Greater Manchester Secures £50M UKRI Innovation Funding, Backing Health Data, Wearables and AI-Driven Life Sciences Projects
Key Insights
Greater Manchester has secured £50 million from UKRI's Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to drive innovation-led growth across five major projects.
Two health-focused initiatives—the Greater Data Accelerator (£6.7M) and GM Wearables Cluster (£5.5M)—aim to accelerate medicines adoption and transform remote monitoring technologies.
The GROW AI project (£12.8M) will fast-track AI commercialisation and support SME adoption across the region, including health and life sciences applications.
Greater Manchester has been awarded £50 million through UK Research and Innovation (search)'s (UKRI) Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF), marking a significant milestone as the first of 17 UK regions to move into full delivery under the flagship government programme. Announced on 17 June 2026 by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the investment spans five pioneering projects across advanced materials, AI, health innovation and low-carbon technologies, with the University of Manchester playing a central delivery role across the entire portfolio.
The LIPF forms a central pillar of the government's modern Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change, investing up to £500 million nationally to strengthen regional innovation economies. Greater Manchester's portfolio was selected by Innovation Greater Manchester (IGM), the city region's partnership bringing together research-intensive universities, local government and a broad coalition of industry partners.
Health Innovation and Life Sciences at the Forefront
Two of the five funded projects are squarely focused on strengthening Greater Manchester's position as a leading UK cluster for health innovation and life sciences.
The Greater Data Accelerator, led by Health Innovation Manchester (search) with the University of Manchester as delivery partner, will receive £6.7 million to harness the city region's population-scale health data and analytics capabilities. The programme aims to accelerate the development and adoption of new medicines and diagnostics technologies, attract further inward investment, support faster research, and bring innovations to patients more quickly.
Complementing this data-driven approach, the Greater Manchester Wearables and Remote Monitoring Innovation Cluster (GM-WIC) has been awarded £5.5 million. Led by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) with the University of Manchester as delivery partner, GM-WIC will create a unique data infrastructure linking wearables and routinely collected health data. The cluster will support innovation through targeted accelerator programmes, real-world testing platforms, and clear adoption pathways, enabling companies to scale rapidly from development through to deployment.
AI Commercialisation Through GROW AI
The GROW AI project, jointly led by the Centre for Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Turing Innovation Catalyst at the University of Manchester, has secured £12.8 million. The initiative will rapidly scale the responsible and secure adoption of AI across Greater Manchester, unlocking faster commercialisation of research and delivering inclusive, high-value economic growth. Involving collaboration with the University of Salford, Lancaster University and numerous private sector partners, GROW AI will fuse startup and research commercialisation with AI adoption by SMEs across priority sectors, including health and life sciences.
Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Investments
The largest single award—£16.4 million—goes to the Atom Valley Innovation District (AVID), a nationally significant advanced materials and manufacturing cluster. Delivered in partnership with the Rochdale Development Agency, the programme will activate the Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS) within the new Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) at Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale.
The Retrofit Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Centre (RAMMIC), led by the University of Salford with the University of Manchester as delivery partner, receives £8.56 million. RAMMIC will explore how advanced materials and manufacturing processes can support the decarbonisation of an estimated 27 million homes and 1.8 million non-domestic buildings requiring energy efficiency retrofits, utilising the University of Salford's unique Energy House 1 and Energy House 2.0 facilities.
Regional Leadership and Economic Impact
Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, emphasised the collaborative nature of the achievement: "This shows what Greater Manchester can achieve through collaboration between universities, industry and the public sector. We're very proud to play a central role in this, working alongside our partners to turn research into innovation that supports business growth, builds new ventures and strengthens the economy."
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Portfolio Lead for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth, said: "Through this significant investment in five pioneering projects we will translate world-class research and innovation into new jobs and opportunities that benefit Greater Manchester's businesses and residents."
Andrew Hodgson, Chair of the Innovation Greater Manchester Board, noted: "I am delighted that Greater Manchester has secured such a significant investment and is the first region to have all its projects approved. This is testament to the maturity in Greater Manchester and the strong partnership that exists across the region."
Together, these initiatives are designed to attract private investment, create skilled jobs, support business growth and strengthen Greater Manchester's position as a globally competitive innovation region, with health and life sciences standing as a central pillar of the region's innovation strategy.