A significant R&D grant funding opportunity is available for Irish organisations, one that many in the business community don’t exploit enough. It’s called The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF), and while the fund has been running for several years, a new call has just opened, ready for applications.
DTIF is similar to many European funding mechanisms. It’s multi-consortium, with multi-million euros available. However, the success rates are much higher than a lot of competitive European programmes.
Applications opened on 1 October 2026 and will close on 3 February 2027. Below, we explain everything you need to know about this lucrative funding opportunity.
What is the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF)?
DTIF was created as part of Project Ireland 2040 and specifically focuses on supporting the development of disruptive ‘challenge-based’ technologies.
The government wants to make sure that Ireland stays at the forefront of the world’s technological innovation. Tech-led, innovation-focused enterprises that can help to commercialise R&D breakthroughs are seen as crucial for creating a strong economy. DTIF supports that ambition by funding collaborative research projects that bring industry together with Ireland’s higher education research base.
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment funds and manages DTIF, and Enterprise Ireland administers it.
So far, across seven funding calls, €530 million has been awarded to 131 collaborative projects involving 495 partners. The latest funding round, ‘Call 8’, has a budget of €40 million and opened on 1 October 2026.
What types of projects could qualify for DTIF?
Enterprise Ireland is looking for projects that will create groundbreaking disruptive technologies that have the potential to:
- create new products
- alter markets
- alter the way businesses operate
- contribute to new business models
So far, DTIF has largely funded the medical devices and ICT sectors, but there’s a real push from government for more sectors to apply, particularly the advanced manufacturing sector.
DTIF research priority areas include:
ICT
- Future networks, communications, and Internet of Things (IoT)
- Data analytics, management, security, privacy, robotics and artificial intelligence (including machine learning)
- Digital platforms, content and applications, and augmented reality and virtual reality
Health and wellbeing
- Connected health and independent living
- Medical devices
- Diagnostics
- Therapeutics
Food
- Food for health
- Smart and sustainable food production and processing
Energy, climate action and sustainability
- Decarbonising the energy system
- Sustainable living
Manufacturing and materials
- Advanced and smart manufacturing
- Manufacturing and novel materials
Services and business processes
- Innovation in services and business processes
Remember, this is just a priority list for funding. The examples listed under each research theme are not exhaustive, so other disruptive technologies with potential could also be considered if your project fits a relevant sector.
Who can apply?
DTIF supports the whole innovation ecosystem for organisations undertaking industrial research or experimental development, including SMEs, large and multinational companies, as well as research performing organisations.
The fund is for collaborative research projects seeking at least €1.5 million in funding over three years. This means that each project needs at least three independent partners seeking funding, including an SME as well as another enterprise. In addition, you must be an existing client of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland and are not defined as an undertaking in difficulty (UiD).
To find out more, there is a detailed DTIF applicant guide available specifically for Call 8, which explains the eligibility criteria.
It’s also well worth checking out the excellent DTIF dashboard to get a sense of who has successfully applied in the past. The dashboard breaks down all the projects that have been approved for funding, shows both the regional and sectoral spread of successful applications, including very helpful past project details for comparison, as well as funding amount for each project.
What is the DTIF success rate?
In total there have been 337 applications for DTIF, of which 297 were eligible and 195 were called for interview. Of these, 131 were successful, which means that 38.9% of applications were successful. That’s a much higher success rate than most other R&D and innovation funding grants, which is why we strongly encourage eligible businesses to apply!
What’s changed for DTIF’s Call 8?
- Irish Semi-State organisations and public bodies can now participate as non-funded partners, as long as projects still include at least three other eligible partners.
- Projects are expected to start within 6 months of the Ministerial announcement of award.
- Before submitting a proposal, applicants must complete a pre-eligibility check.
How Leyton can help
Because the application window for DTIF’s latest funding call is just a few short months, and most organisations are very busy, the biggest barrier is often time.
This is exactly where we can help. Firstly, we’ll help you assess whether your project is a good fit for DTIF before you invest any time in an application. If DTIF isn’t suitable, we can help you explore other grant funding options as there are plenty available.
We can also do the heavy lifting on your application, so you don’t have to stress about the 3 February 2027 deadline. We have a team of innovation funding specialists that are dedicated to creating comprehensive and compliant submissions that will maximise your chances of getting the funding.
Because DTIF is collaborative, we can also help to facilitate those connections and advise you on how to choose the right partner who is the right fit for your project and the fund’s parameters.
The clock is ticking, so the sooner you speak to us the better, so please do get in touch if you have a project that you think may be eligible. We’d love to hear from you.
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