Seed Fund 2024 – Applications are now closed 

Creative freelancers and businesses in the Cardiff Capital Region and across Wales are invited to apply for up to £10,000 to Research and Develop (R&D) ideas for new products, services and experiences in the media sector.  

Scope

We’re particularly interested in applications regarding:

• New media formats and innovative new ways of creating content
• Virtual production (including the convergence of virtual production and traditional production)
• Immersive storytelling through Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR)
• Innovation in game content production (including convergence with other media)
• The ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in media and content production
• Placemaking and cultural/ media tourism
• New and inclusive media business models and production processes
• Sustainable solutions to the challenges of net zero and the decarbonisation of the screen sector, particularly those that respond to the findings of the recent Screen New Deal Transformation Plan for Wales
• Bilingual production
• New approaches to delivering news and public information.

We’re also keen to support projects that address some or all of our four strategic pillars: Green, Fair, Global, Growth.

The Seed Fund is not suitable for:

• Generic content creation (for example, the standard development of short films, plays, live music events, feature films and television pilots)
• General business development
• One-off art commissions.

Successful applicants will have three to six months to complete their R&D, supported by our consortium partners PDR and the Alacrity Foundation.  

What is Research and Development?

Research and Development activities are defined as creative and systematic work undertaken to address challenges and to create new or improved products, services, processes, or experiences. Find out what Research and Development means in a media context.

Watch our webinar recording

If you’d like to learn more about the application process, get answers to FAQs and hear from some of last year’s projects, you can watch the recording of our webinar which took place on Thursday 14 March 2024.

Application process

Please note, applications must be submitted via the online form. Please ensure you’ve read the guidance notes before applying.

If you have any specific requirements that would make the application more accessible to you (such as advice, scribing or reading support) or would like to discuss this application in an alternative format (video or audio formats, audio narration, large font, plain text, or alternative language) please email media.cymru@cardiff.ac.uk or phone 02922 511 434.

Applications open: Monday 26 February 2024, noon.
Applications close: Monday 8 April 2024, noon.