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Unclaimed
Discovery tool, not advice. Every figure is the published rule, not a decision on your case.
Grants

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)

Status

Status not published

Competition rounds run several times a year through the Innovation Funding Service; e.g. 'Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026 - 2027 Round 3' closing 14 October 2026 with up to £12.5 million available.

Check with the funder
Amount
Not published

Grant covers 67% of the full project cost for SMEs and 50% for large companies; the business pays the remainder. Project costs are typically around £80,000-£100,000 per project year, so an SME typically contributes roughly £26,000-£33,000 per year. There is no published per-project cap.

You must co-fund 33%. Work out the cash you need

Funder

Innovate UK (UK Research and Innovation)

public · national

Deadline: Fixed cut-off dates — Competition rounds run several times a year through the Innovation Funding Service; e.g. 'Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026 - 2027 Round 3' closing 14 October 2026 with up to £12.5 million available.

Your odds
Not published

This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.

Effort
moderate

Moderate — a form and supporting documents.

You fund 33% yourself.

Who can apply

Three-way partnership between a business, a UK knowledge base (university, college or research organisation) and a graduate 'associate'. The knowledge base partner is the formal applicant. Businesses must show willingness to build a long-term, multi-year working relationship.

How to apply

  1. Contact a Knowledge Transfer Adviser or a university/research organisation partner to scope the project. — link
  2. Develop the project jointly with the knowledge base partner, defining the strategic innovation challenge and the associate role.
  3. The knowledge base partner submits the application to the relevant KTP competition round. — link
  4. If funded, recruit the KTP associate and run the project with academic supervision.

What you will need

Related reading: How grant deadlines actually work · The Companies House number, explained

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://iuk-ktp.org.uk/start-your-journey/business/

"The grant rate for small and medium-sized enterprises is 67% of the full cost. For large companies it is 50%. ... Costs are typically around £80,000-£100,000 per project year."

Verified on 14 August 2026

Source: iuk-ktp.org.uk

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