Innovation Fund

• Not-for-profit organisations can apply for R&D funding to scope a new idea which enables them to work together with other organisations or experts outside their usual practice, or to enable them to undertake active research into areas they would not normally have the time or money to explore. This fund is not open to individuals.
• We particularly welcome ideas that take the perspective of people at the receiving end of activities or services, whether as audiences, participants or clients.
• We are also looking for ideas that demonstrate a cross-sectoral approach.
• If projects are specifically local they must be of a kind that have not been implemented elsewhere and which can set a precedent for emulation in other places, or serve as a national pilot.
• Although the host applicant and prime beneficiaries should be resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland, we are also interested in proposals that may involve European partners or that emulate good practice in other countries.
• Although we may occasionally give funding for projects that are developed as a result of an Innovation grant, we stress that we do not guarantee continued support.
• The funds available for Innovation grants are modest in scale and competition is likely to be strong.
• As a guide, it is expected that grants will average between £10,000 and £25,000.

Please read our list of exclusions.

Outline ideas should be submitted by email using the Initial Enquiry Form Word download on this website. Initial Enquiries can be sent in at any time of the year, but you should allow at least three months between this and the proposed starting date of your research period. Initial Enquiries will be assessed in the context of other applications and, if short-listed, fuller information will be requested and applicants invited to discuss their project with us. We will specify the additional information we need and the date we require it by. After completion of this stage, final applications will be considered at one of our three annual Trustee Meetings.

Please email the completed Initial Enquiry Form to Barbara Karch

We cannot help with the following enquiries which should be addressed to the appropriate Department at the Foundation’s Headquarters in Lisbon.

Support for Armenian projects and scholarships for Armenian students
Armenian Communities Department

Scholarships for Portuguese nationals
Education Department

Projects promoting Portuguese culture outside Portugal (but not in the UK or Ireland)
International Department