Business Basics was announced in the government’s Industrial Strategy to test innovative ways of encouraging small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt existing productivity-boosting technology and management practices.

This is the second round of the Business Basics Fund. We are funding 2 types of project in this round: trials and proof of concepts.

Trials

Trial projects will test different approaches to encouraging SMEs to adopt existing technologies and/or management practices that can boost firm level productivity. These projects will help to generate robust evidence on the most effective approaches, and build an understanding of the short, medium and long-term impacts of these approaches.

This competition is for trial projects where the lead applicant is a business. Other organisations such as public sector or not-for-profit can participate as collaborators but cannot lead.

To apply for funding to run a trial where the lead applicant is not a business you must apply through the non-business-led trial competition.

Proof of concept projects