£3m to accelerate Cardiff’s bright ideas

Cardiff University's best, brightest and most disruptive ideas are to benefit from £3m funding to accelerate knowledge exchange, translation and commercialisation.

The award from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) will support early-stage translation of UK research to create new jobs, transform public services, attract private investment and forge new partnerships with business and charities.

Cardiff’s £2,998,604 grant is part of a £118m package to support 64 research organisations across the UK.

“It is also the first time the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has participated directly in IAA funding, investing £5m over three years. This represents an opportunity to support cultural activity that has a significant impact on communities in Wales and beyond.”

The UKRI IAA programme, now in its 10th year, provided early-stage support to projects that are now established global businesses.

UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, said: "Research and innovation has the potential to improve people’s lives and livelihoods, rejuvenating communities across the UK and tackling global challenges. It is imperative that we harness that potential.

“The path between discovery and impact is not simple and so it is vital that we provide flexible support that allows talented people and teams, and world-class institutions to connect discovery to prosperity and public good.”

The new Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) offers a UKRI-wide simplified model with a single application with centralised reporting and monitoring that aims to improve strategic planning.