Sea-Changers 2026 Innovation Fund is open

Here at Sea-Changers, we’re thrilled to announce that our 2026 Innovation Fund is open for applications until 30 April 2026!

We love this fund because it exists for one very specific purpose: to support ideas that are new, experimental, or not yet fully tested, but have the potential to make a real difference for marine conservation in the UK. These are often the ideas that struggle to find early funding, even though they’re exactly the approaches we need.

In past years we’ve funded everything from novel scientific research and emerging technologies to creative community engagement and new ways of collecting or analysing data. What unites these projects is a willingness to try something different, learn from the process, and share that learning more widely.

The 2026 Innovation Fund is supported by the William Grant Foundation (for projects in Scotland) and the FatFace Foundation.  Grants of up to £10,000 are available for exceptional projects. Most previous innovation grants have been in the region of £5,000 to £6,000.

We welcome applications from not-for-profit organisations, companies, and education institutions. What matters most is not the size of your organisation, but the originality of your idea and its potential to make a meaningful impact for our seas.

A Project Baseline diver collecting marine sediment microplastics - Innovation Fund 2022

If you’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to test a new idea, this is it. The Innovation Fund applications will be judged against the following criteria:

• Degree of innovation and creativity

• Potential for impact on coastal and marine environments and / or species.

• Value for money

• Deliverability and scalability.

  
  

Full details on how to apply and the funding criteria can be found here.