Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: NERC-Innovate UK ICURe Discover programme

Opportunity status:: Upcoming
Funders:: Innovate UK, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Funding type:: Other
Maximum award:: £2,500
Publication date:: 2 October 2026
Opening date:: 15 October 2026 9:00am UK time
Closing date:: 12 November 2026 11:59pm UK time

Apply for the NERC ICURe Discover nine-week online market exploration programme.

Participants will build market awareness, deepen understanding of potential technology applications of their research and learn how to gauge customer opinion about their idea, product, or service.

This programme is for participants looking to explore the potential of early-stage projects and provides up to £2,500 for market discovery activities.

To apply you must have previously received NERC funding directly as an individual or been affiliated with NERC-funded programmes.

Who can apply

Who is eligible?

This programme is only open to those who have previously received NERC funding directly as an individual or been affiliated with NERC-funded programmes, for example studentships, fellowships, research grants.

The NERC ICURe Discover programme is open to researchers at all levels of seniority, technicians and students from all disciplines undertaking master’s degrees, PhDs, and postdoctoral research. You can be based at a university, independent research organisation or one of NERC’s six centres across the UK.

See a full list of NERC centres.

You should have a genuine interest in entrepreneurship.

Your course of study and idea or research must be directly related to the commercialisation of NERC-funded research to solve climate adaptation challenges. It should do this by bringing new or improved technologies, processes, products and services to market to enhance UK’s climate resilience. This ensures physical and social systems are resilient and well adapted to a changing climate.

This includes, but is not limited to:

food security
water supply
transport
urban design
large infrastructure resilience
community preparedness and response
physical risks for the finance sector

We welcome applications from individuals in:

universities who have not participated in the ICURe programme
universities who do not receive Higher Education Innovation Funding funding
under-represented groups including women, people of colour, those living with disabilities and those from the LGBTQI plus communities
approved public sector research enterprises

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from anyone who is eligible.

What we're looking for

What is the NERC ICURe Discover programme?

Innovate UK’s ICURe (Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research) Programme is a nationwide programme which supports students and researchers to explore the commercial applications and potential impacts of their research.

NERC ICURe Discover is a nine-week part-time online market exploration programme, delivered by SETsquared Partnership, and tailored for NERC researchers and technicians.

The ICURe Discover programme is developed using the lean startup methodology, which applies the scientific method (hypothesise, test, evaluate) to business ideas. Participants will:

learn how to use this approach to gauge their potential customers’ opinions about their idea
enhance their market awareness
deepen their understanding of the potential technology applications of their research

NERC ICURe Discover is intended for participants looking to explore the potential of early-stage projects and provides up to £2,500 for market discovery activities.

It is a pre-requisite to attend ICURe Discover if you subsequently wish to apply for ICURe Explore or Exploit opportunities.

There is no automatic entry to Explore if Discover is completed.

Why attend?

Discover is now a compulsory route into the ICURe Explore Programme.

Past participants say that having dedicated time to understanding what the commercialisation of research means has dramatically changed their perspective on their research, ideas, and innovations. They said that starting with the technology and looking for an application, helped them finish the programme with a clearer sense of who their work is for and what their next move should be.

The programme introduces ICURe and provides the space and opportunity to think differently about impact, commercialisation, and entrepreneurship.

What’s included?

You must be able to attend the entire programme and should hold all session dates (PDF, 365KB) in your diary when applying:

welcome call and session one: 13 January 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session two: 20 January 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session three: 27 January 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session four: 3 February 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session five: 10 February 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session six: 24 February 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session seven: 3 March 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
session eight: 10 March 2027, 1:00pm to 4:00pm UK time
presentation day: 17 March 2027, all day

The NERC ICURe Discover programme includes:

support to carry out market and customer discovery on a part-time basis over a nine-week period
half-day workshops, following a pre-course briefing with our team of experts
flexible online delivery
hearing from guest speakers related to NERC, who will share their learning and experiences from their ICURe journeys
introduction to Strategyzer’s Business Model Canvas
trainer, mentor and peer feedback with next steps guidance following your ICURe Discover journey
up to £2,500 support for market discovery activities

How to apply

To apply

You should submit your application on the Launchan website.

The online application form will ask a series of questions about you and your research project.

There is a limited number of spaces on each cohort, but we will support as many applications as possible.

You will need to engaged with your university technology transfer office prior to applying.

Deadline

The deadline for applications is 12 November 2026 at 11:59pm UK time.

How we will assess your application

Timescale

You should expect to hear the outcome of your application by early December.

Contact details

For help with your application contact us through Innovate UK Business Connects ‘Get in touch’ page.

Additional info

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) pathway

Through 2026 to 2027, Innovate UK ICURe is working more closely with UKRI councils to bring the programme directly into the research communities they support. The UKRI council pathways initiative is delivered via the same ICURe Engage, Discover, Explore and Exploit stages, but the cohorts, examples, networks and onward routes are shaped around the research priorities of the partner council. The aim is that researchers attached to a UKRI-funded environment experience ICURe as part of their own sector, with the programme shaped around the work they are already doing.

The practical implication is that ICURe is being actively built into the research environment around you, as a researcher or technician. There are low-commitment entry points you can take without stepping away from your current work.

This opportunity forms part of a pilot programme with select UK research councils to gauge interest and test the market, NERC has been approached to be involved. Beyond this pilot, a range of ICURe programmes operate throughout the year, offering additional routes for participation and there is no guarantee that NERC will be directly involved in future programme iterations.

Climate adaptation, environment and resilience

Climate adaptation, environment and resilience is one of UKRI’s new priority programmes and UKRI will invest in improving the UK’s climate resilience, including in support of the National Adaptation Programme as published in its new strategy and delivery plan.

Webinar for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar on 16 October 2026 at 12:00pm UK time. The webinar will provide more information about the funding opportunity and there will be a chance to ask questions.

Supporting links

The Climate Adaptation Research and Innovation Framework (April 2025) provides a non-exhaustive collation of adaptation research and innovation (R&I) needs across sectors and ‘systems’, key to strengthening the UK’s climate resilience.

The Climate Adaptation Research and Innovation Programme Inventory provides an overview of the main government-funded R&I programmes that support climate adaptation, where adaptation is a core or significant component. It may not capture all relevant activity, some government programmes include adaptation-related research as part of broader portfolios that may not be substantial enough to be included here.