Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Overview

Business and Academic Partnerships: Apply for Funding (UK)

Up to £40 million of funding has been allocated to support businesses in collaborating with an academic or research organisation and a graduate on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).

The KTP scheme enables businesses in the UK to innovate and grow by linking them with an academic or research organisation and a graduate.

A KTP enables an academic or research organisation as a partner to a business (including social enterprises and other not for profit organisations) to recruit a suitable graduate (an Associate) to
work at the company for the duration of the KTP.

The business is thus able to access new skills and the latest academic thinking to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project.

KTPs can last between 12 and 36 months, depending on the project and the needs of the business.

The KTP 3-way partnership will consist of:

• A UK-based business of any size or a not-for-profit organisation
• An academic or research organisation i.e. university, college or research and technology
  organisation in the UK
• A suitably-qualified graduate with the capability to lead a strategic business project
• The KTP can be part-funded by a grant from Innovate UK with the business partner contributing to
  the salary of the Associate plus the cost of a supervisor who will oversee the scheme.
• Contributions
  will depend on the scale and length of the project and the size of the company i.e.
  Small and medium-sized enterprises contribute around £35,000 per year, about one-third of
  the project costs
• Large businesses contribute around £55,000 per year, or half of the project costs
• Applications may be submitted either via a KTP Adviser who will check the feasibility of the idea and
  find the right partner or, where there is already a partnership with an academic or research
  organisation, via that organisation’s KTP office.

The deadline for applications to this round is the 27th January 2021.

Find out more

What’s in it for me?

Put simply taking part in a KTP can significantly help you develop your business.

Plus you get access to academic expertise that is not available in-house. This has been shown to improve business performance and processes, which in turn helps you to become more productive and competitive.

A KTP is part funded by a grant.

What’s my commitment?

As you know a KTP is part funded by a grant and because of that you will need to contribute to the overall cost of the project.

The amount that you will need to contribute depends on the scale and length of the project. Additionally, it will depend on the size of your business.

• small medium sized enterprises (SMEs) tend to contribute around £35,000 per year – or about a third of the project cost
• large businesses contribute around £55,000 per year – or about half of the project cost

For more details see our quick fact checker.

How to apply

KTP applications can only be submitted by a registered knowledge base.

Your KTP application will need to be completed jointly by your business and the knowledge base. Your application will be supported by a Knowledge Transfer Advisor.

Your application should include information about each of your participants, their objectives, the proposed tasks and deliverables for the associate.

There are two main routes to apply and they are:

• Via a Knowledge Transfer Adviser

• Via the Academic or Research organisation

What happens after you apply

Your application will be assessed by an expert group of assessors. Usually you can expect a notification of the outcome within 12 weeks or less of the competition closing.

If you are successful then you will receive a formal grant offer letter.

Once the offer has been accepted you can start the process of recruiting an associate. This should be undertaken jointly by the knowledge base and the business partner.

The associates contract of employment will be with the knowledge base.

Get started

The KTP programme runs throughout the year. This table contains the list for current opening and closing dates for KTP competitions.