Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026 - 2027 Round 4

Official Guidance

Provide an application title that follows the required format "Knowledge Base and Business Partner KTP Year and Round". Use the full business name exactly as it appears on its Companies House registration. Do not use abbreviations. For example, to submit an application into this competition, the following application title would be correct: University of Innovation and Shelen Limited KTP 26_27 R4. If the title is incorrect, your application may be withdrawn.

Official Guidance

Your project summary will give the assessors a useful introduction to your project. 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

Official Guidance

Provide a public description of the project that begins with "To" and is suitable for publication. For example: To develop a novel process for picking soft fruit. Innovate UK will make use of this public description and may edit it, to comply with government requirements.

Official Guidance

Your application must 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 and must show: - why the business needs this Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) - what new knowledge is required by the business - what new capabilities will be embedded as a result of the KTP - how your project aligns with the Industrial Strategy - what characteristics the business possesses that suggest it has high growth potential The six areas within the Industrial Strategy's prioritised by Innovate UK sectors are: - Advanced Manufacturing - Clean Energy Industries - Creative Industries - Defence - Digital and Technologies - Life Sciences Projects that do not align with one of the six priority sectors, are eligible, however, funding priority will be given to projects that align with the six areas prioritised within the Industrial strategy.

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.

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

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.

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

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. We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Official Guidance

Which of the 6 sectors described within the Industrial Strategy does your KTP most closely align with? Select one of the following: - Advanced Manufacturing - Clean Energy Industries - Creative Industries - Defence - Digital and Technologies - Life Sciences - Other Sector team colleagues may be offered the opportunity to review your application as a non-scoring assessor.

Official Guidance

How will the project apply technology? Which of the following best describes how the project will apply technology, which we define as the application of knowledge for practical purposes. You must select one of the following: - adoption of technology - development of technology - both adoption and development

Official Guidance

Who do you want to financially support your project? You must type the name exactly as shown below. You must choose at least one of the following: - UKRI KTP (Innovate UK) - Invest Northern Ireland - Welsh Government

Official Guidance

Which research council aligns most closely with this project? You must type the name exactly as shown below. You must choose at least one of the following: - Arts and Humanities Research Council - Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council - Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Economic and Social Research Council - Medical Research Council - Natural Environment Research Council - Science and Technology Facilities Council - None Research council colleagues may be offered the opportunity to review your application as a non-scoring assessor.

Official Guidance

What type of KTP are you applying for? You must select one option: - classic KTP - management KTP

Official Guidance

How many associates do you need to support this project? You must select one option: - one associate - two associates

Official Guidance

What is the business partner type? This refers to the applicant business, not the parent group. You must select one option: - limited company - limited liability partnership - partnership - public limited company - unlimited company - other

Official Guidance

Is the business partner a virtual business? You must select one option: - Yes - No

Official Guidance

What is the size of the business partner's organisation or group? For more information on business sizes, refer to the company accounts guidance You must select one option: - micro - small - medium - large

Official Guidance

What is the business partner's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code?

Official Guidance

What is the business partner's registration number as shown on the official register? This is normally demonstrated on a public register, such as Companies House. The registration number provided must match the official public register. An incorrect number may result in the application being withdrawn from the competition. If your organisation is not a registered business, but is a legal entity, include additional information on your legal status as one of your supporting documents.

Official Guidance

Where will the business partner hold face to face project management meetings and Local Management Committee meetings? This is where the project primarily takes place, or a chosen location for virtual projects. Provide the full address of the location in this order. Do not include bullet points in your response: - building name or number and street - town or city - county - postcode

Official Guidance

What characteristics does the business or business unit possesses that suggest it has high growth potential? Describe the current: - business model - leadership - technical capability - pipeline of ideas - growth trajectory - availability and access to funds

Official Guidance

What does the business do now? Explain: - current business activities and objectives - current revenue generating activities If the business partner is part of a group, also provide details of the group's size, geographic locations and range of activities. If the business partner is not generating revenues, provide details of their funding sources.

Official Guidance

Where does the business see itself in the future? Explain: - the business's future strategic plans - how the project aims to address those plans - what needs to change within the business to allow this to happen

Official Guidance

What is the problem this project seeks to solve? Provide a description of the problem, explain: - the problem - the potential scale - the consequences if the problem is not addressed

Official Guidance

What is the approach to solve this problem? Explain: - how will this approach help resolve the stated problem - why is this approach innovative to the business Highlight any evidence that supports your response. Do not include any hyperlinks in your answer.

Official Guidance

What knowledge does the business lack to deliver this innovation? Explain what new knowledge, technology, capability or expertise is required by the business and how it will be used within the project.

Official Guidance

How will new knowledge be embedded within the business? Explain how the new knowledge, technology or expertise will be embedded in the business for use beyond the lifetime of your project.

Official Guidance

Why does a KTP suit this idea and what alternatives have you explored? Explain why the KTP structure and funding is necessary to achieve the desired outcomes.

Official Guidance

Which of the following, if any, best represents the output of the innovation? You must select one: - new product, service or business model - improved product, service or business model - both - none of the above

Official Guidance

Which of the following is your main customer? You must select one: - individuals or consumers - businesses - charities or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - government or public sector - do not know

Official Guidance

What is the market opportunity and the market size for your idea? Additional information on calculating market size is provided by British Business Bank. Describe: - your current market share - who will pay for your innovation and why - what the key characteristics or needs are of your main customers For your new idea or innovation provide an evidence based assessment of: 1. The Total Addressable Market (TAM): This is the total market demand for a product or service. It's the maximum revenue opportunity available if 100% market share was achieved. 2. The Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): The portion of the addressable market that can realistically be captured by your idea. It factors in constraints like competition, geography, pricing, and how easily you can go to market.

Official Guidance

How will market opportunity quantified by TAM and SOM be realised? Explain: - your proposed route to market, including key potential customer, channels, business models, and marketing - who your key competitors are and what market share they have - what the obstacles are to market entry

Official Guidance

What are the expected commercial impacts, revenues and assumptions? What are the cumulative revenue and net profit before tax, forecasts during the project and in the following five years described in the commercial impacts template? Your response on the application from must include: - cumulative revenue £XXX - Net Profit before tax £XXX - the income generating activities arising from the KTP - the assumptions you used to generate the revenue and profit figures in the commercial impacts table - the formulas you use to calculate the revenue and net profit before tax figures You must also download the latest commercial impacts template, complete it and upload as a PDF with a file size of up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Official Guidance

What additional benefits to the economy, society and environment do the project team predict? Describe supplementary economic, societal and environmental benefits, including: - if or how your project aligns with any of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - the wider societal and environmental benefits - additional economic benefits, including the number of new and safeguarded jobs - any other benefits that this project will deliver that may help your case for support

Official Guidance

Who benefits most from addressing this problem? You must select one option: - those who use the product or service, such as through lower costs or better outcomes - wider society or individuals who don't use the product or service, such as by improving productivity or reducing access inequalities - the environment, such as reducing emissions or waste - government or public services, such as through cost savings or improved efficiency - your industry or sector, such as through innovation leadership or competitive advantage - do not know - prefer not to say

Official Guidance

How does the business plan to address the funding of this project and commercialisation? Explain: - how you are going to fund the costs of your project - the likely cost within and beyond the project, of commercialising your innovation - how you are going to fund the costs of commercialising your innovation - the additional actions required beyond the project You do not need to provide detailed figures of project related costs in this section, those must be included within the Additional Company Cost Estimate table, detailing any additional contributions required from the business during the life of the project. Where funding the costs of the project rely upon the raising of additional funds, letters of support or a description of the type of funding being sought should be attached to the application.

Official Guidance

Does the business meet the affordability criteria? Do the business accounts show any of the following issues. If so, you must provide additional details: - declining turnover - low net profit, pre-tax - negative liquidity - high debt or equity - growth in long term loans If the business financial position is complex and requires further explanation you should attach a business letter to the application.

Official Guidance

What are the challenges the business partner will face through this project? Explain the challenges the business faces in delivering the project.

Official Guidance

What are the challenges the knowledge base partner will address through this project? Explain the challenges the knowledge base faces in delivering the project.

Official Guidance

What impacts and outcomes do the academic team forecast? Describe the impacts and outcomes expected for the knowledge base partner, for example: - detail how the insights gained will impact on the teams current research activities and curriculum delivery - describe how this project will impact on the team's future ability to secure funding

Official Guidance

What makes this project challenging for the associate? Explore: - technical challenges - resource challenges - people and change management challenges - commercial exposure

Official Guidance

What skills, experience and aptitude does your associate need? Explain: - what skills, attributes and experience will be required by the associate to make them a good fit for the business partner - the salary rationale for the associate, you can submit additional evidence within supporting documents section If potential associates are named within the application, it will be withdrawn from the competition.

Official Guidance

Confirm the associate or associates supervision complies with the KTP model. Associate supervision is essential to the success of the partnership. The associate must spend the majority of their time working within the business. Supervision must be provided by: - business partner supervisor: provides daily guidance and support at the business location - knowledge base supervisor: delivers at least half a day of supervision per week (typically online) - joint responsibility: both supervisors support the associate in delivering the project workplan and progressing their Personal Development Plan (PDP) If the associate spends time at the knowledge base, daily supervision from the knowledge base supervisor is also required. The business supervisor must continue to supervise the associate during this period. In addition, the knowledge base supervisor must meet face to face on a monthly basis, with the associate and business supervisor at the business location to review progress and provide supervision. All supervisors and leads from both the knowledge base and business are expected to attend Local Management Committee (LMC) meetings in person in line with the Grant Offer Letter. All partners acknowledge the authority of the Knowledge Transfer Advisers as the representative of Innovate UK within the project and recognise that non-compliance may result in claims not being approved. Do you confirm the partners agreement to the above? You must select one option: - Yes - No If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and not progressed any further.

Official Guidance

What additional support measures will be included as part of associate supervision? Explain: - the associates working arrangements, for example, office based, hybrid or virtual - how the associate's working arrangements will be managed - any variation from standard terms of associate supervision - any additional requirements If no additional support measures are required, you may respond 'none'.

Official Guidance

How does the experience of the senior employee make them suitable for this role? Explain how their experience at the business make them suitable for this role. Your response must: - give their name - give their job title - demonstrate the business partner or its group's commitment to the partnership - confirm you have the authority to commit resources to support the delivery of the project - confirm you have the authority to ensure knowledge is transferred into the business

Official Guidance

How does the business partner supervisor's experience makes them suitable for this role? Explain why their experience makes them suitable for this role. Your response must: - give their name - give their job title Explain the business supervisor's suitability to: - work in a team with the knowledge base supervisor and the associate - give day to day support to the project - offer guidance and mentoring support to the associate - provide links to information and expertise available within the business - drive embedding and commercialisation activities within the business - work across the project team to ensure the business complies with knowledge base regulations to support the associate's wellbeing It is expected that the supervisor will ensure that the business gives consideration to any request for resources or training of business personnel required for the project to succeed and for its outputs to become embedded within the business. If your project has more than one business partner supervisor, you must give the background details for each person and indicate who is the primary lead for associate wellbeing.

Official Guidance

How does the background and experience of the knowledge base lead make them suitable for this role? For the knowledge base lead, your response must: - give their name - give their job title - briefly describe their role within the knowledge base - describe how their subject knowledge, academic interest and experience are relevant to the challenges in the project - confirm you have the necessary skills to contribute to the successful delivery of the project

Official Guidance

How does the background and experience of the knowledge base supervisor's make them suitable for this role? For each knowledge base supervisor, your response must: - give their name - give their job title - describe how their subject knowledge, academic interest and experience are relevant to the challenges in the project - confirm you have the necessary skills to contribute to the successful delivery of the project - outline how they will work with the business partner to support the associate's wellbeing If your project has more than one knowledge base supervisor, you must give the background details for each person.

Official Guidance

Will there be additional academics supporting the project. List each additional academic involved in the project and describe how their subject knowledge, academic interests and experience are relevant to the project. You must also reference the specific sections of the workplan that outline the activities they will contribute to.

Official Guidance

How will you manage your project effectively? Use the latest workplan template to detail your projects steps and stages, including benefits realisation phase and the exploitation phase. You must select 'Yes' to confirm the completed template has been uploaded. If you select 'No' your application will not be considered for funding. You must download the latest workplan 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 workplan on the latest template will mean the application will not be considered for funding. Individual tasks in the workplan should typically have a four week duration to provide sufficient detail to support the assessment of the application. The workplan must provide a summary of the technical aspects and the knowledge embedding activities undertaken in the project to deliver a legacy capability in the business. Where there are two associates addressing different technical aspects of the project, they may work at the same time or may be staggered. The workplan should assume full time working although it should be noted that Innovate UK are open to part time or flexible working practices during project delivery and recognise that this may result in a longer overall project duration. The workplan must include a summary of project risks and a summary Gantt chart indicating the inter-dependencies between tasks. If your project has two associates, then two workplans must be provided and these must indicate inter-dependencies between the associate's activities. Workplans must be uploaded individually as appendices to this question. Each workplan must be a PDF, and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom. You must select one option: - Yes - No If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and not progressed any further.

Official Guidance

Confirm that each Local Management Committee (LMC) member is aware of their role and responsibilities. You must confirm that each member of the LMC is aware of their role and responsibilities. You must also confirm the knowledge base will provide the project secretariat. Before the application is submitted you must ensure each LMC member is made aware their participation in the LMC is mandatory, should the application be successful. As the formal project meeting, the LMC must be chaired by the senior business employee. Each member of the LMC must be listed in the Application Team section of the application. Once recruited the associate must also attend the meeting. Attendees of the LMC meeting are: - senior business employee - knowledge base supervisor: associate one - knowledge base supervisor: associate two - business supervisor: associate one - business supervisor: associate two - knowledge base lead - knowledge transfer adviser - knowledge base project administrator - associates You must select one option: - Yes - No If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and not progressed any further.

Official Guidance

Have any of the partners applied for or received other funding that relates to this application? Innovate UK cannot fund a project that duplicates work previously supported through another grant or that is already receiving funding from another source. Provide details of any grant applications made within the past five years that are linked to this project. This should include any funding received or applied for through UKRI or other funding organisations. Applicants must separately list any KTP or AKT applications submitted by the business partner within the last five years, including the project numbers. Applicants may also describe the impacts of previous KTP projects of any age, and additionality of the current application. When two or more applications from the same business or group are made to the same round of KTP, each application must contain details to highlight the other submission. You must explain the reason for the multiple applications. Applicants may also use this section to describe changes contained within this application when compared to previously rejected applications. You are reminded that a business may receive funding for no more than four concurrent KTP projects and that Innovate UK compares applications across its entire portfolio for repetition and duplication. You must not leave this answer blank. If no previous funding or projects state 'None'.

Official Guidance

Confirm that a signed joint commitment statement has been uploaded. The knowledge base partner and business partner must declare a commitment to work together on the project by completing our joint commitment statement template. Download the latest joint commitment statement (JCS) 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. You must select one option: - Yes - No If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and not progressed any further.

Official Guidance

Upload additional supporting documents as appendices. You can use this question to upload up to three other supporting documents as appendices. For example, you can use this question to upload documents providing supporting evidence of the business partner's finance position. You must not upload photographs, excerpts from websites, electronic reports or documents that contain hyperlinks. Appendices must be in PDF format with a file size up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Official Guidance

Upload further supporting documents as appendices. You can use this question to upload up to three other supporting documents as appendices. For example, you can use this question to upload documents providing supporting evidence of the business partner's finance position. You must not upload photographs, excerpts from websites, electronic reports or documents that contain hyperlinks. Appendices must be in PDF format with a file size up to 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Official Guidance

Confirm that the information provided is accurate and complete. You must agree to the following declaration. The partnership confirms: - the nominated Knowledge Transfer Adviser has reviewed the application and supports its submission into the competition - that all proposal partners are aware of the information provided by Innovate UK as part of the application process including, but not limited to, Innovate Funding Service competition and application supporting information, KTP guidance, KTP costs guidance, Associate and Supervisor handbooks, and the Associate Recruitment guide - that the partnership agrees to abide by the rules and guidance contained within these documents and agree that subject to the terms of the Grant Offer Letter, in all matters, the decision of the KTP Programme is final - that the proposal meets the overarching criteria for KTP and, to the best of their knowledge, the information provided in this grant application form is accurate and complete You must select one option: - Yes - No If your answer is no, your application will be rejected and not progressed any further.