UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £9 million to fund innovation projects with businesses or not for profits.
Competition opens: Monday 9 December 2024
Competition closes: Wednesday 12 February 2025 11:00am
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme allows a UK registered business or not for profit organisation, (which we will refer to collectively as the ‘business partner’ from now on) to partner with a ‘knowledge base partner’, which is either a UK higher education (HE) or further education (FE) institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or Catapult.
The KTP partnership brings new skills and the latest academic thinking into the business partner to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. The knowledge base partner recruits the ‘associate’ to work on the project. The associate has the opportunity to lead a strategic development within the business, developing new skills and gaining valuable experience.
Guidance on how to apply for a KTP is available.
Each application must be led by a knowledge base, working with a business partner and supported by a Knowledge Transfer Adviser.
If you are a business and do not yet have a relationship with a knowledge base partner, the Knowledge Transfer Adviser can help you to identify one.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
It takes time to prepare an application. If yours will not be ready before the close date, please apply to a later round.
Visit the KTP website to find out more about the programme and the current associate roles available for graduates.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)
A project’s total eligible costs are typically £8,500 per month. Projects must be between 12 and 36 months. A proportion of the knowledge base partners costs will be funded by Innovate UK, the remaining costs are paid by the business partner.
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.
You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.
We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.
You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Each Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a partnership between the following:
Public sector organisations can only apply for a Management KTP. The definition KTP uses for eligible public sector organisations is:
The following public sector organisations are specifically excluded:
Knowledge base partner
The knowledge base partner cannot work alone.
The knowledge base partner must lead the project and must:
As part of their involvement in the project the knowledge base partner must provide a case study to Innovate UK, using the template provided, upon completion of the project.
Publications are linked to the no subsidy status of this competition. It is therefore essential that knowledge base partners publish a minimum of two academic papers for each completed project or create at least two industry focused publications per project, publicly sharing project outcomes.
Your business partner must be invited into IFS by the knowledge base partner to collaborate on a project. When the business partner accepts their invitation, they will need to:
Business partner
Business partners cannot work alone. They must develop the project with a UK knowledge base who can provide the right skills to meet the knowledge gap within the business. We encourage business partners to approach Innovate UK Business Connect or knowledge bases to discuss the suitability of KTP for their specific circumstances.
To collaborate with a knowledge base, the business partner must:
The business partner must provide financial accounts from the current financial year and the previous two years. Other supporting documentation may be required. For businesses less than three years old, the knowledge base or Knowledge Transfer Adviser (KTA) will give further guidance.
The size, location and type of your business determines the proportion of eligible costs we will fund. If the business is part of a group, it is the overall size of the group which should be declared.
Please refer to the company accounts guidance or speak to your accountant, to help determine the overall size of your business or group.
The KTP programme is accessible to any UK registered business. This is normally demonstrated on a public register, such as on Companies House.
The registered name and registration number provided must match the official public register.
UK subsidiary businesses of overseas parent companies are eligible, provided they are individually registered in the UK.
Where a business is not registered at companies house, the business must provide evidence of the legal status and ownership of the business.
The knowledge base partner and the business partner must sign a joint commitment statement. The business partner’s registered name must be used for both the application and the joint commitment statement.
You must deliver an exploitation plan during your project. By completing all sections of the application form you will have completed your initial exploitation plan.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are not allowed in this competition.
Sanctions
This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.
Use of animals in research and innovation
Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.
Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.
Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.
This competition has been designed to provide funding that is not classed by Innovate UK as a subsidy.
Your eligibility to be given an award on a ‘No Subsidy’ basis will be determined by Innovate UK after you have submitted your application.
You should still seek independent legal advice on what this means for you, before applying.
Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).
It is the responsibility of the lead organisation to make sure all collaborators in the project remain compliant with the ‘No Subsidy’ status they are awarded.
It is important to note that it is the activity that an organisation is engaged in as part of the project and not its intentions, that define whether any support provided could be considered a subsidy.
EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.
In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.
Further Information
If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 regime you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.
Find out about the cost of participating in KTP and understand which project costs are eligible for funding.
Any funding is provided on a no subsidy basis. This means you must publish or make all project outputs openly available on a non-selective basis. If you decide to commercially exploit project outputs, you can only do so with no selective advantage.
Contribution from Innovate UK
Innovate UK has allocated up to £9 million in this round of the KTP programme, which will contribute towards the total eligible costs of the individual projects. The number of public sector management KTPs is limited to a maximum of 10 applications per competition round.
The grant contribution to your project may be funded wholly or in part by one or more of the KTP financial supporters. You must choose at least one of the following financial supporters:
The delivery of the KTP programme is supported by the UKRI Research Councils. If their involvement could be beneficial to your project, this must be indicated in the application.
Eligible costs depend on a number of factors, including:
For full details on what costs you can claim, see the KTP project costs guidance.
Successful applications are partially funded. In all cases the business must pay the balance in cash. Grant funding is available on the following basis:
For full details on grant contributions, see the KTP project costs guidance.
Contribution from the business partner
Business partners may work with any eligible knowledge base that has the knowledge they need to complete their project. The choice of knowledge base will impact upon total project costs and the level of contribution they will need to provide.
In the application the business partner must describe and agree to provide funding towards project delivery. The amount depends on the:
Additionally, the business partner must fund:
All applicants should read and understand the following:
If you have any questions regarding the rules of this competition, you should contact your Knowledge Transfer Adviser, prior to submission. By submitting your application you acknowledge that you are entering a competitive process and that you will abide by the outcome of the competition.
Number of applications
Each knowledge base can collaborate with any number of business partners.
Each business partner (including separate businesses within a business group) can only take part in up to four concurrent KTP funded projects.
Additional applications may be allowed at the discretion of the programme manager. You must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 20 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.
Previous applications
You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition. All applications are scanned and compared, electronically checking for similarities.
We will not award you funding if you have previously:
Knowledge Transfer Advisers
Applications must be supported by an Innovate UK appointed Knowledge Transfer Adviser (KTA).
The adviser will provide the knowledge base and business with guidance throughout the application process. To support all projects equitably, the adviser may set a timetable for the knowledge base and business during the development of an application. Should the timetable or the guidance offered not be followed, the adviser may choose not to support an application.
Applications will be withdrawn from the competition if the appointed KTA has not given their support to a project prior to the submission of the application.
Your application must be for a specific, strategic innovation project that tackles one or more challenges faced by the business partner.
It can be any kind of project and must show:
We will not fund:
9 December 2024 Competition opens
12 February 2025 11:00am Competition closes
10 April 2025 Applicants notified
17 April 2025 Feedback
Before you apply you must read the guidance for KTP applicants and costs guidance for KTP projects along with the information contained within the competition information page. Additional guidance is given for each question on the application form.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:
You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.
You must complete all relevant sections of the application and upload the required documents using the templates provided. Failure to do so will result in the application being withdrawn from the competition.
You must not name an associate in your application.
You must not include any hyperlinks (URLs) in your answers. Inclusion of hyperlinks will lead to the application being withdrawn from the competition.
What we ask you
The application is split into three sections:
If your application is in scope, the assessors will score your application holistically. They will score on:
Each of these areas will be scored out of 10 marks (for a maximum total of 40 marks). Assessors will also consider the viability of the overall project including consideration of project affordability and commercialisation of outcomes.
You must meet all the eligibility rules for your project to be considered for funding.
Accessibility and Inclusion
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.
You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.
We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.
You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
This section provides background for the assessors and is not scored.
Application team
Decide which organisations will work with you on the project. Invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.
Project delivery team
The project delivery team should list the names and roles of the individuals who will deliver the project.
Application details
The application title must follow this format “Knowledge Base and Business Partner KTP Year and Round”. You must use the full business name exactly as it appears on your Companies House registration. Do not use any abbreviations.
For example: University of Innovation and Shelen Limited KTP 24_25 R5.
This competition year and round is KTP 24_25 R5.
If your title is not correctly formatted, your application will be withdrawn.
Project duration must be in months.
Your answer can be up to 20 words long.
Project summary
Your project summary will give the assessors a useful introduction to your project. It should provide a clear overview of the whole project, including:
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Public description
The public description must begin with “To” and be suitable for public disclosure.
For example: To develop a novel process for picking soft fruit.
If your application is successful, Innovate UK will make use of this public description to comply with government requirements. We reserve the right to amend the description before publication.
Your answer can be up to 50 words long.
Scope
Describe how your project fits with the scope of the competition.
To demonstrate how your project aligns with the scope of this competition you must:
You must describe:
If requesting support from a Research Council provide a summary of its alignment with the interest and goals of the Research Council.
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
You must answer all questions. Questions 1 and 2 are not scored.
You must not name an associate in your application or include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.
Question 1. Animal testing (not scored)
Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?
You must select one option:
We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.
Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.
Question 2. Permits and licences (not scored)
Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?
We are unable to fund projects who do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.
You must select one option:
Question 3. KTP type
What type of KTP are you applying for?
Select one option:
Question 4. Number of associates
How many associates do you need to support this project?
Select one option:
Question 5. Domain alignment
Which of the Innovate UK domains does your KTP most closely align with?
Guidance on the domains can be found on pages 21 to 23 of the Innovate UK strategic delivery plan 2022 to 2025.
Select one option:
Question 6. Business partner type
What is the business partner type?
This refers to the applicant business not the parent group.
Select one option:
Question 7. Virtual business
Is the business partner a virtual business?
The key characteristic of virtual businesses is that their employees predominantly work from home and are connected by online services. Some virtual businesses retain premises whilst some do not.
Select one option:
Question 8. Business partner size
Give the size of the business partner’s organisation. If the business partner is part of a group give the size of the overall group.
For more information on business sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.
Select one option:
Question 9. Business partner SIC code
What is the business partner’s Standard Industrial Code (SIC)?
If the business partner is a registered charity, use 88990.
If the business partner is a public sector organisation, use 84110
Your answer can be up to 10 words long.
Question 10. Business partner registration number
What is the business partner’s name and registration number?
This is normally demonstrated on a public register, such as Companies House or Charity Commission.
The registered name and registration number provided must match the official public register.
An incorrect name or number will result in the application being withdrawn from the competition.
If your organisation is not a registered business, but is a legal entity, please include additional information on your legal status as one of your supporting documents .
Your answer can be up to 20 words long.
Question 11. Partnership details
What is the name and the full registered address of your organisation and your business partner working on the project.
We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all participants of a project.
Provide the full registered name and address of the knowledge base partner in this order. Do not include bullet points in your response:
Provide the full registered name and address of the business partner in this order. Do not include bullet points in your response:
Your answer can be up to 100 words long
Question 12. What is the expected working model for the associate?
Where will the associate mainly be working?
Select one:
Question 13. Meeting location
Where will the business partner hold the face-to-face Project Management meetings and Local Management Committee meetings?
This is usually where the project physically takes place, or a chosen location for virtual projects. Provide the full address of the location in this order. Do not include bullet points in your response:
Your answer can be up to 50 words long
Question 14. Senior business employee
Who is the senior business partner employee?
Give their details in this order. Do not include bullet points in your response:
Your answer can be up to 50 words long.
Question 15. Senior business employee’s background
How does the experience of the senior employee at the business make them suitable for this role?
The senior business employee will be expected to chair the Local Management Committee overseeing the delivery of the project.
The individual named must:
Your answer can be up to 300 words long.
Question 16. Business partner supervisor
Who is the business partner supervisor for each associate?
Give their details in this order. Do not include bullet points in your response:
Business partner supervisor for associate one
Business partner supervisor for associate two
Your answer can be up to 50 words long.
Question 17. Business partner supervisor’s background
What is the business partner supervisor’s background?
Explain why their experience makes them suitable for this role.
The individual named must:
It is expected that the supervisor will ensure that the business gives consideration to any request for resources or training of business personnel required for the project to succeed and for its outputs to become embedded within the business.
If your project has more than one business partner supervisor, you must give the background details for each person
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 18. Knowledge base lead’s background
What is the knowledge base lead’s background?
For the knowledge base lead:
Your answer can be up to 300 words long.
Question 19. Knowledge base supervisor’s background
What is the knowledge base supervisor’s background?
For each knowledge base supervisor:
If your project has more than one knowledge base supervisor, you must give the background details for each person
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 20. Business area
What are the businesses current activities?
Explain:
If the business partner is not generating revenues, provide details of their funding sources. If part of a business group, please also indicate the broader business activities undertaken by the group.
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 21. Project funding
Demonstrate how the business plans to address the funding of this project?
Explain:
If the business accounts show any of the following issues, you must also provide additional details:
If the business’ financial position is complex and requires further explanation you should attach a business letter to the application.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 22. Future strategic aims
What are the future strategic aims of the business partner? How does this project address these needs?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 23. Use of knowledge, technology and expertise
What missing knowledge, technology or expertise does the business partner need from the knowledge base partner? How will this be transferred during your project and beyond?
Explain how the new knowledge, technology or expertise will be:
Your answer can be up to 300 words long.
Question 24. Reason for partnership
Why is an academic and business partnership the most appropriate approach for this activity?
Explain why the KTP structure and funding is necessary to achieve the desired outcomes. Explain why these outcomes could not be delivered by 'off the shelf' solutions, direct recruitment or through consultancy.
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 25. Market opportunity and Route to market
What genuine market opportunities relating to the business case will your project open up?
Describe:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 26. Commercial Impacts
What are the likely impacts of your project?
The response to this question complements the figures in the Commercial Impacts table, uploaded as part of this question.
Explain:
You must download the latest commercial impacts template, complete it and upload as a PDF with a file size of up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
In undertaking a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, it is expected that the project outcomes will be primarily exploited for the UK’s benefit. The KTP terms and conditions contains clauses pertaining to the exploitation of the outcomes from the project.
Your answer can be up to 500 words long.
Question 27. Additional business actions and investments
What additional business actions and investments will be needed to commercialise the outputs from your project and deliver the benefits described?
Explain:
Where applicable include within the finance table, details of any additional company contributions and financing required by the business during the life of the project.
Your answer can be up to 300 words long.
Question 28. Supplementary benefits
What additional benefits will be delivered as part of your project?
Describe and quantify:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 29. Associate arrangements
How will the associate or associates be supervised?
Associate supervision is critical to the success of any partnership.
Each associate must be supervised by both the:
Describe:
If the associate spends any time at the knowledge base, daily supervision will also be required from the academic supervisor. The business partner supervisor must also commit to supervise the associate at the knowledge base location.
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 30. Associate’s challenge
What makes this a challenging project for the associate?
Explain what the associate will focus on, for example:
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 31. Associates skills and attributes
In order to deliver your project successfully, what are you looking for from your associates?
Briefly describe the essential and desirable:
Explain the rationale for the budget request being made for associate employment costs. This must be based on evidence that it is appropriate for the industry or business in which the KTP will take place. Justifications relying solely on pay grades within the knowledge base or qualifications, will be withdrawn from the competition.
You may submit an additional document containing evidence and upload it as part of your supporting documents.
If your project is successful, the associate must be appointed through an open recruitment process.
If potential associates are named within the application, it will be withdrawn from the competition.
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 32. Knowledge base partner’s challenges
What challenges does the knowledge base partner have that will be addressed through this partnership?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 33. Knowledge base partner impacts and outcomes
What impacts and outcomes does the knowledge base partner expect to arise as a result of this partnership?
Explain the additional impacts and outcomes the KTP will bring to the knowledge base partner such as:
Where applicable, you must cross-reference to the workplan.
Your answer can be up to 200 words long.
Question 34. Workplan
How will you manage your project effectively?
Use the latest workplan template to detail your projects steps and stages, including benefits realisation phase and the exploitation phase.
You must select “yes” to confirm the completed template has been uploaded. If you select ‘No’ your application will not be considered for funding.
You must download the latest workplan template, complete it and upload it as a PDF with a file size of up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Failure to upload a completed workplan on the latest template will mean the application will not be considered for funding.
Individual tasks in the workplan should typically have a four week duration to provide sufficient detail to support the assessment of the application.
The workplan should provide a summary of the technical aspects and the knowledge embedding activities undertaken in the project to deliver a legacy capability in the business.
Where there are two associates addressing different technical aspects of the project, they may work at the same time or may be staggered. The workplan should assume full time working although it should be noted that Innovate UK are open to part time or flexible working practices during project delivery and recognise that this may result in a longer overall project duration.
The workplan must include a summary of project risks and a summary Gantt chart indicating the inter-dependencies between tasks.
If your project has two associates, then two workplans must be provided and these must indicate inter-dependencies between the associate’s activities.
Workplans must be uploaded individually as appendices to this question. Each workplan must be a PDF, and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 35. LMC members
You must confirm that each member of the local management committee (LMC) is aware of their role and responsibility. You must also confirm the knowledge base will provide the project secretariat.
Before the application is submitted you must ensure each LMC member is made aware their participation in the LMC is mandatory, should the application be successful.
As the formal project meeting, the LMC must be chaired by the senior business employee. Each member of the LMC must be listed in the Application Team section of the application. Once recruited the associate must also attend the meeting.
Members of the LMC are:
You must select one option:
If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and will not be progressed any further.
Question 36. Applications from the business partner for KTP or AKT
Has the business partner applied for a KTP or AKT (Accelerated Knowledge Transfer) project?
You must include projects submitted by the business partner in the same round as this application and applications into any KTP or AKT competitons in the last five years.
Type “Yes” or “No” as part of your answer.
If Yes, for all applications that have been submitted within the previous five years you must provide:
We will not support a project that repeats activity undertaken in a previous KTPs or AKTs involving the same business partner.
When two or more applications from the same business or group are made to the same round of KTP, each application must contain details to highlight the other submission. You must explain the reason for the multiple applications.
You are reminded that a business may receive funding for no more than four concurrent KTP projects.
Your answer can be up to 300 words long.
Question 37. Previous funding information
Have any of the partners previously received non-KTP awards that relate to this application within the last five years?
This includes awards from UKRI and other funding bodies.
Type “Yes” or “No” as part of your answer.
If Yes, you must provide:
Your answer can be up 200 words long.
Question 38. Joint commitment statement
The knowledge base partner and business partner must declare a commitment to work together on the project by completing our joint commitment statement template.
Download the latest joint commitment statement (JCS) template, complete it and upload it as a PDF with a file size of up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Select ‘Yes’ to confirm you have uploaded the completed template.
If you select ‘No’ or you do not upload the latest version of a completed JCS, your application will not be considered for funding.
Question 39. Potential supporters
Which funder do you want to financially support your project? You must type the name exactly as shown below.
You must choose at least one of the following:
In addition to the financial supporters, you can select relevant UKRI Research councils and Innovate UK Domain teams that may wish to support your project.
If you select a supporter, they will be asked to review the application as a non-scoring assessor. The relevance of the selected supporter should be made clear within the application.
The Research Council supporters can make a recommendation for a project proposing societal benefits as well as commercial impacts to be considered for funding by Innovate UK.
Your answer can be up to 30 words long.
Question 40. Supporting documents: one
You can use this question to upload up to three other supporting documents as appendices. For example, you can use this question to upload documents providing supporting evidence of the business partner’s finance position.
You must not upload photographs, excerpts from websites, electronic reports or documents that contain hyperlinks.
Appendices must be in PDF format with a file size up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 41. Supporting documents: two
You can use this question to upload up to three other supporting documents as appendices. For example, you can use this question to upload documents providing supporting evidence of the business partner’s finance position.
You must not upload photographs, excerpts from websites, electronic reports or documents that contain hyperlinks.
Appendices must be in PDF format with a file size up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom
Question 42. Declaration of accuracy
You must agree to the following declaration.
The partnership confirms that the proposal meets the overarching criteria for KTP and, to the best of their knowledge, the information provided in this grant application form is accurate and complete. Select ‘Yes’ if you agree. If you select ‘No’ your application will not be considered for funding.
Question 43. Declaration of Knowledge Transfer Adviser approval
You must agree to the following declaration.
The partnership confirms that a Knowledge Transfer Adviser has reviewed the application and supports its submission into the competition
Select ‘Yes’ if you agree. If you select ‘No’ your application will not be considered for funding.
The knowledge base partner must provide details of the funding requested within each individual cost category for the project.
The categories are:
For full details on what costs you can claim, see the KTP project costs guidance.
Costs for consumables and travel and subsistence must be itemised and justified in the application.
The knowledge base partner must ensure the additional business cost estimates section is completed.
Using the tables provided the business partner must provide details of the business’:
The applicant knowledge base must undertake their own due diligence on the finances of the business to assess their ability to support their financial commitments to the project funding.
About the Knowledge Transfer Partnership
To find out more about KTP, read the KTP guidance.
Additional support from the Welsh Government
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are a core component of Wales’ RD&I offer to businesses. This offer allows eligible micro, small and medium sized businesses to claim 75% of the project costs of a KTP.
To be eligible for this additional support the delivery of the project must be within Wales and the business must meet the definition of an SME. Virtual projects where the business is registered at an address in Wales are also eligible.
Partnerships must jointly develop the proposal to address a specific business need and submit their proposal for assessment by 11.00am on 12 February 2025. Only applications received before this time will be eligible for this funding.
About academic associate supervision
All academic supervision must be delivered weekly. Supervision can be delivered in one of two ways, either face-to-face or virtually. You must deliver academic supervision in the chosen format for the duration of the project.
You must clearly state in the “Associate arrangements’ question which option you are choosing.
About project management meetings
A monthly project management meeting with the academic supervisor, associate and business partner is mandatory and must happen face to face.
About virtual business
The eligible costs for virtual businesses are different from those that operate a traditional business model. These differences reflect the ways in which virtual businesses operate and the additional flexibility it offers around location of staff.
Please ensure you read the costs guidance document carefully and discuss the differences with your knowledge base and Knowledge Transfer Adviser before submitting your application.
About management KTPs
Management KTPs (mKTPs) focus on increasing effectiveness and improving productivity through better management practices. They create a partnership with a UK business school or academics that can demonstrate how their experience relates to management practice.
Management KTPs are aimed at supporting micro, small and medium sized businesses. Large companies are considered on a case by case basis.
To find out more, read the Management KTP guidance.
Public sector
Public sector mKTPs allow eligible organisations to work with one of the UKs business schools or academics with significant management expertise. They can help transform how organisations operate, embedding new cultures and implement new processes.
Not for Profit
Any business may call itself a ‘not for profit’ but unless there are legal structures in place, there is no way to assess whether the businesses operates in this way, and little to prevent the business changing the way it distributes its profits.
Social enterprises, co-operatives, charities and charitable businesses do have recognisable legal structures.
Our goal in supporting social enterprises, co-operatives, charities and charitable businesses, is to help them develop new income streams that can support their work and help them transform how they operate.
About employing the associate
KTPs are typically advertised on a full time basis. Associates may apply to work on a flexible basis for the duration of the project via the employers flexible working policy.
When required, an appropriate visa must be in place to cover the duration of the project before the associate starts work.
Where an associate has not finished writing a thesis or dissertation, it is expected that this will be completed outside of the KTP project.
If your application is successful, the business and academic supervisors are expected to attend the Supervisors workshop.
These half day workshops are run by Innovate UK Business Connect and delivered online.
Workshops generally take place within one month of the knowledge base receiving notification that the project will receive funding. Successful applicants will be notified of the dates
This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect, Innovate UK Business Growth, the Catapult Network and Invest Northern Ireland (each an ‘agency’).
Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.
This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to Innovate UK Business Connect, Innovate UK Business Growth, the Catapult Network and Invest Northern Ireland and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:
Innovate UK and our partner organisations are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, and our partner organisations will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.
Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy
Catapult Network Privacy Policy
Business Growth Privacy Policy
Invest Northern Ireland Privacy Policy
Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.
The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.
If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.
Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.