Funding competition African agriculture knowledge transfer partnerships (KTP): 2022 to 2023 R3

UK registered higher or further education institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £2 million from the African agriculture strand of the KTP.

Competition opens: Thursday 4 August 2022
Competition closes: Wednesday 14 September 2022 11:00am

This competition is now closed.

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Description

In this round of the African agriculture strand of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Innovate UK is investing up to £2 million towards the funding of projects.

The African agriculture strand of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme supports a partnership between:

a UK registered higher education or further education institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or Catapult (which we will refer to as the ‘UK knowledge base’)
an African business or not for profit organisation (which we will refer to collectively as the ‘business partner’)
a knowledge base in Africa (which we will refer to as the ‘African knowledge base’)

The business and African knowledge base must both be based in one of the following countries:

Republic of Ghana
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Kenya
Republic of South Africa

The partnership will bring new skills and the latest academic thinking into the business partner to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. Your project must be in one of the following areas:

primary crop and livestock production, including aquaculture
non-food uses of crops, excluding ornamentals
challenges in food processing, distribution or storage, and value addition (such as through a change in the physical state or form of the product)
improving the availability and accessibility of safe, healthy and nutritious foods

The knowledge base partners will recruit 1 or 2 graduates (known as ‘associates’) to work on the project.

Each application must be led by a UK registered knowledge base, working with an African business partner and African knowledge base. If you are from a knowledge base that has not yet developed a project, get started by reading the KTP guidance.

If you are from an African business, read the guidance then contact the Knowledge Transfer Network or a knowledge base.

By submitting an application, you are entering into a competitive process. The competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.

Funding type

Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)

Project size

Typically projects cost no more than £170,000 in total, split equally between knowledge base partners. Projects are fully funded by Innovate UK

Who can apply

This is a closed competition. There are 7 knowledge bases eligible to participate in the competition and they have been contacted directly. If you have not received an invite, you are not eligible to apply for this competition.

This award is provided on a No subsidy basis. This means the knowledge base partner must publish or make all project outputs openly available on a non-selective basis. If the business partner decides to commercially exploit the project outputs, it can only do so with no selective advantage. Your project must start after 6 April 2023.

Each African agriculture KTP is a partnership between the following:

a UK registered higher education or further education institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or Catapult (which we will refer to as the ‘UK knowledge base’)
an African business or not for profit organisation (which we will refer to collectively as the ‘business partner’)
a knowledge base in Africa (which we will refer to as the ‘African knowledge base’)

The business and African knowledge base must both be based in one of the following countries:

Republic of Ghana
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Kenya
Republic of South Africa

Typically projects last 15 months, depending on the project requirements.

KTP does not support projects where the business partner is in the public sector.

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.

UK knowledge base partner

Each application must be created by a UK knowledge base, with the help of a knowledge transfer adviser.

The UK knowledge base must lead the project and must:

be a UK registered higher education (HE) or further education (FE) institution, RTO or Catapult
invite one business or not for profit organisation from Republic of Ghana, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Kenya or Republic of South Africa to join the application and collaborate with them on the development of the project
invite one African knowledge base from the same African country as the business partner to join the application and collaborate with them on the development of the project
invite one knowledge transfer adviser to join the application
not act in any way to gain selective commercial or economic advantage from the outputs of the project
allow associates to carry out the majority of the project at the business partner’s premises
make sure the application is completed and submitted before the competition closes

African Business partner

African Business partners can work with knowledge bases of their choice, one from the UK and one from their own country. We encourage business partners to approach knowledge bases directly.

To collaborate with the knowledge bases, the business partner must:

be a business, of any size, or a not for profit organisation registered in Republic of Ghana, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Kenya or Republic of South Africa
have more than 2 employees
demonstrate its ability to financially support its contribution to the project
be invited by the UK knowledge base and complete its parts of the application
provide business finance information for the past 3 years

We use the term ‘business partner’ for both businesses and not for profit organisations.

The definition KTP uses for ‘not for profit organisation’ includes social enterprises and charities.

The business partner must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the UK knowledge base partner to collaborate on a project. When the business partner accepts their invitation, they will need to:

login or create an account
provide estimates of their own project costs, which may be updated as part of the final reporting process

African knowledge base partner

The African knowledge base partner must be a registered higher education or further education institution from the same country as the African business partner.

The African knowledge base partner must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the UK knowledge base partner to collaborate on a project. When the African knowledge base partner accepts their invitation, they will need to:

login or create an account
provide estimates of their own project costs, which may be updated as part of the final reporting process

Joint commitment statement and exploitation plan

Both the UK and African knowledge base partners 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.

No subsidy

This competition provides funding that is not classed by Innovate UK as a subsidy. You should still seek independent legal advice on what this means for you, before applying.

More information about the UK Subsidy Control requirements can be found within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation agreement and the subsequent BEIS guidance.

‘No subsidy’ status is only granted to organisations which declare that they will not use the funding:

in any way which gives them selective economic or commercial advantage
in any way which would determine the funding as a subsidy as defined by the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement

It is the responsibility of the lead organisation to make sure all collaborators in the project remain compliant with these requirements.

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.

Further information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the UK Subsidy Control regime you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

If there are any changes to the above requirements that mean we need to change the terms of this competition, we will tell you as soon as possible.

Funding

Typically, projects cost no more than £170,000 in total, split equally between knowledge base partners.

Find out which project costs are eligible for funding.

Contribution from Innovate UK

Innovate UK has allocated up to £2 million in this round of the African agriculture KTP programme, which will contribute towards the total costs of the individual projects.

Funding for the African agriculture KTP comes from Innovate UK and is distributed by the UK based knowledge partner.

Eligible project costs will be 100% funded.

The delivery of the KTP programme is also supported by the UK 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 the:

duration of the project
registered location of project

Contribution from the business partner

The business partner in your application must fully support project delivery. The business partner must pay for:

items listed in the additional costs section of the application form
the time spent on the project by their own staff
other non-eligible costs such as the purchase of capital equipment
commercialisation of the project outputs

Non-aid

This competition provides funding that is classed as no subsidy to the knowledge base partners. The business partner should seek independent legal advice on what this means for it, before applying.

Non-aid is only granted to organisations which declare that they will not use the funding:

in any way which gives them selective economic or commercial advantage
in any other way which would determine the funding as state aid as defined by the EC

It is important to note that it is the activity the business partner intends to perform in the project which is assessed as eligible for non-aid, and not the business as an entity. The business partner's activity will be assessed in line with the funding rules for the knowledge base partners.

Application rules

Number of applications

Each knowledge base can collaborate on any number of applications.

Each African business partner (including separate businesses with a business group) can take part in up to 4 KTP funded projects at any one time. 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.

Previously submitted applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

We will not award you funding if you have:

failed to exploit a previously funded project
failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Knowledge Transfer Advisers

Applications must be supported by the 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 KTA may choose not to support an application.

Any projects submitted without KTA approval will be withdrawn from the competition.

Your project

Your project must be in one of the following areas:

primary crop and livestock production, including aquaculture
non-food uses of crops, excluding ornamentals
challenges in food processing, distribution or storage, and value addition (such as through a change in the physical state or form of the product)
improving the availability and accessibility of safe, healthy and nutritious foods

Your project’s innovations must:

be sustainable in the context of environmental challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity
minimise negative effects such as pollution, food loss and waste
promote safe, healthy and nutritious diets

Your application must demonstrate how your project will contribute towards:

enhanced food and nutrition security
welfare of the poor in urban and rural areas in developing countries

Your application must align with the above criteria and 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, but it must show:

that it helps the business with a real need
how it fits the strategic aims of the business partner
there is a genuine market opportunity and route to market
how the knowledge gained will be embedded within the business partner
the commercial impact for the business partner, and any wider impacts

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund:

projects which are classed as State aid under EC regulations or a subsidy under the EU-UK TCA
projects which gain a selective economic or commercial advantage from the funding
research projects
projects that are not strategic for the business partner
projects that work with public sector organisations
projects that do not demonstrate a genuine market opportunity

We are also not funding projects with the following themes:

forestry or ornamentals
wild-capture fisheries
equine
crops for energy production

4 August 2022: Competition opens
14 September 2022 11:00am: Competition closes
10 November 2022: Funder’s panel
17 November 2022 8:09am: Applicants notified

Before you start

You must read the guidance for KTP applicants before you apply.

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 4 sections:

Scope: If your project is not in scope it will not be assessed and will be withdrawn from the competition.
Project details.
Application questions.
Finances.

If your application is in scope, the assessors will score the following sections in your application holistically:

They will score on:

impact
challenge
innovation
cohesiveness

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.

By completing all sections of the application form you will have completed your initial exploitation plan.

1. Project details

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.

You must invite:

one business or not for profit organisation from Republic of Ghana, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Kenya or Republic of South Africa
one African knowledge base from the same African country as the business partner
one knowledge transfer adviser

Team members must each complete an Equality Diversity and Inclusion survey. The lead applicant must complete their survey to submit the application.

Application Details

The format of the application title must be “Knowledge Base and Business Partner KTP Year Round X”.

For example: University of Innovation and Shelen Ltd KTP 22_23 R3

This competition is KTP 22_23 R3.

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 vision for the project
key objectives
main areas of focus
details of how it is innovative

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.

If your project is not in scope it will not be eligible for funding.

To demonstrate how your project aligns with the scope of this competition you must:

read the competition brief in full
understand the background, challenges and scope of the competition

You must describe:

how your project helps the business with a real need
how your project fits the strategic aims of the business partner
the genuine market opportunity and a viable route to market
how the knowledge gained will be embedded within the business partner
what makes your proposed project innovative

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.

2. Application questions

You must answer all questions.

You must not name an associate in your application or include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers

Question 1. Number of associates

How many associates do you need to support this project?

Select whether you have 1 or 2 associates.

Question 2. Business partner type

What is the business partner type?

This refers to the applicant business not the parent group.

Select one:

limited company
limited liability partnership (LLP)
charity
not for profit
partnership
public limited company
sole trader
unlimited company
other

Question 3. Is the business partner a 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:

Question 4. 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.

Select one:

micro
small
medium
large

For more information on business sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.

Question 5. Business partner SIC code

What is the business partner’s Standard Industrial Code (SIC)?

If the business partner is a registered charity, use 88990.

Question 6. Business name and registration number

What is the business partner’s name and registration number?

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.

Question 7. Partnership Details

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and your partner organisations 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 UK knowledge base partner in this format:

registered name
building name or number and street
town or city
county
postcode

Provide the full registered name and address of the African knowledge base partner in this format:

registered name
building name or number and street
town or city
region
postcode
country

Provide the full registered name and address of the business partner in this format:

registered name
building name or number and street
town or city
region
postcode
country

Your answer can be up to 200 words long

Question 8. What is the expected working model for the associate?

Where will the associate mainly be working?

Select one:

at a business location
working from home and a business location (hybrid)
working from home (virtual)

Question 9. Meeting location

Where will the business partner hold the face-to-face Project Management meetings and Local Management Committee meetings? Provide the full address of the location in this format:

building name or number and street
town or city
region
postcode
country

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 10. Senior business employee

Who is the senior business partner employee?

Give their details in this format:

title
first name
family name
email address

Your answer can be up to 50 words long.

Question 11. Senior business employee’s background

You must provide details of the senior employee at the business partner and explain why their experience makes 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:

demonstrate the business partner or its group’s commitment to the partnership
provide evidence of the authority received to commit its resources to support the delivery of the project

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 12. Business partner supervisor

You must identify the business partner supervisor for each associate.

Give their details in this format:

Business partner supervisor for associate 1

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Business partner supervisor for associate 2

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Your answer can be up to 50 words long.

Question 13. 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:

work in a team with the knowledge base supervisor’s and the associate
give day-to-day support to the project
offer guidance and mentoring support to the associate
provide links to information and expertise available within the business

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 1 business partner supervisor, you must give the background details for each person

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 14. UK Knowledge base supervisor

Which UK knowledge base partner employee will give the associate academic supervision?

You must identify the knowledge base supervisor for each associate.

Give their details in this format:

Knowledge base supervisor for associate 1

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Knowledge base supervisor for associate 2

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 15. UK Knowledge base supervisor’s background

What is the UK knowledge base supervisor’s background?

For each knowledge base supervisor:

describe how their research interests and experience are relevant to the project
give evidence that they are the right person to supervise the project and the associate

If your project has more than 1 knowledge base supervisor, you must give the background details for each person

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 16. UK Knowledge base lead

Who will be the UK knowledge base lead? The knowledge base lead is the senior academic on your project.

Give their details in this format:

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 17. UK Knowledge base lead’s background

What is the UK knowledge base lead’s background?

For the knowledge base lead:

describe how their research interests and experience are relevant to the project
give evidence that they are the right person to support the academic delivery within the project

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 18. African Knowledge base lead

Who will be the African knowledge base lead? The knowledge base lead is the senior academic on your project.

Give their details in this format:

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 19. African Knowledge base lead’s background

What is the African knowledge base lead’s background?

For the knowledge base lead:

describe how their research interests and experience are relevant to the project
give evidence that they are the right person to support the academic delivery within the project

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 20. African Knowledge base supervisor

Which African knowledge base partner employee will give the associate academic supervision?

You must identify the knowledge base supervisor for each associate.

Give their details in this format:

Knowledge base supervisor for associate 1

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Knowledge base supervisor for associate 2

title
first name
family name
job title
email address

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 21. African Knowledge base supervisor’s background

What is the African knowledge base supervisor’s background?

For each knowledge base supervisor:

describe how their research interests and experience are relevant to the project
give evidence that they are the right person to supervise the project and the associate

If your project has more than 1 knowledge base supervisor, you must give the background details for each person

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 22. Partnership administrator

Who will be the partnership administrator?

The partnership administrator is the main person we will contact at the knowledge base partner to ask questions about this application or partnership.

Give their details in this format:

title
first name
family name
job title
email address
phone number
building name or number and street
town or city
county
postcode

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 23. Person responsible for submitting claims

Who will be the person responsible for submitting claims?

Provide details of the person responsible for submitting claims on behalf of the UK knowledge base partner.

Give their details in this format:

title
first name
family name
email address
phone number

Your answer can be up to 50 words long

Question 24. Strategic aims

Explain how this project fits with the strategic aims of the business partner.

Explain:

why this project is important to the business partner
the business vision that this partnership addresses
what problems or opportunities this partnership addresses
what key outcomes this partnership will deliver to the business
how this partnership will make a significant difference to this business partner

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 25. Business area

What area does the business partner work in? Clearly state its revenue generating activities.

If the business partner is not yet 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 400 words long.

Question 26. Missing knowledge

What knowledge or expertise does the business partner currently lack that it will need to carry out this project?

What knowledge, technology or skills does the business partner need from the knowledge base partner?

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 27. Use of knowledge

How will the knowledge and expertise transferred during your project be embedded and exploited within the business partner?

Explain how the new knowledge and expertise:

within your project will be embedded and remain in the business, with continued use beyond the lifetime of your project
will continue to boost the business's success

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 28. 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 500 words long.

Question 29. Business partner’s challenges

What challenges does the business partner have that will be addressed through the partnership?

Explain any specific challenges that will be difficult to address in the execution of your project.

Describe how the solution moves the business partner forward in such a way that it challenges current or accepted practice in the business partner or sector.

Your answer can be up to 400 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:

technical challenges
resource challenges
people and change management challenges
project management challenges

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 31. Associate arrangements

How will the associate or associates be supervised?

Associate supervision is critical to the success of any partnership.

We expect the majority of the project to take place at the business. Each associate should be supervised by the African knowledge base supervisor for at least half a day each week or one day a fortnight (excluding travelling time).

You must ask your knowledge transfer adviser what level of supervision is appropriate for your partnership.

Describe:

the nature of the daily supervision provided by the business supervisor
the nature of the half a day per week of supervision that will be provided by the academic supervisor
additional measures that will be implemented by project partners to support hybrid

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 400 words long.

Question 32. Associates

In order to deliver your project successfully, what are you looking for from your associates?

Briefly describe the essential and desirable:

qualifications
skills
attributes
experience

Explain the rationale for the budget request being made for associate employment costs based on the skills outlined and the location of the project.

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 500 words long.

Question 33. UK Knowledge base partner’s challenges and benefits

What challenges does the UK knowledge base partner have that will be addressed through this partnership?

Explain:

what challenge your project offers the academic team
why the academic team want to undertake this project
the additional benefits and outcomes the KTP will bring to the knowledge base partner

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 34. African Knowledge base partner’s challenges and benefits

What challenges does the African knowledge base partner have that will be addressed through this partnership?

Explain:

what challenge your project offers the academic team
why the academic team want to undertake this project
the additional benefits and outcomes the KTP will bring to the knowledge base partner

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 35. Market opportunity

What market opportunities relating to the business case, will your project open up?

Describe:

the target markets
their relative size or value
the market share you are expecting to achieve
the business partner's current position in these markets
the existing or emerging competitive offerings

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 36. Route to market

What is your route to market?

What is your strategy to achieve market share?

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 37. Commercial impacts

What are the likely impacts of the project?

Describe or explain:

the rationale you used to generate the likely impacts
how you calculated the net profit before tax figures
why this is the best approach for generating likely impact

You must quantify the likely commercial impacts of the project.

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.

You must use the text box to describe or explain the rationale you used to generate the likely impacts.

Your answer can be up to 750 words long.

Question 38. 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?

What does the business partner need to do?

What additional investments will they need to make? You must quantify costs and timings.

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 39. Project Funding

Explain how the business plans to remain viable during the project period?

If the business accounts show any of the following issues, you must provide additional details:

declining turnover
low net profit pre-tax
negative liquidity
high debt or equity
growth in long term loans

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 500 words long.

Question 40. Additional benefits

What additional benefits will be delivered as part of your project?

Describe:

the number of new and safeguarded jobs
any wider societal and environmental benefits
any other benefits that this project will deliver that may help your case for support

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 41. 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 4 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 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 42. 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:

senior business employee
knowledge base supervisors Africa and UK – associate 1
knowledge base supervisors Africa and UK – associate 2
business supervisor – associate 1
business supervisor – associate 2
knowledge base leads Africa and UK
knowledge transfer adviser
knowledge base project administrator
associates

You must select one:

If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and not progressed any further.

Question 43. Previous business partner KTPs

Has the business partner now or ever undertaken a KTP?

Type “Yes” or “No” as part of your answer.

If Yes, for all applications that have been awarded within the previous 5 years you must provide:

the KTP reference number for each previously funded KTP project
a brief description of what benefits were gained by the business partner
details of how the new KTP application relates to the previous projects
details of how this project differentiates from previous KTP’s undertaken by the business partner

We will not support a project that repeats activity undertaken in a previous KTP 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 4 concurrent KTP projects.

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 44. Previous funding information

Have any of the partners previously received non-KTP awards that relate to this application within the last 5 years.

This includes awards from UKRI and other funding bodies.

Type “Yes” or “No” as part of your answer.

If Yes, you must provide:

the award number
the date of the award
the name of your supporter
a brief description of the award
details of how the previous award is linked to this project

Your answer can be up 200 words long.

Question 45. Joint commitment statement

Each knowledge base partner and the business partner must declare a commitment to work together on the project by completing our joint commitment statement template.

Download the attached 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 46. Supporting documents 1

You can use this question to upload up to 3 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 or, 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.

Select “Yes” or “No” to indicate whether you have uploaded a document.

Question 47. Supporting documents 2

You must not upload photographs, excerpts from websites or, 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

Select “Yes” or “No” to indicate whether you have uploaded a document.

Question 48. 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 49. 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.

3. Finances

The UK knowledge base partner must itemise the total project costs and funding requested, broken down into all the individual costs for the project and the associate.

These categories are:

Associate Employment Costs
Associate Development
Travel and Subsistence
Consumables
Academic Supervisor costs
Additional Associate costs
Estates
Other

For full details on what costs you can claim, see the KTP project costs guidance.

The African business partner and African knowledge base partner must not list their project costs in this section. They must show their costs as zero and select to say they are a non-grant claiming partner. This will allow the application to be completed and submitted.

The African business partner must give:

details of its finances over the current financial year and previous 2 years
details of any funding applied for elsewhere

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:

financial position current financial year (if the latest filed accounts are more than 9 months old at the date of the competitions funders panel)
financial position over the preceding 2 financial years
financial contribution to support its own costs associated with its participation in the proposed project

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.

Background and further information

To find out more about KTP, read the KTP guidance.

If you are successful

The partnership will need to start after 6 April 2023. Partners must have jointly recruited an associate or associates, and start after this date.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK Government, Scottish Government (Scottish Funding Council), Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly (Invest Northern Ireland) (each an “agency”).

Your submitted application and any other information you provide at the application stage can be submitted to each agency on an individual basis for its storage, processing and use Any relevant information 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 UKRI, the UK Government, Scottish Government (Scottish Funding Council), Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly (Invest Northern Ireland) and vice versa.

Innovate UK, UKRI, the UK Government, Scottish Government (Scottish Funding Council), Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly (Invest Northern Ireland)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, UKRI, the UK Government, Scottish Government (Scottish Funding Council), Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly (Invest Northern Ireland)will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of GDPR, and is committed to upholding the data protection principles, and protecting your information The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

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 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK is committed to making support for applicants accessible to everyone. We can provide help for applicants who face barriers when making an application. This might be as a result of a disability, neurodiversity or anything else that makes it difficult to use our services. We can also give help and make other reasonable adjustments for you if your application is successful.

If you think you need more support, it is important that you contact our Customer Support Service as early as possible during your application process. You should aim to contact us no later than 10 working days before the competition closing date.

Need help with this service? Contact us