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Gov Owed
Between roundsR&D & innovationVerified 9 Nov 2026

Business Innovation Grant (BIG) — Northern Ireland

Invest Northern Ireland / Innovate NI

Check if you qualifyFree to check · no sign-up · full report £19.95

Worth

£5,000 to £20,000

Deadline

Between rounds

Type of funding

Grant

Where

Northern Ireland

What it is

The 2026 round has closed. When open, this is a £5,000–£20,000 grant (70% funded) for NI SMEs with an innovation project — a new or improved product, service or process.

Checked 9 Nov 2026 on Invest NI and Innovate NI: "Applications are now closed", and no date for the next round has been published. When open, the grant is £5,000 to £20,000 at a 70% grant rate. Primary agriculture, forestry, fishing and aquaculture businesses can't apply, nor can Invest NI clients or businesses that have had Invest NI grant support (some exceptions apply).

Official source

Who can apply

A summary of the main rules, not the full list. Invest Northern Ireland / Innovate NI decides who is eligible, so read their guidance before you apply. The free scan checks these against your own business.

  • Business based in Northern Ireland
  • You're running an innovation or R&D project
  • An SME (under 250 staff)

You cannot apply if

  • Primary agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture businesses are excluded
Read the full rules at the official source

How to apply, in brief

When a call is open: the business owner/operator submits the application online through the Invest NI Customer Portal (MyINI). You don't go straight to the form — you first complete Innovate NI's online Eligibility Checker, and only if you pass are you emailed a personalised link to the application form inside the portal. Currently BETWEEN ROUNDS: the last call closed on 10 December 2025 and no new call is open.

  1. 1Reality check: BIG is between rounds right now
  2. 2Check you fit before you spend any time (eligibility)
  3. 3When the call is open, complete the online Eligibility Checker
  4. 4Get your portal access — the application form link is emailed to you
  5. 5Build your costs and get supplier quotes BEFORE you write the form
  6. 6Complete and submit the online application before the deadline
  7. 7Scoring, ranking and the funding decision
  8. 8Letter of Offer (after KYC) — then deliver and claim in arrears

How long a decision takes: Per-round, not rolling. For the November 2025 call (closed 10 Dec 2025), Invest NI said applicants would be notified of the outcome by the end of March 2026 — roughly 3-4 months after the call closed. A Letter of Offer is then issued only after KYC due-diligence (ID, credit and Companies House checks) passes.

The full guide, with what to do at each step, the official link for it and a draft to work from, is part of the £19.95 report.

Common questions

Is Business Innovation Grant (BIG) — Northern Ireland open for applications?
Not right now. It runs in rounds and is between them.
How much is Business Innovation Grant (BIG) — Northern Ireland worth?
£5,000 to £20,000. It is a grant, and the funder decides what each applicant receives.
Who runs Business Innovation Grant (BIG) — Northern Ireland, and where is it available?
Invest Northern Ireland / Innovate NI runs it. It is available in Northern Ireland.
How do I apply for Business Innovation Grant (BIG) — Northern Ireland?
When a call is open: the business owner/operator submits the application online through the Invest NI Customer Portal (MyINI). You don't go straight to the form — you first complete Innovate NI's online Eligibility Checker, and only if you pass are you emailed a personalised link to the application form inside the portal. Currently BETWEEN ROUNDS: the last call closed on 10 December 2025 and no new call is open.

Does your business qualify?

Eligibility rules are where schemes get fiddly. Gov Owed checks your business against Business Innovation Grant (BIG) — Northern Ireland — and every other UK scheme we track — in about two minutes, free. The £19.95 report then explains exactly why you qualify, drafts your answers and walks you through the real application step by step.

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Information, not financial advice; eligibility is decided by the funder. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Schemes change — confirm details on the official page before applying.