Funding competition SBRI: Quantum-enabled positioning, navigation and timing systems

Organisations can apply for a share of £25m inclusive of VAT, to develop quantum-enabled systems for positioning, navigation, timing (PNT) and quantum-enabled sensing applications relating to navigation.

Competition opens: Monday 13 February 2023
Competition closes: Wednesday 12 April 2023 11:00am

This competition is now closed.

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Description

This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by Innovate UK.

The aim of the competition is to deliver quantum-enabled systems for positioning, navigation and timing, and quantum-enabled sensors for navigation applications, such as magnetic or gravity field sensors.

This is a single phase competition for quantum-enabled systems and technologies already at an advanced stage of development.

Your proposal must be able to demonstrate a credible commercialisation and delivery plan. This competition is not suitable for feasibility studies.

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process.

Any adoption and implementation of a solution from this competition would be subject to a separate, possibly competitive, procurement exercise. This competition does not cover the purchase of any solution.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the date of the deadline.

Funding for this opportunity is subject to business case approval by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Funding type

Procurement

Project size

Projects can range in size between £2 million and £7 million in total costs, inclusive of VAT.

Who can apply

Your project

Projects are expected to:

start from 1 July2023
end by 31 March2025
last up to 18 months
carry out all of its project work in the UK
intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Your project can range in size between £2 million and £7 million in total costs, inclusive of VAT.

If your project’s total costs falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

Applicant

To lead a project, you can:

be an organisation of any size that is UK registered or has a UK registered office
work alone or with others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations or the third sector, that are UK registered or have a UK registered office, as subcontractors

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

Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. However, if you can justify subcontracting components of the work, you can engage specialists or advisers. This work will still be the responsibility of the main contractor.

Funding

A total of up to £25 million inclusive of VAT, is allocated to this competition.

The total funding available for the competition can change.

The funders want to fund a variety of projects across different markets, themes, technologies, technology maturities, locations, industrial sectors, project sizes, exploitation potential and business sizes. We call this a portfolio approach.

The contract is completed at the end of the competition, and the successful organisation is expected to pursue commercialisation of their solution.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your project costs.

VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and suggest you seek independent advice from HMRC.

VAT registered

If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your project cost total. Your total project costs must not exceed £7million.

Not VAT registered

If you select you are not VAT registered, you must enter your project costs exclusive of VAT and no VAT will be added. You will not be able to increase total project costs to cover VAT later should you become VAT registered. Your total project costs must not exceed £7million.

Research and development

Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service. This lets you incorporate the results of your exploration and design and demonstrate that you can produce in quantity to acceptable quality standards.

R&D does not include:

commercial development activities such as quantity production
supply to establish commercial viability or to recover R&D costs
integration, customisation or incremental adaptations and improvements to existing products or processes

Subsidy control

SBRI competitions involve procurement of R&D services at a fair market value and are not subject to subsidy control criteria that typically apply to grant funding.

Your project

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are a successful solution for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) applications. Their ubiquity has reduced the market for non-GNSS systems. An exception to this is where GNSS does not clearly meet the market needs, for example, where high levels of integrity are required or GNSS signals are not available.

This has meant services such as financial trading and power distribution have become GNSS dependent to the extent, they are now vulnerable to its loss or denial.

The market for non-GNSS systems is still limited, and wider adoption is restricted by the lack of data on their performance. The aim of the competition is to deliver quantum-enabled systems for PNT and quantum-enabled sensors for navigation applications, such as magnetic or gravity field sensors.

Your project must deliver:

a PNT system that is quantum based
realistic plans for commercialisation
capacity for manufacturing at scale
capabilities to commercialise your solution at the end of the contract period

Technologies involving single photon generation are in scope, if they are part of a project for quantum-enabled systems for PNT and quantum-enabled sensors for navigation.

You are expected to work closely with the relevant end user to develop your solution. Your developed solution must be capable of being readily integrated into systems serving specific application areas, for example, underwater, underground, aviation, power distribution, or financial markets.

You will be expected to demonstrate your technology is suitable for use in an operational setting.

Innovate UK will help, where applicable, to facilitate the demonstration in a realistic or meaningful environment.

You must demonstrate your plans to establish a sovereign and secure supply chain to support further development and manufacture. Where subcontracting, the principles of a sovereignty and security are important.

Projects will also be selected based on your proposal showing your credible manufacturing and delivery capabilities.

Specific themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following:

quantum technologies for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)
quantum-enabled sensing for navigation applications

Research categories

Prototype development and evaluation

This can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of novel quantum-enabled PNT systems in real-life operating environments or in a setting that serves as a meaningful proxy. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on quantum-enabled solutions, that would benefit from the acceleration provided by this SBRI contract and be close to deployment at the end of the programme.

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund projects that:

do not use ‘second generation’ quantum technologies defined as those involving the generation and coherent control of quantum states, resulting in phenomena such as superposition or entanglement
do not demonstrate significant support and engagement from potential future customers throughout the project
do not address how any potentially negative outcomes (such as on the environment or society) would be managed
do not evidence the potential for their proposed innovation to generate positive economic or societal impact
would directly duplicate other UK government or EU funded initiatives you have already been funded to deliver
are covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions
are feasibility studies or are low maturity in their development
are undertaken by organisations that are not UK registered or do not have a UK registered office

13 February 2023: Competition opens
17 February 2023: Online briefing event: register to attend
12 April 2023 11:00am: Competition closes
1 June 2023: Applicants notified

Before you start

Text update 16 March 2023: We have updated the text in the 'what happens next' section to change BEIS to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

By submitting an application, you agree to the terms of the draft contract which is available once you start your application. The terms of the contract are non-negotiable and are included in the draft contract. We reserve the right to change the terms and conditions if necessary.

The final contract will include any milestones you have agreed with the funding authority and will be sent to you if your application is successful. The contract is binding once it is returned by you and signed by both parties.

When you start an application, you will be prompted to create an account as the lead applicant or sign in as a representative of your organisation. Using your account, you will be able to track your applications progress.

As the applicant you are responsible for:

collecting the information for your application
representing your organisation in leading the project if your application is successful

You will be able to invite colleagues from your organisation to contribute to the application.

What happens next

A selected panel of assessors will review and score your application. You will be notified of the outcome and feedback will be provided.

You may be asked to attend an interview, either in person or virtually, where you will be asked to present your project to a selected panel of assessors, including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) or other Government Departments and representatives.

Contracts will then be issued to successful applicants.

What we will ask you

The application is split into 3 sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

that all the information provided in the application is correct
your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
all sections of the application are marked as complete

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

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 providing support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. Read more on how we have made our application process accessible and inclusive to everyone.

You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the most suitable support possible.

You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

These sections are not scored.

Application details

The lead applicant must complete this section. Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Who made you aware of the competition?

Select a category to state who made you aware of the competition. You cannot choose more than one.

How long has your organisation been established for?

Select a category to state how long has your organisation been established for in the UK. You cannot choose more than one.

What is your organisation’s primary area focus?

Select a category to state your organisation’s primary focus area. You cannot choose more than one.

Project and scope summary

Please provide a short summary of your project.

Describe your project briefly. Be clear about what makes it innovative and how it relates to the scope of the competition. How does it tackle different aspects of the challenge and how will it provide an integrated solution?

Give details of the lead organisation. Before you submit, we expect you to have discussed your application within your organisation.

Your answer for this section can be up to 800 words long.

This section is not scored, but we will use it to decide whether the project fits the scope of the competition. If it does not, it may be rejected.

Public description

Please provide a brief description of your project. If your application is successful, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project. This question is mandatory, but we will not assess this content as part of your application.

Describe your project in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. We have the right to amend the description before publication if necessary but will consult you about any changes.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Applicant location

You must state the name of your organisation along with your full UK registered address.

You must also state the name and full registered address of any potential or confirmed subcontractors due to the security requirements associated with this competition.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all participants of a project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all of your questions.

Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any URLs in your answers unless we have explicitly requested a link to a video.

Question 1. Proposed idea or technology

How does the project meet the challenge described in the competition scope?

Provide a description of your proposed idea or technology.

Include a description of the current state of development or readiness of the idea.

You can submit a single appendix as a PDF containing images and diagrams to support your answer. It can be no larger than 10MB and up to 2 A4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘How well does the proposal meet the challenge?’.

Question 2. Technical project summary

What are the main technical challenges you are addressing?

Explain:

how you will address the challenge
what the innovation is
the main technical deliverables
the research and development that will prove the scientific, environmental and commercial merit of the project
what might be achieved by deploying the innovation to address the selected challenge

This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘How valid is the technical approach?’.

Question 3. Current state of the art and intellectual property

Are similar products currently available in the market?

How is your proposed project differentiated from them?

You must include details of:

any existing intellectual property (IP)
its significance to your freedom to operate
novel concepts you develop or employ
new approaches or technologies you use
new tools or technologies

This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: ‘How innovative is this project? How much does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies for this area?’.

Question 4. Project plan and methodology

Describe your project plan and identify the main milestones.

The emphasis throughout should be on practicality.

Provide evidence that the technology works, can be made into a viable product and can achieve the proposed benefits.

You must:

describe resources that will be needed to deliver the project
describe what the main success criteria will be
identify the project management processes that will ensure you achieve the milestones
provide a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility
describe the main technical, commercial and environmental risks and what you will do to mitigate them
provide a clear plan for development of a working prototype

You must explain how you would handle any IP issues which might arise during the project.

Include details of how you will maintain freedom to operate and fulfil the IP requirements detailed in the contract if you are working with subcontractors.

You must upload a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix in PDF format no larger than 10MB and up to 2 A4 pages. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Your milestones must:

be clear
be defined using SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) criteria
be associated with the appropriate deliverables and payments
indicate your payment schedule by month

This question will be assessed against these assessment criteria:

does the proposal show a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility and the development of a working prototype
is there a clear management plan
what are the main technical, commercial, and environmental risks to the project’s success
how will these be effectively managed
are the milestones and evaluation procedures appropriate

Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed milestones and associated payments stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application.

Question 5. Technical team and expertise

Who is in the technical team? What expertise do they offer?

Provide a brief description of your technical team, including any subcontractors.

Describe:

how each organisation has the skills, capabilities, and experience to deliver the intended benefits
how much of their time will be spent on the project

This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: Does the applicant have the skills, capabilities and experience to deliver the intended benefits?

Question 6. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost? How does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

Describe:

the total costs inclusive of VAT (If applicable) you are requesting in terms of the project goals
how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer

Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary. All costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit.

You can submit a single appendix as a spreadsheet in PDF format, no larger than 10MB and up to 2 A4 pages long to support your answer. The font must be legible at 100% zoom

Please note that all payments are made quarterly in arrears on submission of an invoice. The invoice must be submitted within 30 days of the end of each monitoring period for all completed milestones.

Full Economic Cost (FEC) calculations are not relevant for SBRI competitions. SBRI is a competitive process and applications will come from a variety of organisations. Whatever calculation you use to arrive at your total eligible project costs your application will be assessed against applications from other organisations. Bear this in mind when calculating your total eligible project costs. You can include overheads but remember that this is a competitive process.

The assessors are required to judge the application finances in terms of value for money. They will score your finances against this assessment criterion: ‘Are the budget and costs realistic, justified and appropriate for the aims and methods?

Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application.

Question 7. Commercial potential

What is the commercial potential of your project? You must focus on your proposed customer’s needs.

Describe your:

timescales
projects commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service
delivery plan
expected route to market

Describe the competitive advantage that your project has over existing or alternative technologies that meet market needs.

Describe any existing commercial relationships relevant to the project.

With the focus on your proposed customer’s needs, you can also mention the future commercial potential across the public or private sector and international markets.

This question will be scored against these assessment criteria:

is there a clear commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service
is there a clear plan to deliver that and a clear route to market
how significant is the competitive advantage of this technology over existing technologies that meet the market’s needs

3. Finances

Enter your project costs, organisation details and funding details.

You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your project costs. We advise you answer the VAT registered question first before entering your costs. Your total project costs must not exceed £7 million.

If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your project cost total.

VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and advise you to seek independent advice from HMRC.

For full information on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance.

Background and further information

Text update 16 March 2023: We have updated the text in the 'data sharing' section to change the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

About Small Business Research Initiative competitions

SBRI provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. This can lead to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness.

The SBRI programme:

supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services through the public procurement of R&D
generates new business opportunities for companies
provides a route to market for their ideas
bridges the seed funding gap experienced by many early-stage companies

SBRI competitions are open to all eligible organisations that can demonstrate a route to market for their solution. Under current regulations, SBRI contracts are open to applications from organisations registered in the UK, European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Due to the security requirements for this competition all organisations will need to be registered in the UK or have a UK registered office .The SBRI scheme is particularly suited to small and medium-sized businesses, as the contracts are of relatively small value and operate on short timescales. Developments are 100% funded and focused on specific identified needs, increasing the chance of exploitation.

SBRI is a procurement of R&D services. If successful, you will receive a contract to deliver the proposed activity. You will submit an invoice for the work undertaken. If you are VAT registered, your total costs are expected to include VAT that you would charge as a service provider. VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business, and applications are expected to list total costs inclusive of VAT.

Suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the intellectual property generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the contracting authority. This is an excellent opportunity to establish an early customer for a new technology and to fund its development.

Broader Information

The British Government recognises the importance of quantum technologies for the security advancement and commercial benefit of the Country. It has a special interest in quantum-enabled Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems that provide an alternative to current Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).

This competition will support the acceleration and development of alternative quantum-enabled solutions. Alternatives that will either resolve the perceived vulnerabilities dependant from the ubiquitous adoption of GNSS, or guarantee new capabilities in environments and situations where GNSS is not available.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) (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 DSIT and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
scoring and feedback on the application
information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK and DSIT 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 DSIT will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application. Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy is accessible here.

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.

Next steps

If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your IFS Set Up portal, the tool that Innovate UK uses to gather necessary information before we can allow your project to begin.

You will need to provide:

the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
a redacted copy of your bank details

In order to process your claims, we need to make sure that the bank details you give to us relate to a UK high street bank that is regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The account must have a BACS clearing facility and be in the same company name as your application.

If you have any doubts that your bank account will not meet Innovate UK's funding criteria, you can use the sort code checker. If you input the sort code and find a tick next to the ‘BACS Direct Credit payments can be sent to this sort code’, this will give you an indication that the bank account you hold is acceptable.

Finance checks

We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project.

You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays. We will also review your milestones, which, if not suitable, will need to be amended during project setup.

Failure to complete project setup may result in your contract being withdrawn.

Your Contract

Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your contract.

The contract will be made available on your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this before you start your project, and this must be completed within 30 days of being notified your application was successful.

Your contract will show the start date for your project, do not start your project before this date. Any costs incurred before your start date cannot be claimed as part of your contract.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a partner organisation to work with, contact Innovate UK KTN.

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).

Need help with this service? Contact us