Research Commercialisation Proof of Concept Fund - Equality and Diversity Report

1.1 Introduction

The Scottish Government is committed to partnering with universities to create an innovative approach to economic development that aims to place universities at the heart of regional and national economic growth. The commercialisation of world leading university research is critical for developing new markets and creating future industries that will deliver growth, investment, and skilled jobs. However, there are many barriers to increasing commercialisation activity, including a lack of funding at the proof-of-concept stage.

The Scottish Government is working to address these barriers and this year a new pilot Proof of Concept Fund was introduced to kick start the step change needed. Proof of Concept (PoC) funding supports early-to-mid stage commercialisation activities as part of the development of innovative ideas or technologies, bridging the ‘Valley of Death’ between groundbreaking research and commercial applications.

The fund opened for applications in June 2025 and received a total of 89 applications, of these, 18 projects from 10 different universities received funding. A key priority of the Scottish Government is to have a ’fair economy.’ To support this, diversity data was collected from applicants to understand who applies for and is awarded funding.

Stakeholders across the ecosystem report a lack of diversity data on who applies for and receives funding to support research commercialisation activities. Data available from other sources including Scottish Enterprise, Innovate UK and Federation for Small Business shows that those from a diverse background find it more of a challenge to excel in entrepreneurship due to less funding opportunities, societal barriers, and a lack of role models.

During the PoC application process lead applicants were asked a range of diversity questions relating to age, ethnicity, gender, illness, disability, and socio-economic status. This data was provided voluntarily and was anonymised; diversity data did not inform decision making on funding.

This report provides a summary of responses to each diversity question, firstly by all 89 applicants that applied, then a subset showing the data for the 18 applicants that received funding.