Providing funded design support and innovation for your business
Impacting Business by Design is a new programme that provides design, development and technical support to SMEs with great ideas.
Funded & delivered by
Find out what we have to offer and you have to gain from our partnership
When your organisation is working with Impacting Business by Design we create a partnership. It's about more than the design and development of your product but how we can embed design and innovation within your company to improve its growth potential. Our team is passionate about design and we hope after our collaboration you will be too!
Working hard to make your product a reality
Collaboration is everything and this is where we start to work together
Our Process
We are looking for potential organisations to benefit from our support scheme
We have already committed over £1.3M worth of design support to organisations across the sectors. If you have a great idea, please check your eligibility and apply to see how we can assist you.
Supported by
Our network of professionals to aid you in your product commercialisation
Impacting Business by Design is about more than just design innovation support. Our project management team will work with you even after you prototype has been completed to network you with a range of contacts who can assist in getting your idea into market and onto the shelves. This includes access to manufacturers and private investment and further networking with growth and scale up partnerships.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Enquiries
Repayable Advance
State Aid and IP
Other
Is there a separate contract in addition to the proposal that is different to the terms and conditions attached to the application form?
The proposal and T’s and C’s make up the contract which is in place once the ATP is signed.
Can I choose which University I work with?
In most cases we will take into consideration your preference of HEI that you wish to work with. However should there be expertise, improved capacity or something else that could improve your product development journey we will discuss these with you at the application stage.
Do students work on my design project?
At Impacting Business by Design only professional designers and project managers will be working on your project. We do not employ students to undertake professional New Product Development work.
How do you ensure that the Design Work is agreed by my company and Impacting Business by Design?
Impacting Business by Design will work with your company to ensure that all parties are happy to move into the next stage of design work by signing off the previous stage. Work can not progress until the previous stage has been signed off and all parties are in agreement.
When do we start to accrue interest? Is this at the start of each stage / the end of each stage / other?
Interest will start to be incurred once the project has completed and the repayable advance paperwork has been completed.
Do we pay interest on both the co-investment and the repayable advance?
You only pay interest on the repayable advance. (The co-investment is an ‘in-kind’ contribution)
How much Interest will my company pay?
Interest is charged at the EU Discount Reference Rate (variable). This is compound interest and is charged until your company returns the Repayable Advance or the Grant is written off if the product fails to make it to/in the market.
How long do I have to return my Repayable Advance?
This is on a case by case basis and can range from 5 years to 15 years +. This is established on the type of product developed, the amount of marketing and testing that may be required before it can hit the market and cost of the proposal.
Can I use more support from more than one source for my design project?
IBbD encourages businesses to collaborate with any third party that can help them successfully commercialise design innovations, and any existing or planned collaborations will be taken into consideration when we agree with you how projects are to be done. However, the amount of publicly-funded support to the project is limited by the rules we operate under, which relate to the state aid legislation for experimental development.
IBbD typically offers the maximum amount of support you are allowed according to these rules, so if you want support from other publicly-funded sources, the value of that ‘state aid’ will need to be taken into account and may have to be discounted from our contribution to the overall project costs.
Can IBbD help me with a design project I’ve already started?
As a rule, IBbD will only support new projects, as we aim to help businesses improve their design capabilities and outcomes by working with closely them through the whole of the project cycle. We also, therefore, won’t just help reduce cost of projects – they have to be true end-to-end collaborations between your business and the IBbD. However, on an exceptional basis, we may help redesign and implement projects when businesses have got stuck or things have gone wrong because they lack the necessary expertise, or the original specification was wrong. In this case, our agreement with you is effectively for a new project for a new specification product to be developed in a way that takes into account our joint expectations of what needs to be done. Care will be taken to ensure our support doesn’t simply serve to reduce your costs, as this would contravene EU legislation on allowable state aid.
What happens if my company cannot repay the co-investment by the end of the project?
IBbD will work with your company through all stages of the design work to ensure that they understand the amount of Co-investment required at each stage. This will ensure that towards to end of the programme your company is always upto date with their Co-investment.
is it acceptable to include any of the time I have already spent up to the date this project has started (ATP signed)?
We will need to only count your costs from when the ATP is signed to ensure you comply with State Aid legislation for the IBbD programme for this specific project under 'experimental development'.
What is a 'working prototype'?
IBbD will work with you to develop a high fidelity working prototype that can be used for marketing purposes and to gain private investment. This prototype will look like the final product but may not be manufactured using the exact manufacturing techniques or materials that may be used in production.
The success stories from people we have worked with
We love to see our partners succeeding from the support we have been able to provide. The collaboration and support throughout the whole IBbD process is key to aiding in the successful commercialisation of the design innovations. Take a look at some of our success stories here.
Keeping up to date with the latest projects & resources
EVENT! 25TH FEB 2021 – HOW DESIGN CAN IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS
The Impacting Business by Design Team at Nottingham Trent University are holding a training event for organisations to discuss and explain how Design can impact your business. https://www.ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2021/02/are-you-keen-to-learn-how-product-design-can-impact-your-business Event Details: This will be a 1 hour webinar session targeted at SMEs and start ups who are interested in developing their understanding of design in […]
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COVID 19 – An update from Prof. Guy Bingham
Dear Impacting Business by Design (IBbD) collaborator, We have recently conducted a contingency plan review addressing the threat of disruption from the Coronavirus (Covid-19) to the IBbD programme and its projects. With immediate effect the following policy will be implemented to ensure the highest level of continuity for your IBbD project: All non-essential travel and […]
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