Innovate UK is an important source of funding for UK researchers from the academic community who want to work with businesses or not-for-profit non-governmental organisations. Although Innovate UK operates under the UKRI umbrella, and funding is awarded via competitive grant applications, it’s a mistake to approach these in the same way as traditional basic research grants.

Innovate UK differs from most other UK Research Councils in being very focussed on commercial outputs, and this means that you have to re-think how you approach a funding application if you are targeting one of Innovate’s schemes. This session will focus on developing the skills to create a credible application. We’ll use the example of a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) application as this is one of the few schemes on which an academic institution can lead, but we’ll also discuss how to be a good partner in a business-led application. The key learnings will be applicable across all Innovate funding calls, and will also enhance your approach to more traditional funding calls.