Innovate UK, a science and technology organisation owned by the government, has reversed its decision to fund only half of the projects in its UK Women in Innovation programme following backlash.

Last week, the organisation said it would fund just 25 applications for its Women in Innovation awards instead of the planned 50, citing the need to manage budgets “carefully” as a public funder.

The programme received 1,452 submitted applications and 1,271 were sent for assessment.
In response to the news, a campaign called Let’s Fund More Women was set up on LinkedIn, which called on Innovate UK to reverse its decision and fund the full amount of projects.

Becky Lodge, who led the campaign, said: “The Women in Innovation Awards have fallen short of their intended goals, and we are calling on Innovate UK to take immediate action to ensure that future awards are more equitable, transparent, and supportive of female founders.”

She continued: “Women-led businesses are significantly underfunded in comparison to their male counterparts and we rely on a public body to exercise fairness and equity when it comes to distributing public money.”

Following the backlash, Innovate UK apologised for its actions and confirmed it would be funding 50 awards which represents an investment of £4 million.

Additionally, Innovate UK promised to contact all applicants to the programme and let them know of other types of support available to them. The organisation also promised to develop its engagement with business leaders and advocates for women.

According to its latest data for all Innovate UK competitions, around a third of successful current grant applications were led by women, an increase from one in seven in 2016.

“We recognise the impact this has had on the many applicants, and on the community as a whole, and we apologise wholeheartedly,” Innovate UK stated on its Linkedin page. “As well as confirming 50 awards, we also want to reassure everyone who applied that we remain committed to supporting and increasing opportunities across the system for women innovators.”

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