How to look for government grants and contracts in the United Kingdom
Support in the United Kingdom comes from several places: grant listings, finance programmes and public contract notices. Each has its own purpose and rules. This guide names the main official services, explains grants, finance and contracts, and suggests an order for your search.
At a glance
- Open calls in Gondar
- –
- Sources for the UK
- 5
- Grants and contracts
- Both
- Facts read on
- 3 November 2026
The short answer
For a grant, search Find a Grant. For finance such as loans, use the Business Finance Support finder and the British Business Bank. For innovation projects, check Innovate UK's competitions. To sell to the public sector, search the contract services: a public contract is work you bid for, not a grant.
| Service | What you find | What it is | In Gondar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find a Grant | Government grants | Grants you apply for | Yes |
| Business Finance Support finder | Finance and support from many providers | Grants, loans and other support | Yes |
| Innovation Funding Service | Innovate UK competitions | Innovation funding | Not as separate calls |
| Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland | Public contract notices | Contracts you bid for | Yes |
Find a Grant
Find a Grant is a government service for searching government grants. A grant is money you do not repay if you meet the conditions. Open the grant record. It sets who may apply, what the money is for and the deadline.
Seeing a grant in the search does not mean it fits you. Two records can look alike and have different rules. Read the record before you apply.
Business Finance Support finder
The Business Finance Support finder is a GOV.UK search for finance and support for your business. Open each result and read what kind of support it is and who it is for.
The finder points you to the organisation that offers the support. That organisation sets the rules. Read its page before you apply.
Innovate UK
Innovate UK is the UK's innovation agency. It is part of UK Research and Innovation. Innovate UK funding competitions are on the Innovation Funding Service.
Check the current competition. The competition page sets who may apply and what it funds. Use the current page, not an old copy.
British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK's government-owned economic development bank. It provides finance for smaller businesses. Read the current page for the finance you are considering. It sets the form, the terms and who it is for.
A loan is money you repay. A guarantee gives you no money: it backs finance from a lender, so the lender carries less risk. You still repay the lender. The page tells you which form you are looking at.
Public tenders
A public tender is a contract you bid for. It is not a grant. The buyer pays you for goods, works or services under the contract.
Find a Tender is an official service for public procurement notices. Contracts Finder is an official service for public sector contract opportunities. Public Contracts Scotland is an official service for public sector contract opportunities in Scotland.
Read the notice for the buyer, the place of the work, the deadline and how to bid. The buyer named on the notice runs the process.
A practical order of steps
Conditions change, and the official page of each funder or buyer decides. Confirm deadlines, amounts and who may apply there.
- Write down in one sentence what you need money for, or what you want to supply to a public buyer.
- For a grant, search Find a Grant and read the grant record.
- For finance, search the Business Finance Support finder, and read the British Business Bank page.
- For an innovation project, check the current competition on the Innovation Funding Service.
- For a public contract, search Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and Public Contracts Scotland, and read the notice in full before you bid.
What Gondar lists
Gondar lists Find a Grant, the Business Finance Support finder, Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and Public Contracts Scotland. It does not list Innovate UK competitions as separate calls; check the Innovation Funding Service.
Gondar never applies for anyone. You submit through the funder's official process.
Frequently asked questions
Does Find a Grant award the money?
No. It is a search service. The organisation that offers the grant decides, and the grant page sets the conditions.
Is a public contract a grant?
No. A grant is money you apply for under a funder's conditions. A public contract is work you bid for, and the buyer pays you for that work.
Is this list of services complete?
No. It names the main services in this guide. Other programmes and other contract sites exist. Confirm the rules on the official page of the funder or the buyer.
Keep reading
- United StatesHow to look for grants in the United StatesApplicants in the United States look in more than one place. For a federal grant, start at Grants.gov. For a state programme, start at that state's own site, such as the California Grants Portal. Private foundations publish their own calls. This guide names those layers and the SAM.gov registration and UEI that most federal applications require.
- GuideFit and eligibility are two different questionsFit asks whether a call is worth your time. Eligibility asks whether the funder can accept you at all. A strong score never answers the second question.
- GuideBefore you submit: a checklist for AI-assisted applicationsA draft that reads well can still be wrong. Funders hold you responsible for every line, so check it the way a reviewer would.
Add your profile and review a call
Start with your focus, geography and the opportunity types you seek. Inspect the fit breakdown, read the source conditions and save the calls you want to pursue.