EPSRC: Pre-announcement: Prosperity Partnerships: early-stage collaborations (pilot)

02/02/2023

09/05/2023

Apply for funding to support ambitious early-stage research business-academic collaborations on their way to becoming strategic partnerships. Proposals will: - be business-led but co-created and co-delivered by the industrial and academic partners - address research areas and challenges based on EPSRC’s strategic delivery plan. We encourage micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) involvement. Industry contribution will be at least 50% of the total grant value. EPSRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost of the project, which can be up to £750,000, with a maximum duration of 3 years.

This funding opportunity is a pilot aimed at supporting ambitious early-stage academic-business research collaborations. These are promising emerging partnerships which are on the way towards becoming strategic partnerships. EPSRC expects the collaborative relationship between the academic and industrial partners will be pre-existing, operating for about a year at least, and certainly less than 5 years. This will not be the partners’ first collaboration, nor a continuation of an established partnership. We are particularly looking to encourage SME involvement. This could be alone, or as part of a consortium, or as part of the supply chain of a larger company.

Businesses can act as the ‘business lead’ if they are: - a UK-based business or have UK-based research activity - a business in the private sector driven by profit, or from an organisation with a commercial arm which generates independent revenue able to contribute to the UK national prosperity through increasing their investment in research and development activities and subsequent product, service, or technology development in the UK - a consortium of businesses. Businesses or organisations funded by government are not eligible as business lead. Proposals must be co-created with all the partners involved and show evidence of their involvement. Academic organisations i.e., Research organisations can act as ‘academic lead’ if they are eligible to receive research council funding: - UK higher education institutions - research council institutes - UK Research and Innovation-approved independent research organisations - public sector research establishments - NHS bodies with research capacity.