HIE support

Life Sciences video showcase

What is it?

The Northern Innovation Hub is offering fully funded support to help Life Sciences businesses operating within the Highlands to showcase their business activity operated from here.

The support will include:

  • The filming and production of a video about your business 90-120 second in duration and a shorter 30 second video made for your use on social media and your website
  • Workshop-based in-person support that will cover:
    • Planning of your video
    • Mapping out the purpose of your video
      • Are you seeking investment?
      • Showcasing your services?
      • Showcasing your product?
      • Looking to increase visibility of your business operations here in the highlands or how you carry out your work?
      • Do you have a new business or product?
      • Are you looking to showcase your business in an international market?
    • Identifying your audience ‘persona’
    • Storyboarding what will be in your film
    • Media Training for a small number of staff who will speak to camera in your film.

All workshops will take place during March 2025 at the Life Sciences Innovation Centre (LSIC), 20a Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA.

The films will be filmed and produced March-April 2025 and, after approval, will be available for your usage from Summer 2025 onwards.

The filming will either take place in Inverness or on location.

How much does it cost?

This support is fully funded.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for this fully funded support you must:

  • Be an enterprise operating in
    • the Life Sciences sector**
    • the Highland Council region

This includes start-ups, pre-trading organisations and established businesses.

Enterprises carrying out a business activity in the Highland Council region can apply. Enterprise must be seeking to showcase products or services developed within the Highland Council. This can include research and development projects.

Applicants will be asked about whether they comply with HIE’s fair work conditions and supported to progress towards becoming a fair work employer. If you want to speak to someone about the Fair Work requirement or need more information, please email enquiries@hient.co.uk.

This fully funded support will be subject to specific terms and conditions set out in an individual subsidy award letter.

**Life Sciences Definition:

What is included in the Life Sciences and Technology sectors

Life Sciences sector includes but is not limited to:

  • Human and animal health, health-tech, diagnostics, wellbeing and health-service innovations
  • Commercial Clinical research, non-clinical research
  • AAA – Animal-health, Agri-tech & Aquaculture (of fish, shellfish and seaweed/algae)
  • Biotech including industrial biotech, biorefining, growing of existing and new value chains, using biomass/feedstocks from various industries (including food and drink, marine, agriculture, forestry, waste) to create value-added and sustainable products
  • Blue economy and marine-environment sub-sectors
  • One-health including public-health, water, ecosystems, ecology, environmental health and planetary-health.

The following organisations are NOT eligible for this fund:

  • Organisations which are primarily core funded by the public sector are not eligible (core funding does not include project funding and service level agreements with the public sector).
  • Businesses and social enterprises operating primarily in the retail, food and beverage service or personal services sector e.g. shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, beauticians, alternative therapist etc. or business services sector e.g. lawyers, accountants etc.
  • Accommodation and other types of businesses operating from an applicant’s own home e.g. B&B or AirBnB type businesses are not eligible.
  • Religious and political organisations.

Application process

Applications will follow a two-stage process.

The first stage is to complete the online Expression of Interest Form (EOI) available on this page by the 31st January at noon.

You will hear the outcome of your EOI by Friday 14th February.

If your EOI is unsuccessful we will tell you why.

If your EOI is successful, we will guide you through the second stage of your application which will include a subsidy letter and a review of the terms and conditions of support.

The small print - this is important

  • All HIE assistance is discretionary. Subsidy awards are subject to due diligence and budget availability.
  • Making an application to the scheme does not guarantee that your application will be successful.
  • There is NO appeals process. We are unable to consider a complaint purely relating to dissatisfaction as to the outcome of a funding decision. However, if you have identified a specific process failure relating to your application then you may wish to make a formal complaint. See our formal complaints process for more information.

Need to speak to us?

If you would like to talk to someone about your application, please email enquiries@hient.co.uk and we will get back to you.

FAIR WORK CONDITIONS FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Any organisation applying for grant funding from HIE must comply with our fair work conditions for financial support. This includes: 

  • Paying all employees, aged 16 years and above (including apprentices), the Real Living Wage (currently £12.60* per hour) as a minimum.
    If you cannot meet this criterion, please contact us before you apply for funding, email enquiries@hient.co.uk
  • Having a flexible working policy
  • Be able to demonstrate how you support workforce development and foster employee engagement.

* The Real Living Wage increased from £12 per hour to £12.60 per hour on 23 October 2024. Employers have 6 months, until 01 May 2025, to implement the increase.

If you would like to speak to someone about the fair work requirement, or need more information, please email enquiries@hient.co.uk.

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About the Northern Innovation Hub

This programme is delivered through the Northern Innovation Hub, a funding programme designed to build on and accelerate business innovation.

The Northern Innovation Hub was awarded £11m from the UK Government as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal. The deal is a joint initiative supported by £315m investment from the UK and Scottish governments, Highland Council, HIE and the University of the Highlands and Islands. This programme also receives financial support through the European Regional Development Fund Scotland Programme.

Explore all business support delivered through the Northern Innovation Hub.

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