£50m West Midlands R&D initiative launches to upscale and develop local businesses
Three projects launched today in the West Midlands, including two led by the University of Warwick, are receiving £50 million of support from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to help businesses develop and scale near to market products and services.
- Businesses operating in the high growth clusters of advanced manufacturing, health and life sciences, and creative technologies are invited to submit expressions of interest (EOI) for R&D funding support.
- Delivering on the priorities of the West Midlands Growth Plan, the projects are designed to unlock more than £200 million in private capital and create a £700 million long-term economic legacy in the region.
- Warwick leading the advanced manufacturing and creative technologies projects, showcasing leadership in critical areas such as clean energy and immersive technologies; and also a partner in the Health and Life Sciences project.
Businesses operating in the high growth clusters of advanced manufacturing, health and life sciences, and creative technology can now submit expressions of interest (EOI) for research and development funding support from the £50 million allocated to the West Midlands through the UK government’s £500 million Local Innovation Partnerships Fund.
Led by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is designed to support the development and scaling of high-potential, existing and emerging innovation clusters across the UK. It brings together local leaders, businesses and research organisations to build on regional strengths; creating high-quality jobs, driving innovation-led productivity, and attracting additional public and private investment into communities nationwide.
The clusters prioritised for this funding were announced by West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker earlier this year. A formal launch, attended by the Mayor, Lord Vallance, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, and Mike Wright, Chair of the West Midlands Innovation Board, was held in Birmingham on Friday 3rd July to mark the next phase of delivery.
These projects will support the West Midlands Growth Plan and will help unlock more than £200 million in private capital and create a £700 million long-term economic legacy in the region. They will also support the Growth Plan’s ambition to grow GVA by £17 billion by 2035 and create 100,000 high-quality jobs.
Richard Parker, West Midlands Mayor, said: “Our track record of investing in the right ideas at the right time has already created hundreds of jobs and attracted millions in private investment. Government is now backing us to do even more through this record innovation funding deal.
“These research labs and tech studios are as important to our economy today as the factories of previous generations that made the West Midlands the ‘workshop of the world’.
“We’re determined to cement our role as a global leader in the industries of the future by backing a new generation of innovators and pioneers to turn their big ideas into commercial success.”
Lord Vallance, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, commented: “Innovation is fundamental to achieving economic growth, which is why we want to support the development of new tech right across the country, including here in the West Midlands. These projects will help secure the region's status as an engine for growth in advanced manufacturing, health and life sciences, and creative technologies – with the local partnership expecting to deliver more than 2,300 skilled jobs and helping unlock more than £180 million in private investment.
“The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is ensuring the expertise we have right across the country is playing an active role in shaping the future of our economy and in cementing our position as a world leader in science and innovation.”
LIPF is open to innovative organisations of all sizes based in the West Midlands, including startups, scale-ups, SMEs, large companies, and research organisations. Eligibility is driven by the active role the organisation plays in developing, commercialising, or scaling technologies within the three priority sectors. Businesses must also be part of a “triple helix” partnership – a collaborative network between private industry, academic research partners, and the public sector.
Funding will be delivered across three flagship innovation programmes, including;
- FORGE for Advanced Manufacturing: Led by Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick, the FORGE project will drive technology-enabled industrial transformation and supply-chain agility across future mobility and the clean energy transition.
- Clinical Trials Catalyst for Health and Life Sciences: Led by the University of Birmingham, the WM Clinical Commercial Catalyst strengthens regional expertise in clinical trials, and near-to-patient biomanufacturing and regulation, leveraging regional strengths into global markets.
- Creative Industries Scale-up Lab (CISL) for Creative and Immersive Technologies: Led by the University of Warwick, WM CISL targets a fast growth regional opportunity in immersive, AI-enabled and design-led innovation, diffusing adoption, with skills and market pull across multiple areas.
These projects have been co-developed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the West Midlands Innovation Board, in partnership with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The Fund will be delivered by the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) and Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM) alongside lead delivery partners University of Warwick and University of Birmingham.
Welcoming the launch, Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Warwick, said: “Universities make a real difference to the places and people around them. At Warwick, we have always worked closely with communities and businesses beyond our campus. Through WMG, the Warwick Innovation District and our wider work across the region, we have shown how universities and industry can work together to turn research into new ideas, new businesses and new opportunities.
“We are proud to be working with partners across the West Midlands and to be leading on two of the three LIPF projects. This work will build on Warwick’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, creative technology, health and life sciences and turn them into real benefits for our region, the UK, and the world.”
All projects must involve academia, industry and government, and deliver real-world impact, advancing knowledge, improving lives and driving growth.
The West Midlands is one of seventeen places across the UK receiving support to deliver real-world impact, advancing knowledge, improving lives and driving growth.
The Rt Hon Greg Clark, Executive Chair of the University of Warwick’s Innovation District and Industrial Strategy Advisory Council member, said: “The Government has prioritised 8 high growth sectors - from advanced manufacturing to creative industries - and Warwick is strong in all of them. This fund builds on our renowned success in partnerships with industry and will allow us to make an even bigger impact on jobs and prosperity across our region.”
Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKRI, said: “The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund exists to ensure that world-class research gets into the hands of local organisations and businesses to create real economic value in communities across the UK.
“The West Midlands is demonstrating exactly how that works: taking deep scientific expertise in areas like health and life sciences, and advanced manufacturing and connecting it directly to industry and global markets.
“This is how UKRI’s investment in places becomes investment in the nation’s future and helps achieve our mission to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth.”
In the West Midlands, LIPF builds on the success of the £43m West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, which supported over 1,500 local businesses and generated more than a 2:1 private co-investment rate within three years. The initiative supported business such as the Global Nano Network, FuturEnergy, Osmium, and MICA Biosystems.
Mike Wright, Chairman of the West Midlands Innovation Board, a body established in 2019 that brings together businesses, universities, and policy makers and co-created the initiative to help innovative companies scale up, said: “LIPF West Midlands represents an exciting continuation of the successful West Midlands Accelerator programme. This £50m public sector funding will help nurture and develop high-growth sector businesses, by translating great ideas into market-ready products and services.
“It will ensure we’re putting the West Midlands on the map as a national and international leader in business innovation, development, and technology.”
Wider academic partners in LIPF include Coventry University, Aston University, and the University of Wolverhampton. Wider private sector, cluster, and industry partners include the Black Country Industrial Cluster (BCIC-WM), Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre), Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the Primary Care Accelerator, Medilink Midlands and RESILIENCE, BBC, Banijay, Create Central and CWX partners, Cisco, and Capgemini.
Businesses can now register an expression of interest for funding and partnership opportunities via the Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM) website via: Business Growth West Midlands – Local Innovation Partnerships Fund
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact:
West Midlands Growth Company
- Rabia Raza, Head of Communications, West Midlands Growth Company, rabia.raza@wmgrowth.com | 07984 410462
- James Robinson, PR & Communications Manager, West Midlands Growth Company, james.robinson@wmgrowth.com
University of Warwick
- Dom Barker, Media & Communications Officer
- Dom.Barker@warwick.ac.uk | 07824 540727
- General and out-of-hours press office number: +44 (0)7392 125605 (please call as emails are not checked out of office hours).
About the West Midlands Growth Company
The West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) is the principle economic delivery organisation for the West Midlands.
Its mission is to shape a thriving, inclusive and globally competitive region by supporting the delivery of the West Midlands Growth Plan on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
WMGC brings together the public, private and academic sectors to unlock economic opportunity and drive sustainable growth. The organisation works to attract high-value investment, accelerate business growth, strengthen globally significant sector clusters, align skills and talent with future demand, grow the visitor economy, and enhance the region’s profile among national and international audiences.
Focusing on the WMCA geography of Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire, and the Black Country, WMGC works in partnership across the region to convert ambition into delivery - ensuring the benefits of growth are realised by businesses, communities and places throughout the West Midlands.
About the University of Warwick
Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a world-leading institution known for its commitment to era-defining innovation across research and education. A connected ecosystem of staff, students and alumni, the University fosters transformative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and bold industry partnerships across state-of-the-art facilities in the UK and global satellite hubs. Here, spirited thinkers push boundaries, experiment and challenge convention to create a better world.
6th July 2026