Innovation Launchpad Network+ Researchers in Residence (RiR) Programme

Funding to facilitate engagement between academia and the UK’s nine Catapults across three thematic areas: Net Zero, Healthcare and Wellbeing, and Resilience.

The Innovation Launchpad Network+ (ILN) is a £6.75 million Network Plus funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by the University of Sheffield, working with the Universities of Leeds, Strathclyde, Warwick, Bristol and Exeter. The Network collaborates with the UK’s nine Catapult Network centres and regional innovation ecosystems to support businesses across healthcare, energy, emerging technologies and manufacturing, transforming new ideas into valuable products and services.

The ILN builds on the Catapult Network’s Researchers in Residence (RiR) pilot programme and aims to deliver 100 world-class Researchers in Residence opportunities, with a focus on forging new links between individuals and groups who are yet to engage with the Catapult Network’s cluster of research centres.

The RiR scheme is designed to allow academics to work alongside Catapults on a project or activity in an area of strategic importance, as well as to increase the exchange of knowledge between academia, industry and the Catapult Network. 

Proposals will build on the scheme’s three key themes: Net Zero, Resilience, and Healthcare and Wellbeing, with the ambition to support a diverse portfolio of applications. The Innovation Launchpad Network+ will identify engagement opportunities to enable academic researchers to collaborate with Catapults, undertaking activity areas of strategic importance for the Catapults and boosting the connections of the innovation ecosystem.

Acceptance onto the RiR programme will allow academics to gain a deeper understanding of their chosen field and take new ideas forward to create research impact.