£20m extra LIPF for Manchester, West Midlands, Glasgow
If you live or study in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands or the Glasgow City Region, there is fresh public money on the table. The UK Government has confirmed a new £20 million top‑up for each place, taking their local innovation pots to £50 million apiece under the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. The announcement was published on Sunday 19 October 2025 ahead of a Regional Investment Summit due in Birmingham on Tuesday 21 October.
Quick definition: the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) is a national programme, led by UK Research and Innovation, that invests up to £500 million in local “innovation clusters”. At least ten places were earmarked for a minimum £30 million each, with more competitive awards (up to £20 million) available elsewhere. It runs through two strands and backs partnerships of local government, universities and businesses to turn research strengths into jobs and services.
What has changed this week: Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow now have access to £50 million each because the new £20 million top‑ups sit on top of the £30 million earmarked for each area earlier this year. In parallel, other UK regions can still bid for up to £20 million through the open competition, which UKRI launched on 6 October 2025. That competition remains open until 3 February 2026.
Alongside LIPF, the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) is about factories, not labs. The government has committed up to £520 million over five years to grow UK capacity to make medicines, diagnostics and medtech. Round one is unlocking over £30 million in joint public‑private investment, including two first projects: a new 60,000 sq ft manufacturing and R&D centre for Sterling Pharmaceuticals in Birmingham and a new manufacturing facility for Biocomposites at Keele. Both are billed as creating and safeguarding skilled jobs and strengthening the UK’s ability to respond to health emergencies.
Why it matters locally: the new money is designed to help teams move ideas from pilot to product. Government examples include robotics that accelerate drug discovery, AI tools that can spot illness sooner and clean fuels that lower energy bills. A recent Glasgow spin‑out, Chemify, illustrates the ambition: it has opened what it calls the world’s first “chemputation” facility, combining AI and industrial robotics to speed up molecule discovery.
What it means for Greater Manchester: expect a focus on health innovation and digital tools, from predicting disease progression earlier to technologies that decarbonise buildings. Manchester’s wider science and tech push gives these funds places to land, but what matters for you is that colleges, universities and SMEs will be invited into project teams, opening up placements, apprenticeships and spin‑out support. Check local calls from the combined authority and universities for ways to take part.
What it means for the West Midlands: the region is linking life sciences, advanced manufacturing and clean tech. This week’s LSIMF news puts real manufacturing jobs into the picture, with Sterling’s planned Birmingham site, while LIPF money can support projects such as low‑carbon materials like biochar. If you’re studying engineering, pharmacy, data or clean energy, look for internships and graduate roles tied to these programmes over the next two years.
What it means for Glasgow City Region: digital chemistry is moving from lecture theatres into automated facilities. Chemify’s Glasgow base shows how local research can turn into companies and skilled work if there is equipment, space and investment. LIPF’s job is to provide the investment runway for more of these spin‑outs and collaborations so students and technical staff can build careers without leaving the region.
Learning checkpoint: LIPF funds place‑based portfolios chosen by local partnerships and co‑designed with UKRI. LSIMF funds capital projects that make or package health products in the UK. Together, they aim to convert research strengths into local jobs, supply‑chain spending and faster access to useful tech. The Innovation Accelerators pilot that came before LIPF has already attracted more than £140 million in private investment and created hundreds of jobs, which is the track record these new pots are trying to scale.
How decisions will be made and when: UKRI’s guidance sets out how places assemble proposals, what counts as impact, and how bids are assessed. The earmarked strand opened on 6 October 2025 and closes on 3 February 2026; competitive bids from other regions follow the same timetable. If you’re in local government, a university, or an SME, your practical next step is to join your area’s partnership and help build the bid.
Media‑literacy tip: press releases often highlight big round numbers. When you read one, ask three questions-who decides where the money goes, what the timeline is, and how success will be measured locally. For LIPF and LSIMF, look for published selection criteria, local calls for projects, and annual reports showing jobs created, private co‑investment and who benefits across different communities. That’s how we keep the promises honest and inclusive.
The bottom line: as of 19 October 2025, Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow each have a £50 million LIPF allocation to steer into local priorities, with further £20 million bids open to other UK regions. In life sciences manufacturing, two first LSIMF investments have been announced in Birmingham and Keele. If you’re a student, educator or small business, this is your signal to plug into your local partnership and shape what gets built next.