Deadline: 11-Jul-25
The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre is requesting proposals for its Collaborative Funding Programme to facilitate the delivery of a diverse array of innovation challenge-driven projects.
Scope
- Projects will support the development of innovative solutions to address significant challenges in alternative proteins within the UK AgriFood sector.
Objectives
- Funding will be allocated to UK Research organisations who will work collaboratively to:
- Accelerate groundbreaking research
- Deliver innovation challenge projects
- Overcome technical, regulatory, market hurdles
- Address science driven reformulations
- Maximise impact
Grant Categories
- Proof of Concept 1 & 2: The Proof of Concept funding opportunity supports early-to-mid stage commercialisation activities that validate the development of concepts that have arisen from research. There are two tiers of Proof of Concept (PoC) projects:
- PoC 1 funds larger research and innovation challenges.
- PoC 2 funds smaller, shorter projects.
- Demonstration Projects: The Demonstration project funding opportunity supports activities aimed at demonstrating the viability of a new technology, innovation or process to support commercial adoption.
- Innovation Sprints: The Innovation Sprint funding opportunity supports projects focused on fast iteration and testing of ideas within a short timeline.
- Networking Awards: Networking Awards provide funding for inter-sector networking events and workshops which address scientific and innovation challenges at any stage from discovery to commercialisation.
- Mobility Award: Mobility Awards provide funding to support individuals (especially early career researchers) on international/industrial placements to pursue collaborative work (upskilling, broadening collaborations, etc.) on scientific and innovation challenges at any stage from discovery to commercialisation.
Funding Information
- Proof of Concept 1:
- £500k funding is available from NAPIC to fund PoC 1 projects in this call.
- They will fund projects lasting between 12 and 18 months with a total project value (TPV) of up to £200K.
- Proof of Concept 2:
- £600k funding is available from NAPIC to fund PoC 2 projects in this call.
- They will fund projects lasting between 6 and 12 months with a total project value (TPV) of up to £100K.
- Demonstration Projects:
- £250k funding is available from NAPIC to fund Demonstration projects in this call.
- They will fund projects lasting between 3 and 6 months with a total project value (TPV) of up to £50k.
- Innovation Sprints:
- £100k funding is available from NAPIC to fund Innovation Sprint projects in this call.
- They will fund projects lasting between 2 and 4 weeks with a total project value (TPV) of up to £20K.
- Networking Awards:
- £15k funding is available from NAPIC to fund Networking Awards in this call.
- They will fund Networking Awards with a total project value (TPV) of up to £10K.
- Mobility Award:
- £35k funding is available from NAPIC to fund Networking Awards in this call.
- They will fund mobility awards with a total project value (TPV) of up to £10K.
Eligibility Criteria
- The project lead must be a UKRI eligible research organisation
- The project lead must collaborate with at least one non-research partner which must be one of the following UK registered:
- business of any size
- public sector or non-ministerial government department
- charity
- not for profit
- The project lead must attach a letter of support from the Head of School or Commercial Director as appropriate
- The non-research partner(s) should either be registered in the UK or have a UK research and development or manufacturing site.
Application Requirements
- The following documents must be provided with your application:
- Outline Project Plan
- Completed Finance template
- Research Organisation Letter of Support
- Non-research Partner Contribution Declaration
- Intellectual Property Plan
- EDI questionnaire
For more information, visit NAPIC.