Selection criteria

FutureScope programme participants are selected by Digital Catapult and need to meet a set of requirements specific to the programme phase.

What stages of business will Futurescope support

FutureScope offers six programmes of activity, each designed to support varying stages of product and business maturity. Businesses will need to meet the individual business requirements of the programme they are applying for.

  • Initiate – Support for growing new skills. At this stage your business may not be established or formed yet, and you might be looking to upskill or reskill on technology and business skills.
  • Incubate – Support for product service incubation. At this stage you’ll be starting to form ideas for your product and business, looking for help in validating your plans and getting your business off the ground.
  • Experiment – Support for experimentation and development. From trialling new technologies to experimenting with the art of the possible, this programme aims to provide you with the opportunity to discover and push the limits of your tech capabilities. Whether you want to take your core technology to the next level, or explore what adding a new technology to your solution could look like – our technologists will be there to help you take the next step, and even develop proofs of concept.
  • Accelerate – Focused on early-stage business and investment support. Focusing on early stage technology startups, Accelerate is designed to help you hone your business acumen, helping validate product market fit and providing valuable business and investment support.
  • Build – Building demonstrations and minimum viable products with relevance to industry challenges. Our Build programme will see your business apply solutions directly to industry – developing minimum viable products and demonstrations to show how your tech solutions can solve real world industry challenges.
  • Scale – Focusing on growth and early stage scale support, for companies at Series A+ stage of funding. Designed to scale your business and develop a strong ecosystem of critical support for tech leaders, the Scale phase helps businesses with scaling operationally and commercially, and securing higher investment rounds.

What are the selection criteria?

FutureScope applications will be selected based on the following criteria. Please note individual briefs will have specific requirements listed on the application brief.

Stage of maturity to programme requirements:

Applicants must be able to demonstrate their business and product maturity as relevant to the specific programme.

Technical and sector assessment:

The product/service uses suitable advanced digital technology or a mix of those as its core proposition to tackle the challenge themes and sector fit.

Originality and strength of the idea:

The idea is compelling and original whilst also demonstrating strong vision.

Growth potential:

The application should be capable of market demand, with the potential to achieve growth and reach its full range of capabilities beyond FutureScope.

Team quality and expertise:

The team is of adequate size and is equipped with the relevant technical, financial and business skills, and has the ability to deliver the solution successfully.

Environmental and social impact

The idea takes into account sustainability alignment and environment factors.

What is the application process for FutureScope?

The application process is straightforward, and consists of a submitted application, followed by a number of an online interviews between selected applicants and the Digital Catapult team:

1) Register your interest and chose an open application
2) Interested parties will receive an email with a link to the full application form
3) Applicants must complete the submittable form by the advertised application closing date
4) Application forms reviewed and shortlisted
5) Interview with Digital Catapult team to review and select cohort members
6) Participants selected and contracts signed

How to Apply

Application FAQs

  • Who can apply

    FutureScope has been designed to support businesses across all stages of maturity working across the advanced digital technology stack, including:

    • Immersive technologies including virtual, augmented and cross reality
    • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
    • Future networks including 5G and IoT technologies
    • Distributed systems such as distributed ledger technologies

    For specific business maturity please see the requirements for each programme of activities.

  • What is the application process?

    The application process is straightforward, and consists of a submitted application, followed by a number of an online interviews between selected applicants and the Digital Catapult team:

    1. Register your interest and chose an open application
    2. Interested parties will receive an email with a link to the full application form
    3. Applicants must complete the submittable form by the advertised application closing date
    4. Application forms reviewed and shortlisted
    5. Interview with Digital Catapult team
    6. Participants selected and contracts signed
  • There’s no active applications, how can I get involved?

    If there are no open applications or the applications that are open are not of interest/relevance then you can register to stay up to date on Digital Catapult and the FutureScope programme here.

  • What information will the programme ask for in the application form?

    Specific to application briefs and requirements, the application form will seek for more details that help us to understand your solutions, ideas and relevance to the programme.

    These questions typically seek to understand:

    • Company information (for example, company name, full name, email address, founder details and category)
    • Progress (for example, stage of company, revenue and customers)
    • Idea (for example, strength, originality, relevance, scalability)
    • Team (for example, team experience and skill set)
    • Challenge application and delivery proposed (for example, relevance, suitability of proposed technical delivery)
    • Equity and legal (for example, investment information, non-compete and de minimus state aid compliance)
    • Programme participation – ability to commit to attending our workshops and events
  • Can I save my application form?

    Participants must first complete the registration of interest form on the FutureScope website, upon completion you will receive a link to the full Submittable form.

    The Submittable application form can be saved to allow you time to save and come back to your answers. Applicants must submit the application forms in full to be considered for the programmes, we are not able to see in draft forms. Upon submission of this form you are not able to revise or edit the form anymore.

  • How will Digital Catapult choose the successful applicants?

    FutureScope applications will be selected based on the following criteria. Please note individual briefs will have specific requirements listed on the application brief.

    Stage of maturity to programme requirements:
    Applicants must be able to demonstrate their business and product maturity as relevant to the specific programme.

    Technical and sector assessment:
    The product/service uses suitable advanced digital technology or a mix of those as its core proposition to tackle the challenge themes and sector fit.

    Originality and strength of the idea:
    The idea is compelling and original whilst also demonstrating strong vision.

    Growth potential:
    The application should be capable of market demand, with the potential to achieve growth and reach its full range of capabilities beyond FutureScope.

    Team quality and expertise:
    The team is of adequate size and is equipped with the relevant technical, financial and business skills, and has the ability to deliver the solution successfully.

    Environmental and social impact:
    The idea takes into account sustainability alignment and environment factors.

  • Does my organisation need to be a UK registered company to enter?

    Collaborations may include international contributors, but to complete the Programme (i) the team must have an establishment in the UK, and (ii) the majority of work should be carried out in the UK and teams need to be able to commit to attending the workshops and Industry Prototype Presentation event.

  • Who will my application data be shared with?

    The application information will only be used for the purposes of the programme and its evaluation, and will only be retained for the duration of the programme, for participants on the programme for the evaluation period (maximum five years) and otherwise to comply with legal requirements. This application information is only shared with Digital Catapult and it’s programme partners, where information is shared outside of Digital Catapult this will be made clear in the application form/programme agreements.

  • Will I receive feedback on my application?

    Unfortunately, because of the high volume of applications, we can’t provide feedback on applications that do not progress to the interview stage. We will of course notify everyone that applies of the outcome of their application via email, this will be an automated email

  • What if my application is not successful – can I reapply for a later programme?

    Yes of course, your application may not have been relevant to the theme or stage of business, as we run applications across all stages of maturity and across industry themes as new applications open you are welcome to apply to these future opportunities.

  • I don’t quite fit some of these criteria, can I still apply?

    The FutureScope framework aims to offer opportunities throughout the year across all stages of maturity.

    Our applications are often themed to industry challenges across manufacturing and creative industries.

    If our active applications aren’t right for the maturity of your business or its specific focus, please register your interest to stay in the loop on future opportunities offered by Digital Catapult’s range of FutureScope programmes

Read all the FAQs

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FutureScope is delivered by Digital Catapult, the UK authority on advanced digital technology.