Expressions of Interest sought for grant from GMCA’s Foundational Economy Innovation Fund

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) Foundational Economy Innovation Fund is open to expressions of interest from businesses in sectors including health and social care, early education and childcare, and retail, hospitality and leisure sectors ahead of the launch of the first phase of grant funding.

The Fund is offering grants of up to £11,000 to businesses and organisations working in or with Greater Manchester’s “foundational economy” to trial new ideas to become more productive or resilient.

In Greater Manchester, the foundational economy accounts for over 42 per cent of jobs and is made up of more than 60,000 businesses. However, businesses and organisations within these sectors can struggle to attract investment, and conversations about innovation tend to focus on industries seen as high-growth.

The latest funding round seeks to support projects which test new and emerging ideas across one or more of the following areas:

• Early education and childcare (0-5 years)
  • Increasing the supply of early education places in areas where a need has been identified
  • contribute to developing the pipeline of level 3 qualified staff in the early years and childcare workforce
• Health and Social Care
  • The role of technology and digital solutions in enabling care, including supporting people through the utilisation of technology
  • Keeping people well in the community – reducing demand on primary, secondary and specialist care
• The Local High Street (Retail, Personal Services, Leisure, Culture, Hospitality and Tourism)
  • Increasing recycling in food-based hospitality
  • Improving capacity for financial management
  • Utilising underused buildings or facilities – e.g. kitchen space 

The Fund is accepting expressions of interest until 12 noon on 24th March 2025, and gives potential applicants the opportunity to understand whether their ideas are suitable to receive funding ahead of a formal application. The call for applications for the fund – where up to £11,000 will be available to test out ideas – is anticipated to launch during April 2025.

For further information and to submit an expression of interest, visit the Foundational Economy Innovation Fund website here.