Purpose

• GMCA's Foundational Economy Innovation Fund supports projects that drive innovation and improve productivity and working conditions in these sectors.

• These grant awards form part of the GM Foundational Economy Innovation Fund (FEIF) – Scale Up Phase. The foundational economy is the part of the economy that supplies everyday but essential goods and services that keep us safe and civilized, needed for social and economic functioning and wellbeing. This includes food, housing, energy, construction, tourism, hospitality and leisure, retail, education, childcare, health, and social care. The Fund was created to build innovation capacity within Greater Manchester’s foundational economy, with a particular focus on: Health and Social Care, the Local High Street, and Early Education and Childcare.

• A competitive grant process has been undertaken amongst existing FEIF grant recipients to allocate funding for this scale up phase. Applicants were assessed across numerous quality criteria, with quality questions being evaluated by a minimum of three evaluators who had all completed and signed Conflict of Interest declarations.

• Applicants were also subject to comprehensive due diligence evaluations. These were carried out by specialists within GMCA and conducted in line with the processes published within the documentation.

• The intention to make this decision was published on the GMCA Forward Plan of Key Decisions on 27th January 2026.

Decision

Following a competitive grant application process, 22 applicants will be awarded an overall total of £1,113,622.00 in funding via individual grant funding agreements to deliver projects as part of the GM Foundational Economy Innovation Fund – Scale Up Phase. The funding period for these grants is the 1st of April 2026 – 30th of September 2027.

21 grant awards totalling £1,053,688 were featured in this D3 Greater Manchester Combined Authority, published on 18th March 2026. Following a response to some additional queries in relation to their application, a further award of £59,933.77 is to be made to Leigh Works.

Alternative options considered

• The Foundational Economy Innovation Fund is an established fund which awards grant funding to innovative projects to support the foundational economy.

• Evidence from the mid-point review demonstrates strong early progress: All 22 projects proposed to receive Scale Up funding are making demonstrable progress, supported by evaluation research conducted in the first six months. Projects are trialling innovations directly with users, enabling iterative improvement and market validation.