Knowledge Transfer Partnership 2026–2027 Round 3: Up to £12.5 Million for UK Business-University Innovation Projects
Innovate UK is accepting partnership applications from UK knowledge bases and UK businesses for strategic innovation projects that embed new expertise in a growing company.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership 2026–2027 Round 3: Up to £12.5 Million for UK Business-University Innovation Projects
Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Round 3 for 2026–2027 is an open funding competition for a UK knowledge base and a UK business that want to solve a specific strategic innovation problem together. The competition has a total budget of up to £12.5 million. It is not a simple individual grant and it is not a general research award: the lead organisation must be an eligible university, further education institution, research and technology organisation, or Catapult, working with a UK registered business and an appointed Knowledge Transfer Adviser.
The partnership normally recruits an associate to lead the project inside the business. That associate brings new academic or technical capability into the company, while the knowledge base supplies expertise, supervision, project administration and a route for embedding what is learned. Innovate UK expects projects to be deliverable within 24 months, although a longer period can be supported when the application clearly justifies it.
The current round opened on 13 August 2026 and closes at 11:00am UK time on 14 October 2026. Applicants are scheduled to be notified on 7 January 2027, with feedback on 14 January 2027. A business that has not yet found an academic or research partner can ask a Knowledge Transfer Adviser to help identify a suitable knowledge base, but it should start that conversation early because the adviser must support the submitted application.
Key details
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Opportunity | Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026–2027 Round 3 |
| Funder | Innovate UK, with support from eligible KTP financial supporters |
| Total round budget | Up to £12.5 million |
| Project structure | UK knowledge base, UK registered business and Knowledge Transfer Adviser |
| Typical project length | Up to 24 months; longer projects need clear justification |
| Grant contribution | Up to 67% of eligible costs for micro, small and medium-sized businesses; up to 50% for large companies |
| Opens | 13 August 2026 |
| Closes | 14 October 2026 at 11:00am UK time |
| Applicant notification | 7 January 2027 |
| Feedback | 14 January 2027 |
| Application route | Innovate UK Innovation Funding Service |
The £12.5 million figure is the competition budget, not a guaranteed award for an individual partnership. The precise project cost and business contribution depend on the duration, location, business size, operating model and eligible cost categories. Applicants should treat the grant as partial support and prepare evidence that the business can pay its share and fund costs that are outside the grant.
What the KTP supports
A KTP is intended for a meaningful capability gap or innovation challenge inside a business. The project should bring new skills and current academic thinking into the company to deliver a defined strategic result. Examples could include developing a new digital capability, improving a technically difficult manufacturing process, building a clean-energy solution, creating a life-sciences method, or introducing a management approach that materially improves productivity. The official brief does not limit the competition to one narrow technical topic, but it gives funding priority to projects connected to six Industrial Strategy sectors: advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, and life sciences.
The partnership needs to show more than a desire to hire a graduate or outsource research. It must explain why the business needs this particular partnership, what new knowledge is missing, how that knowledge will be transferred and embedded, and how the business will exploit the outcome. A proposal that is essentially contract research, routine consultancy, or an unfocused staffing request is a poor fit.
The associate is central to the model. The knowledge base recruits the associate through an open and fair process, and the associate works on the strategic project in the business. The business provides day-to-day supervision and the knowledge base provides academic support. A KTP therefore creates a route for a business to develop a lasting internal capability rather than receiving a short report that leaves the original knowledge gap in place.
Who can apply
The knowledge base must lead the application. It must be a UK registered higher education or further education institution, research and technology organisation, or Catapult, and it must be registered as a KTP knowledge base. It cannot apply alone. It must invite one UK registered business into the Innovation Funding Service, invite a Knowledge Transfer Adviser, complete the application with the business and ensure that the adviser supports the submission before the deadline.
The knowledge base also needs to provide at least half a day of academic support each week for the associate, provide the project secretariat, agree intellectual-property arrangements with the business before the project starts, and ensure that proposed academic team members are not directors, consultants or otherwise engaged by the business. The knowledge base must also provide a case study at project completion and publish at least two academic or industry-focused papers for each completed project because this round is provided on a no-subsidy basis.
The business partner must be UK registered and have at least two full-time equivalent employees. It must demonstrate high-growth potential, host the associate, provide everyday supervision, attend required project meetings, provide evidence that it can fund its contribution, and show that it can finance exploitation of the result. A UK subsidiary of an overseas parent can be eligible if it is separately registered in the UK. The registered name and number in the application must match the public register, and the business must provide the requested financial information for the current year and the previous two years.
The business cannot work alone, and a knowledge base eligible to act as a KTP knowledge base cannot apply as the business partner. Public-sector organisations are listed among examples of ineligible business partners for this competition. Subcontractors are not allowed. UKRI, its councils and businesses wholly or partly owned by UKRI, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, central government departments and the devolved administrations are specifically excluded from applying in the categories stated by the brief.
Funding and the business contribution
Innovate UK has allocated up to £12.5 million to this round. The grant contributes to the eligible costs of individual projects, but the competition does not promise a fixed sum per partnership. Large companies may receive up to 50% of eligible costs, while micro, small and medium-sized businesses may receive up to 67%. The final level is affected by the project’s duration, location, business or group size, type of business and whether the business operates virtually.
The business must fund its share of project delivery. It must also cover its own staff time, additional costs listed in the application, non-eligible items such as capital equipment and the commercialisation of project outputs. The knowledge base must complete the finance section with categories such as associate employment, associate development, travel and subsistence, consumables, academic supervision, estates and other costs. Consumables, travel and subsistence must be itemised and justified.
The competition is described as no subsidy. Innovate UK will determine the award basis after submission, and applicants should obtain independent legal advice if subsidy-control obligations are relevant to their circumstances. The no-subsidy model also means project outputs must be made openly available on a non-selective basis. Commercial exploitation may still be possible, but it cannot create a selective advantage in conflict with the terms of the award.
Wales and Northern Ireland have additional support arrangements described on the official page. Eligible Welsh SMEs may be able to claim an enhanced 75% grant rate for projects delivered in Wales, subject to checking eligibility and funding availability with the adviser. Invest Northern Ireland may share the cost of supported projects with Innovate UK. These arrangements should be confirmed for the specific partnership rather than assumed from the headline rate.
What makes a project competitive
The project must tackle a real challenge faced by the business and make the knowledge transfer concrete. The application should explain the business problem, the missing knowledge, the proposed work, the associate’s role, the academic contribution, the milestones, and the capability that will remain after the project. It also needs to connect the innovation to a genuine market opportunity and a viable route to market.
Innovate UK scores in-scope applications holistically on impact, challenge, innovation and cohesiveness, with each area scored out of 10 for a maximum of 40. Assessors also consider overall viability, affordability and commercialisation. A strong technical idea can still fail if the business cannot afford its contribution, the partnership has not agreed responsibilities, or the plan does not show how new knowledge will become an operational capability.
The competition uses a portfolio approach. Funding may be spread across different scope areas, research and development categories, project lengths, locations, cost levels and multiple applications from individual knowledge bases. This means a high score is important but does not guarantee an award. The proposal should therefore be both excellent on its own terms and clearly useful within a broader UK innovation portfolio.
Application process and required material
The knowledge base starts the application in the Innovation Funding Service, invites the business and adviser, and assigns the organisations and people who will complete the form. The application has three broad parts: project details and scope, application questions, and finances. The application title must use the full registered business name and the specified KTP year-and-round format; an incorrect title can cause withdrawal.
The project summary should set out the vision, objectives, main work areas and innovation. The scope response must cover the business need, required knowledge, embedded capability, Industrial Strategy alignment and high-growth characteristics. The form also asks about permits and licences, international collaboration, export controls, trusted research and innovation, the type and size of the business, the number of associates and the KTP type.
The partnership must upload the required templates and supporting records. Important items include the business’s financial information, the completed workplan, the latest joint commitment statement, a commercial impacts template and any permitted appendices. The partners must agree intellectual-property arrangements before the project begins. The application must not name a prospective associate, because the associate must be appointed through an open recruitment process if the project is funded.
Before submission, all relevant sections must be complete, all partners must have completed their assigned sections, and the terms and conditions must be accepted. An application can be reopened before the deadline, but it must be resubmitted before 11:00am on 14 October. If the appointed Knowledge Transfer Adviser has not supported the project before submission, the application will be withdrawn.
A practical preparation plan
Start with a one-page partnership brief. State the business challenge, the decision that the project should enable, the missing knowledge, the expected market or operational outcome and the capability that should remain in the company. This gives the academic team and adviser something specific to test. Avoid beginning with a preferred technology or a generic request for an associate; begin with an evidenced business problem.
Next, map the work to the expertise of the knowledge base. Identify who will supervise the associate, what the associate will do day to day, which facilities or methods are needed, and how academic support will be delivered each week. If the project touches sensitive technology, defence, export controls, animal work or international collaboration, identify the compliance question early rather than leaving it to the final form.
Build the cost model before writing the benefits case. Separate eligible grant costs from the business’s staff time, capital equipment, additional costs and commercialisation expenditure. Check the overall group size, accounts, cash position and ability to fund the balance. A project that is technically attractive but unaffordable will not be credible under the affordability test.
Then write the exploitation plan as a sequence of decisions. Explain who will use the new capability, what changes in the business, what evidence will show progress, what customers or users are involved, and how the result can reach the market. Include the associate’s development and knowledge-embedding activities rather than treating them as a recruitment detail.
Finally, ask the adviser and a person outside the project to challenge the proposal. Can they identify the business problem in one paragraph? Can they see why a KTP is better than contract research? Can they trace each major cost to a task and each task to an outcome? Those checks are useful because the assessors score the whole project, not just the novelty of a technical idea.
Common mistakes to avoid
Do not submit as a business alone. The knowledge base must lead, and the application must include the UK business and appointed adviser. Do not assume that being a UK company is enough: the business needs at least two full-time equivalent employees, high-growth characteristics, financial capacity and a plan to host and supervise the associate.
Do not describe routine consultancy as innovation. The project needs a specific strategic challenge, novel knowledge or research exploitation, a credible market opportunity and an explanation of how the capability will be embedded. Do not hide the business contribution or assume the round budget pays all costs. Do not use a subcontractor, name a prospective associate, or copy an old KTP application; the brief says previous applications are checked for similarity and repeated activity may not be funded.
Do not leave the adviser until the final week. The adviser may set a development timetable and can decline to support a project if the partnership does not follow the process. If accessibility adjustments are needed, Innovate UK recommends contacting the service at least 15 working days before the closing date. The published support contact is [email protected] and the telephone number is 0300 321 4357.
Timeline and next steps
The competition is open now. The immediate priorities are to find or confirm the knowledge-base partner, contact a Knowledge Transfer Adviser, agree the project challenge and check the business’s financial capacity. The deadline is 11:00am UK time on 14 October 2026, not simply the end of that calendar day. Innovate UK expects to notify applicants on 7 January 2027 and provide feedback on 14 January 2027.
If the project is successful, the partnership will move into project setup and recruitment. The business and academic supervisors are expected to attend an online half-day supervisors workshop, generally within one month of notification. The associate must be recruited openly, and the partnership will then operate with weekly academic supervision and mandatory monthly project-management meetings. Those delivery commitments should be reflected in the workplan and budget before submission.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a scholarship or an individual fellowship?
No. It is a partnership grant for an eligible UK knowledge base and a UK business. An associate may be recruited to work on the funded project, but individuals do not apply directly for the competition.
How much can one project receive?
The official page publishes the £12.5 million budget for the whole round rather than a fixed award per project. The grant may cover up to 67% of eligible costs for SMEs and up to 50% for large companies, subject to the detailed cost rules and the specific project.
Can a business apply without a university partner?
No. The knowledge base must lead the application, and the business must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service. A Knowledge Transfer Adviser can help a business identify a suitable knowledge base if it does not already have a relationship.
Can the project last longer than 24 months?
Possibly. Applicants are encouraged to design projects deliverable within 24 months. A longer project may be supported when the application clearly justifies the additional duration.
Are non-priority sectors excluded?
No. Projects outside the six prioritised Industrial Strategy sectors can be eligible, but funding priority is given to proposals aligned with advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, or life sciences.
Where is the official application page?
Use the Innovate UK Innovation Funding Service competition overview. Read the linked KTP applicant guidance and project-cost guidance before submitting, and use the competition page as the authority for any change to dates, rules or available support.