FAQs
Who are you?
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts - a unique and independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative. We invest in early-stage companies, inform and shape policy, and deliver practical programmes that inspire others to solve the big challenges of the future.
What do you do?
NESTA works across all stages of the innovation process: learning about how innovation works, funding new ventures, building and delivering innovation programmes, and disseminating what we’ve learned, nationally and internationally.
How is NESTA funded?
We have endowed funds of over £300m. We use the interest from our endowment, the returns from our investments, and other public and private sources of income to fund our activities.
We don't receive any general government funds to support our work, although some departments provide funding or contract with us for specific projects.
Who oversees NESTA?
NESTA is governed by a board of trustees who determine our strategic direction, policies and procedures.
Who and what do you fund?
NESTA uses its resources to build and test new models of innovation, often working in partnership with other organisations.
We are not primarily a grant-making organisation, so for example we do not fund the following:
- Individuals looking for funding to develop an invention or idea (with the exception of our Starter for 6 programme in Scotland).
- Charities; however, we do work in partnership with charities that are delivering work on our behalf.
- Student funding, i.e. for courses, bursaries, etc.
- Applicants not resident or registered for tax in the UK.
What do you invest in?
NESTA Ventures provides early-stage capital to businesses in the areas of engineering, environmental technology, healthcare, and information and communications technology. We look for companies that have the potential to generate significant commercial return. Applications for investment must meet all of our criteria and be submitted via our online application form.
Through NESTA Capital, we invest indirectly through partnerships with specialist angel investors, venture capital funds and other investment partners..
I work for an organisation that shares similar interests with NESTA. How do we get involved with NESTA?
We are constantly looking for strategic partners to work with, so that we can develop and test new models of support for innovation. Some of our teams welcome direct contact, while others use specific calls for action, such as calls for proposals. Please refer to our Innovation Programmes pages to see how we might be able to work together.
How can I stay informed about your activities?
To keep up to date with the latest news about NESTA and our work, please sign up to one of our e-newsletters. We also have a number of RSS feeds that you can subscribe to, to receive notification of our press releases, articles or audio and video from our events.
How do I get involved with your events?
Please refer to our events section for all upcoming events. If you have an idea for an event or would like to hold your own event at NESTA's offices, please contact events@nesta.org.uk