Farming Futures R&D fund: Automation and Robotics Round 2
Defra and Innovate UK are investing up to £20M in collaborative R&D projects delivering innovative robotics and automation solutions for agriculture, horticulture, and forestry to improve productivity, sustainability, and net-zero progress in England.
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Competition Scope & Overview
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) will invest up to £20 million in innovation projects. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. This funding is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme which is delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
The aim of this competition is to fund collaborative projects with ambitious solutions for robotics and automation in agriculture, horticulture and forestry to:
address key issues affecting the sector, where automation and robotics can mitigate challenges such as productivity, resource use efficiency, food quality and traceability, waste, crop and animal health, animal welfare and sustainability reduce the reliance on seasonal labour in agriculture where automation and robotics are seen as the most viable solution support the specific recommendations for automation innovation funding from Defra reviews including the Automation in Horticulture review align with the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy that identifies Agri-Tech as a Frontier Industry within the Advanced Manufacturing sector plan
Your proposal must be able to demonstrate how the project will benefit farmers or growers in England.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.
Our experience from similar competitions suggests that you could have 35% chance of success.
We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.
We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Official Applicant Guidance Documents
Applicant Briefing 2536 FF RD Automation and Robotics Rd2.pdf
This document comprises the official applicant briefing slides for the Innovate UK "Farming Futures R&D fund: Automation and Robotics Round 2." It provides essential guidance on competition scope, eligibility criteria, key dates, financial rules, and the application process via the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).
Download Official DocumentFarming Futures RD fund Automation and Robotics - Assessor Guidance for Applicants.pdf
This official Innovate UK assessor guidance document details the 17 application questions and scoring criteria for Automation and Robotics Round 2. It helps applicants align their bids with evaluator expectations by providing explicit benchmarks for scores ranging from 1 to 10.
Download Official DocumentApplication Questions & Guidance Brief
Every question below carries specific word limits and guidance criteria.
Project summary
Official Guidance
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Public description
Official Guidance
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.
Scope
Official Guidance
Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Applicant location (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project. We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.
Farmers or Growers location (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must provide the location address for any farmers or growers requesting grant funding in your project. This is required for Subsidy Control and eligibility purposes. If your project has farmers or growers requesting grant funding, a minimum of 50% of the amount requested by those organisations, must come from farmers or growers geographically based in England. If no farmers or growers are requesting grant funding, you must state ‘no funding requested’.
Animal testing (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing? You must select one option: Yes, No. We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare. Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.
Permits and licences (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project? We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date. You must select one option: Yes, No, In the process of being applied for, Not applicable.
International collaboration (not scored)
Official Guidance
Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement? You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers. If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.
Export licence (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance. You must select one option: Yes, No.
Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including: a list of any dual use (both military and non-military) applications to your research; a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act; whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications; a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List. If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.
Need or challenge
Official Guidance
What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation? Explain: the main motivation for the project; the farming, forestry or agricultural problem, technological challenge or market opportunity; whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development; any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one; how your project outputs would deliver significant improvements in agricultural productivity, resilience and sustainability; what benefits will English farmers, growers and foresters gain from your project; the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations.
Approach and innovation
Official Guidance
What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be? Explain: how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified; how your innovation will integrate with or replace existing agricultural systems and technologies to deliver improved productivity and sustainability; how you will improve on any similar innovation that you have identified; whether the innovation will focus on existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas, or a totally disruptive approach; the freedom you have to operate; how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings; how it will make you more competitive; the nature of the outputs you expect from the project, for example, reports, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design, and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified. You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Team and resources
Official Guidance
Who is in the project team and what are their roles? Explain: the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking; the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them; the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project; if your project is collaborative, the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project; any roles you will need to recruit for. You can submit one appendix, with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Market awareness
Official Guidance
What does the market or markets you are targeting look like? Describe: the target markets for the project outcomes and any other potential markets, either domestic, international or both; the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available; the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes; the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist; the current UK position in targeting these markets; the size and main features of any other markets not already listed. If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain: what the market’s size might be; how your project will try to explore the market’s potential.
Outcomes and route to market
Official Guidance
How are you going to grow your business and increase long term productivity as a result of the project? Explain: your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position; your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example, why they would use or buy your product; your route to market; how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction; how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term; how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example, through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model; your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project. If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe: your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale; how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities.
Wider impacts
Official Guidance
What impact might this project have outside the project team? Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to: external parties; customers; others in the supply chain; broader industry; the UK economy. Describe and, where possible, measure: any expected impact on government priorities; any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative; any expected regional impacts of the project. Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example: quality of life; social inclusion or exclusion; jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them; education; public empowerment; health and safety; regulations; diversity.
Project management
Official Guidance
How will you manage your project effectively? Explain: the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one; your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome; the management reporting lines; your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones. You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Risks
Official Guidance
What are the main risks for this project? Explain: the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks; how you will mitigate these risks; any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets; any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and other requirements identified, and how you will manage this. You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Added value
Official Guidance
How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved? Explain: what advantages public funding would offer your project, for example: appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market; the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved; what other routes of investment or means of support you have already engaged with and why they were not suitable; how any existing or potential investment or support will be used in conjunction with the grant funding; what your project would look like without public funding; how this project would change the R&D activities of all the organisations involved.
Costs and value for money
Official Guidance
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer? In terms of your project goals, explain: your total eligible project costs; the grant you are requesting; how each partner will finance their contributions to your project; how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer; how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise; the balance of costs and grant across the project partners; any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project.