Research teams and principal investigators
PIs and research teams applying to UKRI councils such as AHRC, ESRC and EPSRC, to NIHR and to similar funders, where a digital output is part of the proposal.
What we provide at bid stage
Digital Outputs for Research and Grant-Funded Projects
For universities, research teams, museums, heritage organisations and charities building an app, game or interactive resource as part of a funded project.
A technical partner for your funded project
If your project includes an app, game or interactive resource, the funder will want to see that it has been costed properly and that someone credible will build it. We provide the costed outline, the letter of support and the technical approach for your bid, then deliver the work once the award is confirmed.
Before founding Ocean View Games, our team built educational games at Fish in a Bottle, including the Great Fire of London interactive for the Museum of London (now London Museum) and Navigo, developed within the EU Horizon 2020 iRead research consortium. That work was delivered at a previous studio, not as Ocean View Games projects.
An unfinished brief is fine. The first conversation helps establish scope.
Who we work with
Most enquiries come from an organisation preparing a bid, or one that already holds an award and needs a delivery partner.
Museums and heritage organisations
Museums, archives and heritage organisations planning an interactive, including projects supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Our team rebuilt the Museum of London’s Great Fire of London interactive at a previous studio.
See the Fire of London rebuildEducation organisations and charities
Education organisations and charities that hold the subject expertise and the audience, and need a team to design and build the resource around them.
See the Vocab Builder projectWhat we provide at bid stage
There is no charge for any of this. Send us your deadline and an outline of the digital output, and we will tell you what else we need.
Costed outline
An outline of the digital output with an indicative budget, broken down so it can go into your costings.
Letter of support
A letter confirming our involvement as the technical partner, written for your funder and your call.
Technical approach
A short technical approach section for your case for support, covering platform, architecture and delivery.
Sustainability and maintenance
Input on the sustainability and maintenance plan, so the output has a costed life after the grant ends.
Paid pre-award work
Some bids need more than an outline. This work is charged, and universities can often fund it through pump-priming or Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) budgets.
Detailed specifications
A full specification of the digital output, where the funder or your own review panel expects one before a decision.
Prototypes and demos
A playable prototype or a demo to include in the bid, showing reviewers what the finished output will do.
Scoping workshops
Workshops with your research team and partners to agree the audience, the content and what the output must achieve.
How we structure projects
Funded projects have fixed budgets, fixed dates and reporting obligations. We plan the work around them from the start.
Paid discovery at the start of the award
The project opens with a paid discovery phase that confirms the scope, the content plan and the technical approach before the build begins.
Milestone-based build
The build runs in agreed milestones, each with something your team can review, which also gives you clear points to report against.
Hosting and maintenance
Hosting and maintenance are priced across the full grant and sustainability period, not left as an open question for the final year.
Platform chosen for the audience
The audience drives the platform. A resource for schools is often browser-based, because locked-down devices and app store restrictions are common there.
Accessibility
Accessibility to WCAG 2.2 AA is built in from the start, not tested for at the end.
Data protection for young users
Where the audience includes children, we design for UK GDPR and the ICO Children’s Code from the first specification.
Typical timeline
Funding calls move slowly and then quickly. Getting in touch early gives us time to cost the work properly.
1. Bid support
You send your deadline and outline. We provide the costed outline, the letter of support and the technical approach in time for submission.
2. Funding decision
The funder assesses the bid. A decision often takes 4 to 9 months, and nothing is needed from us while you wait.
3. Project start
Once the award is confirmed we agree dates and begin the paid discovery phase, followed by the milestone-based build.
Relevant experience
Educational projects delivered at Ocean View Games and during our team’s previous employment.
Navigo
Delivered during previous employment
The Challenge: Turn pedagogical research from the EU Horizon 2020 iRead consortium into activities for young learners.
The Result: 15 mini-games across four languages, built at Fish in a Bottle. Adam led the project, which received a Serious Games Society award.
Vocab Builder
Delivered at Ocean View Games
The Challenge: Turn The Language Conservancy’s vocabulary research for endangered indigenous languages into a playable learning experience.
The Result: Nine mini-games in one app, with a content pipeline designed to support additional languages over time.
For a content library designed to keep growing after launch, read the Bookwood content architecture case study.
Working together
Start by sending us your funder, your deadline and an outline of what you want to build. An unfinished idea is fine. We will reply with questions and tell you what we can provide in the time available.
We can be named in your bid as a subcontractor or supplier, and we can provide what your university procurement team needs to set us up.
David and Adam stay close to the engineering and technical decisions throughout. We work alongside your researchers and subject experts, who keep ownership of the content.
Meet the teamFrequently Asked Questions
A costed outline with an indicative budget and a letter of support are free. So is a short technical approach for your case for support.
Detailed specifications, prototypes or demos for the bid, and scoping workshops are paid work. Universities can often fund these through pump-priming or Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) budgets.
Yes. We can be named as a subcontractor or supplier, and we can provide what your university procurement team needs to set us up.
We price hosting and maintenance up front and structure them to fit the funding period, including the sustainability period your funder expects. You know the cost of keeping the output available before you submit, so it can go into the bid.
You own the bespoke work we create for your project, assigned to you upon final payment. Pre-existing tools and frameworks remain ours and are licensed for use within the delivered project. We do not hold your code hostage. We only reserve the right to display the work in our portfolio (unless we have signed a strict NDA).
Usually not directly. Most funders require a registered organisation, match funding and a track record or prototype, so individuals are rarely eligible.
We offer a paid idea review covering scope, a rough budget and an honest funding assessment. It tells you what the idea would take to build and whether a grant is a realistic route.
Applying for funding?
Send us your deadline and an outline of the digital output. Use the form below, or book a call with David if you would prefer to talk it through.
Send us your deadline and outline