Grants and sources of funding for software development

Ring the good news bell! We have been awarded a ~£20k Innovation Support for Business government grant.

ISfB is a £5.2 million programme to encourage innovative business ideas within small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). As part of that, Go-Create Grants are available on a competitive basis from £1,000 to £50,000 for innovation projects within tech and non-tech businesses. The application process was rigorous and required us to demonstrate the value of delivering key aspects of our development strategy, which is creating software that harmonises publishers’ workflows.

Software development is an expensive undertaking, but we keep our prices as low as possible to bring the benefits of “one version of the truth” to as many publishing professionals as possible – so support from grants like this is really helpful. It’s also good to have the importance of our innovation validated from government outsiders: we had to compete with other business sectors for this grant so it is heartening that publishing is seen as a worthy sector of support.

Here is a launch video produced by Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) in which Andy and Emma appear at the 56 second mark!

Grants are one way to fund software development, and is viable if you have a compelling case that aligns well with the funders’ objectives. Another avenue we have benefited from is the UK government’s R&D Tax Credits programme. That’s a case of asking your accountant for advice, but it’s well worth it if you are innovative and undertake R&D.

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We're always happy to have a chat and let you know what we've seen other publishers do in your situation to good effect, and we're happy to arrange a tailored demo just for your team of Consonance: the sure-fire way to improve your publishing and lay the groundwork for growth.