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Research prototype in days for £7k.

Grant secured and a strong proposal to prove? Turn it into a pilot-ready, working tool stakeholders can click and test – in days, not months.

Book a 20-min call

At Spork, we work with you to transform funded projects into working digital tools that you can test, demo, and pilot in days. And for a fixed fee of £7k + VAT

Our client University of Alicante logo
University of Alicante
Our client Cambridge University logo
Cambridge University
Our client University of Jaén logo
University of Jaén
Our client Politecnico di Milano logo
Politecnico di Milano
Our client University of Oxford logo
University of Oxford
Our client University of Westminster logo
University of Westminster

Ideal for

  • Proof-of-concept and pilot studies
  • Grant-funded interventions
  • Civic impact activities
  • Student experience and public engagement
  • Research commercialisation
  • Knowledge exchange projects

Whether your funding supports

  • Research pilots & feasibility studies
  • Data collection & behaviour tracking tools
  • Student wellbeing & mental health apps
  • Staff training platforms
  • Commercialisation of funded projects
  • REF or TEF public engagement projects 

We’ll help you build a usable, testable product to support your research goals.

How it works

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We’ll explore your research project and assess whether it’s a good fit for our rapid-prototype approach. If needed, we’ll follow up with a deeper session with our team to shape the most effective path forward.

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You’ll receive a clear proposal and statement of work covering exactly what we’ll deliver, how long it will take, and what it will cost – no surprises, no padding.

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We run a focused sprint to design and build your prototype, with regular check-ins and light-touch user or stakeholder feedback to keep things sharp and collaborative.

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At the end of the sprint, you’ll receive a private link to your live, hosted prototype – ready to share with colleagues, funders, or pilot participants.

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We can run follow-on sprints to keep building, hand over cleanly to your team, or provide ongoing hosting and maintenance.

What you’ll get

A fully functioning, online product (not a mock-up or prototype) with:

  • Clean, user-friendly interface
  • Core features built in
  • Ready for stakeholder demos, pilot testing, or early rollout
  • Built to scale beyond the grant phase

Why Spork?

We’re a team of senior engineers, designers, and product leads with deep experience in higher education and research environments. We understand the pressures of grant deadlines, and research-to-application pathways.

We don’t do fluff – and translate all the technical jargon.

Giles Cambray

Managing Director

Philip Mudd

Founding Developer

Carmel Farquhar

Head of Growth & Client Services

Tom Brierley

Developer

Yuxuan Chua

Product Strategist

Jean-Michel Dentand

Head of Digital Experience

Christopher Ditchburn

Fullstack Developer

FAQs

Can I use this for a grant or pilot project?
Yes. Our approach is ideal for demonstrating feasibility, fulfilling “outputs” or “impact” criteria, and supporting follow-on funding bids.

What exactly do I get?
A working, testable version of your idea: hosted, functional, and ready to share with partners or funders.

What happens after the initial build?
We’re flexible. You can continue building with us, and we can host it for you. Or we hand it over to your team, or pause and relaunch as your funding allows.

Have a live grant, funding call, or proposal in progress?

Chat to us about your idea, and we’ll let you know if we can help you bring it to life.