the University Funding Board. Funding will be allocated, in the form of a bank transfer, at the discretion of the Board.

The University is required to report on the use of its funding. Therefore, within six months of receipt of the grant, SMEs will need to send a statement to business@surrey.ac.uk outlining how they spent the grant and the impact that the grant made to their business survival.

Contact us

For further information about the Scheme, its eligibility criteria and support with the completion of the application, please contact Dan Bance at d.bance@surrey.ac.uk or Charlotte Watson for members of SETsquared Surrey at c.watson@surrey.ac.uk