Funding competition African Agriculture Knowledge transfer partnerships: 2023-24 R3

UK registered higher or further education institutions, RTOs or Catapults, can apply for a share of up to £2.5m from the African agriculture KTP, working with a knowledge base and business partner registered in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa.

Competition opens: Wednesday 24 May 2023
Competition closes: Thursday 6 July 2023 11:00am

This competition is now closed.

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Description

This Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) competition is part of the African agriculture strand of KTP. Innovate UK is investing up to £2.5 million towards the funding of projects in this strand.

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’)

This competition is being run in 2 stages. Stage 1 will require the lead organisation to submit a Fact Find Form. Projects meeting the competition criteria will be invited to submit a full application in stage 2.

In stage 1 and stage 2, the application must be led by a UK registered knowledge base, working with an African business partner and African knowledge base.

This is stage 1 of a 2 stage competition. No funding is awarded at this stage.

The African business and 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

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 KTP guidance and then contact the Knowledge Transfer Network or your local knowledge base to discuss your proposal.

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

The project’s total costs must not exceed £250,000 and must be split equally between the UK and the African knowledge base partners at £125,000 each. The business partner is responsible for their own costs. Projects must be between 18 and 24 months.

Who can apply

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 organization, 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 African Agriculture 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 and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.

Knowledge base partner

This is a 2 stage application process. Each application must be created by a UK knowledge base, who will also lead the project.

The UK knowledge base partner must submit a fact find form into stage 1 of this competition on behalf of the partnership. Only projects meeting the competition criteria will be invited to submit a full application in Stage 2.

The UK knowledge base partner must:

be a UK registered higher education (HE) or further education (FE) institution, Research Technology Organisation (RTO) or Catapult
be registered as a knowledge base with the KTP programme
be able to invite one business or not-for-profit organisation from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or 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 support the application
ensure that neither knowledge base have ownership of 50% or more of the business partner or a controlling interest via a shareholder agreement
ensure associates are recruited in a demonstrably open and fair manner
allow associates to participate in the typical working patterns of the business for the majority of the project, unless working virtually, this should take place at the business partner’s premises
agree to provide at least half a day per week of academic support for the associate
complete the application form in partnership with the African business and knowledge base
make sure the application is completed and submitted with the agreement of a knowledge transfer adviser before the competition closes
submit a current full economic costing (fEC) letter with each application if you are using the full fEC costing model and support the project in accordance with its provision
provide the project secretariat
reach an intellectual property (IP) agreement with the African knowledge base and business partner before the project commences
agree to attend specified meetings at a location identified by the business partner
ensure that none of the proposed academic team are directors, consultants or otherwise engaged by the business or group
not act in any way to gain selective commercial or economic advantage from the outputs of the project

As part of their involvement in the project the knowledge base partners 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. Knowledge base partners must also seek to publish a minimum of 2 academic papers for publication per completed project or create at least 2 industry focused publications per project, publicly sharing project outcomes.

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

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

African Business partner

We use the term ‘business partner’ for businesses and not for profit organisations. Business partners cannot work alone.

Business partners must develop the project with a UK knowledge base and a knowledge base from their own country who can provide the right skills to meet the knowledge gap within the business

We encourage business partners to approach knowledge bases directly to discuss the suitability of KTP for their specific circumstances.

The business partner must:

be a business, of any size, or a not-for-profit organisation registered in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa
collaborate with a UK knowledge base, registered with KTP and a knowledge base from their own country
have 2 or more full time equivalent employees
determine the size of their business or group
declare the total number of employees within the business and if part of a group of businesses, within the group
complete the application form in partnership with the knowledge base partners
host the associate and provide them with day to day supervisory support
host monthly supervisor, Local management Committee (LMC) and other mandatory meetings at their own expense
provide evidence that demonstrates their ability to financially support the exploitation of the project
reach a written IP agreement with the knowledge base before the project commences

The business partner must provide evidence of their ability to financially support their exploitation of the project. They are required to provide financial accounts from the current financial year and the previous two years.

Other supporting documentation may be required. For businesses less than 3 years old, the knowledge base or Knowledge Transfer Adviser will give further guidance.

If the business is part of a group, it is the overall size of the group must be declared.

Large businesses can apply if they are not part of an international group.

Please refer to the company accounts guidance or speak to your accountant, to help determine the overall size of your business or group.

The business must be registered in their own country. This is normally demonstrated on a public register, such as on Companies House in the UK

The registered name and registration number provided must match the official public register.

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.

UKRI will perform due diligence checks on each African knowledge base partner and may prohibit Innovate UK from working with partners it believes do not meet the principles of Trusted Research and Innovation.

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.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

‘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 Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

It is the responsibility of the UK knowledge base 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 Subsidy Control Act 2022 regime you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

Funding

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.

This is stage 1 of a 2 stage competition. Stage 1 is an expression of interest (EOI) and no funding is awarded at this stage.

Contribution from Innovate UK

Innovate UK has allocated up to £2.5 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 costs depend on a number of factors, including the:

duration of the project
registered location of project

Eligible project costs will be 100% funded.

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

Application rules

This is a 2 stage process

Stage 1 of the application process is to complete a fact find form. This is available from within the application system once the application has been created by the UK Knowledge Base partner.

Projects meeting the competition criteria will be invited to submit a full application in Stage 2.

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 4 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.

We will not award you funding if you have previously failed to:

exploit other Innovate UK or UKRI funded projects
comply with the grant terms and conditions of any Innovate UK or UKRI funded projects

Knowledge Transfer Advisers

Applications must be supported by an Innovate UK appointed Knowledge Transfer Adviser (KTA) who will be informed of your application. It will be withdrawn from the competition if they have not given their support.

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.

Your project

Your application must align with this scope 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:

why the business needs this KTP
what new knowledge is required by the business
what new capabilities will be embedded as a result of the KTP

Your proposal must tackle one or more challenges faced by the business partner 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, for example 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

You must demonstrate how the primary benefit from your project will be a contribution to international development outcomes, specifically both:

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

We encourage applications from micro, small or medium enterprises (SMEs) based in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Large businesses can apply if they are not part of an international group.

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

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund:

projects that are not strategic for the business partner
projects that do not demonstrate a genuine market opportunity or viable route to market
research projects
projects where the business partner is a public sector organisation
projects which are classed as State aid under EC regulations or a subsidy under the EU-UK TCA
undertakings which gain a selective economic or commercial advantage from the funding

We are also not funding projects with the following themes:

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

24 May 2023: Competition opens
6 July 2023 11:00am: Competition closes
17 September 2023: Feedback
2 October 2023 11:27am: Applicants notified

Before you start

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:

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
that all business partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

This is a 2-stage competition. Stage 1 is the submission of a Fact Find Form. Projects meeting the competition criteria will be invited to submit a full application in Stage 2.

During Stage 1 and Stage 2 you will be able to reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

For both stages, 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 include any hyperlinks (URLs) in your answers. Inclusion of hyperlinks will lead to the application being withdrawn from the competition.

What we ask you

Stage 1 of the application contains the following sections:

Scope: If your project is not in scope, it will not be assessed and will be withdrawn from the competition.
Application Questions including the Fact Find Form: a document that you must complete, and upload so that it can be reviewed.

If successful at stage 1, you will be invited to submit a full application at Stage 2. The stage 2 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 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.

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 are making our application process more accessible and inclusive for 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

This section provides background for the assessors and is not scored.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on the project. At stage 1 you only need to include details of the lead applicant, African KB partner, the business partner and the knowledge transfer adviser.

Application Details

The application title must follow this format “UK Knowledge Base, African Knowledge Base and African Business Partner, AAKTP Year and Round”. You must use the full business name exactly as it appears on your company registration. Do not use any abbreviations.

For example: Essex University, Kenyan University of Agriculture and Shelen Limited AAKTP 23_24 R3

This competition year and round is AAKTP 23_24 R3.

If your title is not correctly formatted, your application will be withdrawn.

Project duration must be in months

Your answer can be up to 30 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.

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:

why the business needs this KTP
what new knowledge is required by the business
what new capabilities will be embedded as a result of the KTP

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. Fact Find Form

What is the proposed project?

Use the Fact Find Form to describe your proposed project. You must answer each section.

You must download the latest Fact Find Form 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 Fact Find Form on the latest template will mean the application will not be considered for funding.

Question 2. What country will the project be based in?

Select one:

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

Question 3: 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:

net zero
healthy living and agriculture
digital and technologies
other

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.

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

Select one:

micro
small
medium
large

Question 5. 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.

Background and further information

About Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

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

AAKTP

Applications must be submitted by a registered knowledge base, who may access additional information on the KTP portal.

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 Supervision” question which option you are choosing.

About project management meeting

A monthly project management meeting with the African 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 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.

Supervisors Workshop

If your application is successful, the business and academic supervisors are expected to join the next available Supervisors Workshop.

These half day workshops are run by Innovate UK KTN and delivered online.

Workshops generally take place within 1 month of the knowledge base receiving notification that the project will receive funding. Successful applicants will be notified of the dates.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK’s partner organisations (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 the Innovate UK KTN , Innovate UK EDGE and the Catapult network 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 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’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.

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