New funding competitions announced for creative industries businesses in East Anglia

The Connected Innovation team secured the Create Growth Programme from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport back in 2022, with £1.275m to support potentially high-growth creative industries businesses across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. We have since received confirmation of an additional £425,000 extension for 2025/26.

The Create Growth Programme is made up of two key strands:

• Locked off Innovate UK funding calls for all Creative Industries sub-sectors across Create Growth regions.
• Local activity to support investment readiness across potentially high-growth Creative Industries businesses. In our region, the University of East Anglia is our delivery partner through Creative East which has supported 73 companies across four cohorts in Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge and Peterborough). There will be an additional two cohorts for 2025/26.

The latest locked-off Innovate UK funding competitions are now open until 29th May 2025 supporting Creative Industries businesses with innovation projects. These competitions are open to all sub-sectors and are made up of:

• Fully-funded grants are available for smaller innovation projects between £20,000 and £50,000: Competition overview – DCMS Create Growth Programme Competition 4: small projects – Innovation Funding Service
• Up to 70% grant funding will be provided for larger scale creative projects, for project costs between £50,000 to £200,000: Competition overview – DCMS Create Growth Programme Competition 4: large projects – Innovation Funding Service

We are actively supporting Norfolk and Suffolk Creative Industries businesses with their submissions to the Create Growth Competitions through the Innovation Grant Mentoring Project which has a successful track record in supporting companies through previous rounds. This is free bid writing and grant mentoring support from a very talented pool of experts.

Two afternoon workshops have been organised for the Create Growth Programme competitions as a partnership between the Innovation Grant Mentoring Project, Connected Innovation and Creative East:

• 8th May: Norfolk – The Enterprise Centre, University of East Anglia Campus, Norwich
• 9th May: Suffolk – Suffolk County Council, Endeavour House, Ipswich

Spaces are limited. If you would like to register for one of these workshops, please do sign up on the Innovation Grant Mentoring Project website.

The contact point for the Create Growth Programme (across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire) is Connected Innovation Programme Manager James Allen.

For clarification, Government has listed the following sub-sectors for the Creative Industries sector:

• Advertising & Marketing
• Architecture
• Crafts
• Design & Designer Fashion
• Film, TV, Radio & Photography
• Museums, Galleries & Libraries
• Music, Performing & Visual Arts
• Publishing
• IT, Software & Computer Services (includes Video Games).