Create Growth Funding - Call Open for Creative Industries in Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire

Back in 2021, the team behind Connected Innovation secured the Create Growth Programme from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport supporting potentially high-growth creative industries businesses across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

This programme is made up of two parts: locked-off Innovate UK funding calls for all creative industries sub-sectors and funding to local areas (extended for 2025/26) for investment readiness cohorts delivered across our geography by the Creative East delivery team at UEA (so far, cohorts have been delivered in Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge and Peterborough with 2025/26 cohorts in planning phase).

The latest locked-off Innovate UK funding competitions for all creative industries sub-sectors (listed at the bottom) have now opened (from 31^st March), closing on 29^th May 2025. These are made up of:

Fully-funded grants are available for smaller innovation projects between £20,000 and £50,000 (details here: 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 (details here: Competition overview – DCMS Create Growth Programme Competition 4: large projects – Innovation Funding Service)

A live briefing session for Creative Industries businesses will be held on Thursday 3rd April at 10:00 AM. Register here: Webinar Registration – Zoom (this will be recorded).

The contact point for this programme is [email protected].

For Creative Industries businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk, we encourage them to sign up to the Innovation Grant Mentoring Project which can provide them with free bid writing and grant mentoring support – so please do send them to [email protected].

DCMS have listed following sub-sectors for Creative Industries:

– Advertising and Marketing
– Architecture
– Crafts
– Design and designer fashion
– Film, TV, radio and photography
– Museums, galleries and libraries
– Music, performing and visual arts
– Publishing.
– IT, software and computer services (includes video games)