The ESRC/AHRC SHAPE Catalyst is a £3.9 million programme that helps researchers build ventures from their research and deliver impact at scale. It runs from 2023-2026 and is open to UK researchers from the social sciences, arts, and humanities that want to bring new products, processes and services to market.
The ARC Accelerator is delivering the SHAPE Catalust through their four-stage programme, the ARC Pathway, which is designed to guide researchers on their commercialisation jourey (click here for an ARC Pathway overview).
- ARC Discover- Understand the different options for research impact, including commercialisation, and find new audiences for your research.
- ARC Launch- Explore commercialisation basics, test your idea with external stakeholders and identify the next steps to progress your idea.
- ARC Accelerate- Receive up to £62,500 at 80% fEC (£50,000 from UKRI) to fund commercialisation activities, fully validate your venture idea, develop a business model, gain key entrepeneurial skills and pitch for funding or investment.
- ARC Scale- Opening in 2024; formal details to be announced shortly. You will be paired with a mentor with similar experience to your venture and focus on building a team, business, and fundraising.
The four stages build on each other, so we recommend that interested researchers start their journey with ARC Discover and move along the ARC Pathway to be best placed to apply to the next stages.
Signups for ARC Discover and applications for ARC Launch and ARC Accelerate are now open on the ARC website! Follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates and rewatch one of the recent application webinars to find out more about the application process and what we are looking for.