Given the pressure associated with maintaining a competitive edge within the market, whilst balancing cost-effectiveness, the Promotional, Merchandise and Creative Design sectors are continuously seeking new ways to design and produce creative, high-quality products. Furthermore, businesses have identified an upsurge in demand for products sourced and developed using environmentally sustainable methods and materials, which can involve experimenting with material and manufacturing combinations – never used in the industry before. Therefore, R&D is vital for the sustained growth and success of a company.
Projects that qualify include the challenging, head-scratching moments that test both you and the manufacturer, which could require systematic experimental trials before reaching a final solution.
Creative Design projects that qualify for R&D relief will typically include: Bespoke design/manufacturing activities, optimisation of products and the development process (cost reduction/performance improvement), testing and validation of products/processes, iterative development/trial and error/prototyping/mock-up creation
Even projects that may have failed can still qualify for R&D, as this demonstrates the difficulties in reaching a successful solution.