CreaTech Frontiers Growth Lab

CreaTech Frontiers is placing innovation and growth at its core to develop a thriving createch ecosystem across the West Midlands.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), it aims to transform how creative content, products, and services are supported by funding collaborative R&D, enabling business innovation, and developing skills and talent in the region.

Led by Birmingham City University, CreaTech Frontiers is delivered by a consortium of six core partners that includes Coventry University, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick, and Digital Catapult. Discover more about CreaTech Frontiers here.

CreaTech Frontiers Growth Lab delivered in partnership with Digital Catapult, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) part of UKRI. It is part of the open innovation activities delivered by CreaTech Frontiers, and is the first of four funding calls Digital Catapult will be delivering as part of the programme.

The application process consists of a submitted application which will be assessed by a judging panel against the selection criteria. All qualifying applications will be reviewed and scored by the panel and shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview to present their projects.

Successful applicants will be then notified and contracted with a Participant Agreement from Birmingham City University.

The programme will begin on 4 May 2026 and run for 10 weeks until 22nd July and is provisional on the completion of the participant agreement.

1. Register your interest in applying here.
2. Interested parties will receive an email with a link to the full application form when the open call opens on 16 February 2026
3. When it opens, select apply
4. Applicants must complete the form by 23:59 on the 8th March 2026
5. Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their projects at an interview late March.
6. Participants will be selected and contracts signed.

Below are the provisional dates of the programme and subject to change:

• Open Call opens – 16th February 2026
• Open Call closes – 8th March 2026 at 23.59pm 2026
• Q&A Sessions – TBC
• Notification of shortlisted projects and Invitation to interview – Mid-to-End of March
• Notification of successful projects – End of March 2026
• Contracting and Business Health Scans – March to May 2026
• Programme Start Date – 4th May 2026
• Programme End Date – 20th July 2026
• Kick Off Programme Event – Early May 2026
• Final Programme Event – End of July 2026

We invite participants to apply who meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Your company product or solution must be at Technology Readiness Level 3 and higher
   
   Eligible companies must have a proof of concept and be ready to validate the technical elements of this solution in a lab-controlled environment i.e. you don’t need a market ready product or service but must have demonstration of it.

2. Your company product or solution must be at Commercial Readiness Level between 3 and 6
   
   Eligible companies must have validated the requirement of their solution with real world customers.To help you find your Commercial Readiness Level and Technology Readiness Level, please use our self-assessment tool here
3. Your company must sit within the Creative Technology sector
   
   The definition of the Creative Technology sector, as defined by Warwick University: “the interface of tech and creative industries — which captures both the transformation of the creative industries by technology, and the co-creation of new tech products and services for creative outputs, processes, products and services.” University of Warwick, 2021These could include sub-sectors such as:
   – Games and other interactive media (for example world building; game engine development)
   – gamification and AI)
   – Enabling technologies for creative outputs (for example AI, ML, data, haptics, robotics, cloud computing, future networks)
   – Immersive (for example XR, immersive audio)
   – Live performance (for example music and AI; augmented performance; digital storytelling)
   – Screen (for example virtual production; sustainability in media productions)
   – Visual arts (for example digital museums and heritage; digital content creation)
   – Other (something amazing we haven’t thought of)
4. Minimum Financial Assistance applicable
   
   Applicants must be within the minimum financial assistance limit – they can only receive up to £315,000 worth of public organisation grant money within a 3 year period. Further information about Minimum Financial Assistance can be found here
5. You must have a registered company, and your company must be registered in the West Midlands(including Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire)
   
   We recognise that the West Midlands is made up a diverse community of people from a wide range of backgrounds, and we are working to radically address the inequalities that currently exist in the tech landscape. We encourage those from less represented groups to apply, and to reach out to us as soon as possible with any additional access requirements.

The focus of this programme is business growth and supporting creative technology businesses to achieve their commercial and growth goals, and so although the eligible companies may benefit from being supported in their artistic or technical approach, or critique of their product or solution, this does not fall within the boundaries of what this programme offers.

If you are an applicant who would prefer to receive funding and feedback that directly supports the development of your product and solution, please see our Challenge Calls via this link, the first of which will be launching towards the end of 2026.

• Applicants must be a UK based registered business operating in the West Midlands region.
• Applicants must have a UK business bank account.
• Applicants must be eligible to receive up to £315,000 in Minimum Financial Assistance (see T&C for further details).
• The team has to have one or more team members with expertise in the area they are applying for.
• Applying companies must have two or more team members.

The application information will only be used for the purposes of the Programme and its evaluation, and will only be retained for the duration of the Programme (one year), and for participants on the Programme for the evaluation period (maximum five years) and otherwise to comply with legal requirements.

This application information is only shared with Digital Catapult, and Birmingham City University (and core partners: University of Birmingham, Coventry University, University of Warwick and Royal Shakespeare Company) and the funder (AHRC/UKRI), where information is shared outside of Digital Catapult this will be made clear in the application form/programme agreements.

Yes, the application automatically saves on the platform.

The selection criteria to assess and select the applicants are the following and each of them has the same weight.

Growth Vision

The team demonstrates a clear internal vision for the long-term growth of their business or concept. This includes well-defined goals, ambition for scale or impact, a strong understanding of their industry and target market, and some thinking around investment or other funding pathways to create sustainable growth over time. The judges will be looking to feel confident that the applicant can make effective use of the accelerator and will take value in the activities available to meet their own business goals.

Growth Potential

The application should clearly demonstrate that the external demand for the organisation’s product or solution. It should show that the solution holds strong market value, that there is interest from the target audience, and there is potential to scale. The judges will be looking to feel confident that the investment of £15,000 into the organisation is worthwhile and will contribute towards a validated growth trajectory.

Team Commitment

The team should demonstrate that they can dedicate adequate time and resources to fully engage with and complete the Business Growth Accelerator. This includes showing team capacity, clear roles, and a commitment to prioritizing the programme alongside other responsibilities. The judges will be looking to feel confident that the applicant can dedicate adequate time to the programme to gain the most benefit.

Please note that the team must engage in a minimum of 20 hours of the accelerator over the 10-week programme, which can include participation in the accelerator activities and the work assigned by activity leads to do outside of the sessions.

Technology and Commercial Readiness Level (at or above TRL 3 and CRL 3-6)

The team describes the current stage of development of their solution, service, or experience from both a technical and market perspective. They should demonstrate how their technology and business model are positioned to support their growth vision, including any validation, traction, or readiness for scaling and early adoption. The applicant will be required to present evidence that the technology that underpins the solution has been developed has been validated in a lab environment, and is has been commercially validated through direct engagement with customers and receipt of feedback. The judges will be looking to feel confident that the company applying can make optimal use of the accelerator’s activities to push them along their growth trajectory.

Please refer to our Technology and Commercial Readiness Level app and self-assess the current stage of your service or solution.

Please note, we will also include a Diversity and Inclusion survey in the application form. If you have any questions regarding this survey, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our team.

1. Once applications close, all applications will be assessed for eligibility.
2. All eligible applicants will then be assessed and shortlisted by a panel of judges from the programme, based on the selection criteria.
3. Those that are shortlisted may be invited to interview by Digital Catapult. This interview stage is intended to provide an opportunity for project teams to present their idea and answer any questions the judges may have.
4. A final deliberation panel will assess the shortlisted applicants, and select the final cohort of 10 projects.

Createch Frontiers Growth Lab is a 10 week business growth accelerator aimed to provide tailored support to creative technology companies in the West Midlands to achieve their commercial goals. This programme is designed to provide early-stage companies, who are at or above a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 and Commercial Readiness Level (CRL) of 3-6. This programme focuses on early-stage development where a business has successfully delivered a Proof of Concept (PoC) and who would now benefit from bespoke support to achieve their own specific growth goals. With this programme we are offering £15,000 worth of bespoke support for commercialization and growth – helping the business refine their business strategies to enable sustainable scaling.

To help you find your Commercial Readiness Level and Technology Readiness Level, please use our self assessment tool here.

Applicants will need to complete the application form by 23:59 pm on 8th of March 2023 to be considered for the programme.

Unfortunately, because of a potentially high volume of applications, we can’t provide feedback on all applications but we will provide feedback to shortlisted applicants. We will notify everyone that applies of the outcome of their application via email.

You are welcome to apply to future opportunities.

No. Creative companies who are successful in applying for this programme will receive £15,000 worth of bespoke growth and scaling support in accordance with their business needs. This programme offers support in progressing along traditional commercialisation pathways, as well as alternative routes to accessing finance, partnerships and audiences in the creative industries.

This £15,000 must be declared as Minimum State Aid.

The participants will have full ownership of all new intellectual property created on the programme. For full details, please refer to the programme terms and conditions.

CreaTech Frontiers Growth Lab’s activities are planned to be delivered remotely/online. We expect to organise a small number of in-person events, such activities may include programme kick-off and showcase events. Participants will be informed with plenty of notice and will be subject to updated COVID-19 -related guidance on restrictions and best practices.

Unless otherwise stated in programme specific requirements or terms and conditions, participating or having participated in accelerator or other programmes does not preclude you from taking part in CreaTech Frontiers Growth Lab, so long as the timings do not cause a conflict of interest as outlined in the T&Cs.

If you have been part of any previous Digital Catapult programme you are welcome to join. For other programmes, your participation will be dependent on the terms of the programme itself and what you have agreed to in the terms and conditions.

For any queries regarding this call, please contact [email protected]