Innovation competitions

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34 competitions

  • Accelerated Knowledge Transfer Partnerships 6 (AKT 6)

    UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £2.5 million to fund innovation projects with businesses.

    Eligibility

    To lead a project your organisation must:

    • be a UK registered higher education or further education institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or Catapult
    • collaborate with a UK registered business of any size with four or more full time employees

    The business must contribute a minimum of 10% to the project’s costs.

    Opening soon

    Opens:
    26 May 2026
    Closes:
    15 July 2026

  • CfI Improving Outcomes for Children Experiencing Homelessness

    Organisations can apply for a share of £2 million, inclusive of VAT, to develop. innovative interventions, technologies, and frameworks that are designed to support children and families experiencing homelessness.

    Eligibility

    To lead a project, you can:

    • be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally
    • work alone or with other organisations as subcontractors

    Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only.

    Open now

    Opened:
    19 May 2026
    Closes:
    8 July 2026

  • Commercialising Knowledge Assets Fund (CKAF) Autumn

    UK registered government research organisations can apply for grants from £50,000 up to £250,000 to move viable public sector knowledge assets towards commercial readiness. This funding is provided by the Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT).

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to single applicants. Grants shall be awarded to, and administered by, the applicant organisation.

    To lead a project your organisation must be a UK registered:

    • Public Sector Research Establishment (PRSE), UKRI wholly owned institute

    or

    • other public sector bodies that meet GOTT standard eligibility criteria, for example, arms length bodies (ALBs), that undertake research as a primary function

    Open now

    Opened:
    18 May 2026
    Closes:
    1 September 2026

  • Defra Farming Innovation Investor Partnership

    UK registered micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for a share of up to £5 million to develop innovative farming solutions. This must align with private investment from selected investor partners.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to single applicants only.
    To lead a project your organisation must:

    Open now

    Opened:
    11 May 2026
    Closes:
    17 June 2026

  • Contracts for Innovation: FOAK26

    Organisations can apply for a share of £4.3 million, inclusive of VAT, across eight themes to develop a prototype, conduct field testing and demonstrate their solution.

    Eligibility

    To lead a project, you can:

    • be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally
    • work alone or with other organisations as subcontractors
    Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only.

    Open now

    Opened:
    11 May 2026
    Closes:
    24 June 2026

  • Dual-use aviation systems and autonomy

    UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £10 million for the development of aviation technologies and systems that support both civil and military use cases. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to collaborations only.
    To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be either a UK registered business of any size or a UK public sector organisation. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

    Closing soon

    Opened:
    5 May 2026
    Closes:
    3 June 2026

  • Counter UAS Technologies

    UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £5 million to develop counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) dual use technologies that can be applied to both civil and military settings. This funding is from Innovate UK.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to collaborations only.
    To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be either a UK registered business of any size or a UK public sector organisation. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

    Closing soon

    Opened:
    5 May 2026
    Closes:
    3 June 2026

  • CfI: Boosting fathers’ engagement to improve child outcomes

    Organisations can apply for a share of up to £2 million, inclusive of VAT, to develop innovative interventions, technologies, and frameworks that boost fathers’ engagement to improve children’s learning and development outcomes.

    Eligibility

    To lead a project, you can:

    • be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally
    • work alone or with other organisations as subcontractors

    Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only.

    Open now

    Opened:
    5 May 2026
    Closes:
    10 June 2026

  • National Materials Innovation Programme: Feasibility studies Rd 2

    UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million for feasibility studies. These studies aim to speed the translation of advanced materials innovations in three prioritised high growth themes and one strategic opportunity theme.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to single applicants and collaborations.
    To work alone or lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.

    Open now

    Opened:
    4 May 2026
    Closes:
    24 June 2026

  • Contracts for Innovation: Cyber scale in critical sectors

    Organisations can apply for a share of up to £3.5 million inclusive of VAT, to develop, demonstrate and commercialise their cyber security solution in real end user environments within critical sector organisations.

    Eligibility

    To lead a project, you can:

    • be an organisation of any size
    • work alone or with other organisations as subcontractors

    Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only.

    Open now

    Opened:
    1 May 2026
    Closes:
    10 June 2026

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