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With the Commercialisation Fund, you can access significant funding and supports to develop your innovation idea.
Access Funding
For: Third-level researchers
Amount: Up to €350,000
Cost to you: Not applicable
IP: Owned by Trinity College Dublin with a license agreed at the end of the project
Funder: Enterprise Ireland
What is it?
The programme will fund the development of innovations at all stages of the commercial pipeline to the point where they can be commercialised as new products, services and companies.
As part of the programme, you will receive support to develop a comprehensive development plan.
Contact our team to apply.Who can apply?
The Commercialisation Fund Programme is available to researchers who:
- Are developing technology to address a gap in the market
- Expect to be ready to go in 2-5 years (for licensing or to form a new start-up)
- Researchers in third-level institutions and non-profit research agencies and organisations in the Republic of Ireland
Funding available
Researchers can initially apply for a grant of €15,000 to access an independent industry expert to undertake a feasibility study that includes a market opportunity assessment and paths to commercialisation. Researchers can then apply for significant funding to go on and develop, build and validate their innovation.
The maximum funding level is up to €350,000. Any science or engineering proposal with costs in this range will be considered.
Proposals with costs above or outside this range are considered on a case-by-case basis.
How to apply
Contact us to register your interest in funding and we will help you with the next steps.
If you are not ready to begin the application process, we can help you access funding to investigate, scope and develop a commercial case for your innovation.
The Commercialisation Journey: Bringing Innovation to Market
Learnovate Head of Commercialisation Tom Pollock takes us through how to bring research to market. He explains commercialisation and how to create a spinout company.
FAQs
Am I eligible for this funding?
The commercialisation fund programme is designed for universities and colleges to help turn research ideas into real-world products or companies. The funding is awarded to a full-time academic (lecturer or researcher) in a university or research institution.
If you are not an academic working in a university, you can still apply by teaming up with one.
You’d work with an academic who becomes your project partner. In this setup, you’d be called a ‘spin-in’ — you bring your idea into the university so you can develop it together.
Who owns the idea (Intellectual Property or IP)?
When you work with a university like Trinity College Dublin on a funded project, the university owns the rights to the idea that comes out of the project. This is standard in Ireland and it’s the same for all universities.
However, the university can give a company permission to use the idea through a licence agreement. If the idea generates revenue (for example from sales or subscriptions), the inventors usually get a share of the income. The exact share depends on the university’s own rules.
While the university is the ‘legal owner’ of the idea, you still benefit financially from its success.
Who owns the new company if we start one?
If your project grows into a new business, often called a spin-out company, ownership is shared between:
- The university (because they own the rights to the idea and provided resources)
- The founding team (you, your academic partner, and perhaps others who helped create it)
The exact percentages are agreed at the start between the university and the founders.
What’s the first step?
Complete Register your interest in funding form below to let us know you are interested in learning more about funding or let us know what help you are looking for. This might be identifying a university partner who believes in your idea, guiding you about funding applications and IP rights, or starting you off with funding for a feasibility study.
We will be delighted to hear about your idea and to help you take the first steps on your startup journey.
Register your interest in funding
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