Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)
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.
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%.
Innovate UK (UK Research and Innovation)
public · national
Deadline: cutoff — 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.
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.
Moderate — a form and supporting documents.
You fund 33% yourself.
Who can apply
- Stage: seed, series_a, growth
- R&D activity required
- Locally registered entity required
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
- Contact a Knowledge Transfer Adviser or a university/research organisation partner to scope the project. — link
- Develop the project jointly with the knowledge base partner, defining the strategic innovation challenge and the associate role.
- The knowledge base partner submits the application to the relevant KTP competition round. — link
- If funded, recruit the KTP associate and run the project with academic supervision.
What you will need
- Joint KTP application (submitted by the knowledge base partner)
- Company financial information
Source. https://iuk-ktp.org.uk/start-your-journey/business/ — checked 2026-08-14
"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."