PAPI supports regional economic growth

PAPI has been supporting innovation in the region and bringing new products to market since 2016.

Image: Masthead

PAPI encourages innovation by awarding capital grants to small businesses to support the development of new products or services. 40% grants are available between £8,000 and £20,000 (i.e. the total cost of the project would be between £20,000 and £50,000).

We are able to support eligible projects from SMEs within the Leeds City Region, York, and North Yorkshire area. PAPI is actually two projects (PAPI Leeds City Region, and PAPI York, North Yorkshire, and East Riding) operating under one umbrella; when you apply, you will be allocated to one project or the other based on business location. Use the eligibility checker to see if you’re within our areas, and drop us a line if you’ve any queries about location-based eligibility.

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Areas we cover

PAPI supports SMEs in York, North Yorkshire and Leeds City Region to develop innovative new products by providing grants for equipment and access to innovation workshops.

Check out the businesses we've helped
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PAPI is delivered by the University of York and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.

PAPI is delivered in partnership with The Northern Powerhouse; a key aspect of this Government’s approach to addressing the productivity gap in the North and ensuring a stronger, more sustainable economy for all parts of the UK. Alongside over €1.5 billion of European Regional Development Fund support for businesses and communities across the North, the government has awarded £3.4 billion in three rounds of Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse.

The University of York and PAPI are committed to providing resources that are digitally accessible to all. We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our resources to meet current guidelines over the next few months. We would be grateful if you could let us know as soon as possible if any of the resources we provide could be made more accessible, and how they could be so, by contacting [email protected].

Supported and delivered by the University of York

The PAPI project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and delivered by the University of York.

University of York business support
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Meet the experts

We have specialists to help you through every stage of the application process, so get in touch if you are unsure what to do; we'd love to hear from you.

Innovation Advisers

Innovation Workshops

Image: Karen Drum

Karen Drum

Project Development Manager [email protected] 01904 328836

Programme Managers

Image: Vicky Wren

Vicky Wren

Programme Manager [email protected] 01904 328080
Image: Matthew Kirk

Matthew Kirk

Programme Manager [email protected] 01904 328079
Image: Colin Poma-Young

Colin Poma-Young

Programme Manager [email protected] 07384 238993
Image: Chris Russell

Chris Russell

Programme Manager [email protected] 01904 321125 | 07919 293145

Monitoring and Administration

Image: Lana Scoot

Lana Scoot

Monitoring Coordinator [email protected] 01904 328081
Image: Karen Kaye

Karen Kaye

Monitoring Coordinator [email protected] 01904 328082
Image: Ailsa Mitchell

Ailsa Mitchell

Monitoring Officer [email protected] 01904 328805
Image: Chanattha Seelakhan

Chanattha Seelakhan

Monitoring Officer [email protected] 01904 321126
Image: Claire Sykes

Claire Sykes

Monitoring Officer [email protected] 01904 328079
Image: Jacqui Sbragia

Jacqui Sbragia

Monitoring Officer [email protected] 01904 328826
Image: Natalie Dearlove

Natalie Dearlove

Administrator [email protected] 01904 32 8076
Image: Tina Ingleby

Tina Ingleby

Administrator [email protected]
Contact us with a general query