Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) 2026–2027 Round One: Historical Reference

Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) 2026–2027 Round One: Historical Reference

This page records Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026–2027 Round One, a competition run by Innovate UK. The official UKRI opportunity page and its linked Innovation Funding Service record now mark this round as closed. The closing date was 1 April 2026 at 11:00am UK time. It is retained here as a historical reference because that is the real deadline for this competition; it is not a live invitation to submit a Round One application.

The KTP programme itself continues through scheduled competitions. The official KTP guidance lists later rounds in the 2026–2027 programme year, so an organisation seeking a new application should check the live Innovation Funding Service records and the current KTP guidance rather than reuse this Round One record. This page does not invent a replacement deadline or imply that a closed application window has reopened.

Round One at a glance

The £10 million figure is the budget for the round, not a guaranteed award for one partnership. The IFS competition record says that a project’s total eligible costs are typically £8,500 per month. Innovate UK contributes toward eligible project costs, while the business partner pays the remaining share. The exact contribution depends on the project and the applicable KTP cost guidance, so applicants should not treat either the total allocation or the typical monthly figure as an automatic award amount.

What the partnership is for

A KTP connects a UK knowledge base with a business to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. The purpose is not simply to commission research or to attach an academic name to an existing commercial plan. The official competition description says the partnership brings new skills and current academic thinking into the business, and it expects the work to create new capability inside the business partner.

The project must tackle one or more challenges faced by the business. A credible proposal therefore needs to explain four connected points: why the business needs a KTP, what new knowledge the business lacks, what capability will be embedded by the end, and how the work aligns with the Industrial Strategy. The source describes the project as an innovation project rather than a general research exercise. It also expects a genuine market opportunity or a viable route to market.

The Round One competition brief identifies eight Industrial Strategy sectors: Advanced Manufacturing; Clean Energy Industries; Creative Industries; Defence; Digital and Technologies; Financial Services; Life Sciences; and Professional and Business Services. Alignment can involve applying technology in one of these sectors, not only developing a new technology. The application needs to make the connection clear in the business context rather than relying on a sector label alone.

Who was eligible for Round One

The lead applicant had to be a UK registered higher education institution, further education institution, RTO, or Catapult. The knowledge base could not work alone. It had to invite one UK registered business into the IFS application and involve a Knowledge Transfer Adviser in developing the application. The knowledge base also had to be registered with the KTP programme.

The business partner had to be UK registered and have at least two full-time employees. The business was required to contribute to project costs and participate in the partnership, not merely provide a logo or a short letter of support. The IFS eligibility material also says that the knowledge base could not have ownership of 50% or more of the business partner, or a controlling interest through a shareholder agreement. It required the associate role to be recruited in a demonstrably open and fair manner.

The official record excludes UKRI, its councils and businesses owned or operated wholly or partly by UKRI, as well as the Advanced Research and Invention Agency and central government departments and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It also says that an organisation eligible to be a KTP knowledge base could not apply as the business partner. These exclusions mattered at the eligibility stage and should have been checked before the application was prepared.

What a suitable project needed to show

The KTP was intended for a defined business problem with a delivery path. A strong project would have described the operational or strategic challenge in terms the business could measure, then explained the knowledge gap that prevented the business from solving it alone. The proposal also needed to show how the work would leave behind a capability, method, process, product, or system that the business could continue to use.

The source permitted projects in many technical and commercial areas, but it ruled out projects that were not strategic for the business, lacked a genuine market opportunity, or were simply research projects. It also ruled out projects where the business partner was ineligible, where comparable results could be obtained through another mechanism such as contract research, or where the arrangement created a selective economic or commercial advantage. Subsidy-control and State aid questions were part of the IFS project details section, and applicants were told to take independent legal advice if they were unsure about their obligations.

Project duration had to be between 12 and 36 months. The knowledge base and business needed a realistic work plan for the associate and the wider project delivery team. The official eligibility information says associates normally participate in the business’s typical working patterns for most of the project. Where the work is virtual, the arrangement still needs to reflect how the business will provide access, supervision, information, and decisions.

How the Round One application worked

The following steps describe the official Round One route and are useful when preparing for a later KTP competition. They do not reopen Round One.

1. Form the partnership. The eligible knowledge base acted as lead organisation. It selected a UK registered business partner, checked that the business had at least two full-time employees, and agreed the strategic innovation problem, expected business benefit, project duration, and contribution to project costs.

2. Register the application team in IFS. The knowledge base invited the business partner into the Innovation Funding Service application and invited a Knowledge Transfer Adviser. The application also needed a project delivery team with named people and roles. The adviser’s involvement was substantive: the official record says an application could be withdrawn if the appointed adviser had not supported the project before submission.

3. Read the required guidance. Applicants were instructed to read the Innovate UK General Guidance, KTP guidance, cost guidance for KTP projects, the competition details, and the terms and conditions. The competition page supplied additional guidance for each question in the form. The cost guidance was particularly important because Innovate UK funding covered only part of eligible project costs and the business partner had to fund the remainder.

4. Describe the project in the IFS sections. The form asked for project details, an application team, project delivery team, application details, a project summary, and a public description. The project summary needed to explain the vision, objectives, main focus, and innovation. The public description had to begin with “To” and be suitable for public disclosure if the application succeeded.

5. Explain scope and delivery. The scope response needed to cover the business need, the new knowledge required, the capabilities to be embedded, and the project’s Industrial Strategy alignment. The rest of the application needed to make the delivery plan credible: who would do the work, how the business would participate, what outcomes would be tested, and how the capability would remain in the business after the KTP.

6. Check the commercial and compliance case. Before submission, the partners needed to check eligibility, affordability, project costs, the business contribution, market opportunity, route to market, open recruitment of the associate, and subsidy-control questions. A technically interesting project could still fail if it was not strategic for the business or if the partnership did not demonstrate a viable route to market.

7. Submit through IFS before the closing time. Round One opened on 2 February 2026 and closed at 11:00am UK time on 1 April 2026. The official record warned that applicants should allow time to prepare the application and noted that a later round could be used if the proposal would not be ready before closing. That advice is now historical for Round One; a new applicant must use the deadline published for the live competition.

What happened after submission

The Round One competition record listed a funders panel on 4 June 2026, feedback on 18 June 2026, and applicant notification on 14 July 2026. These dates describe the completed competition timetable, not a new application window. The official KTP guidance also lists a new partners workshop for successful applicants on 1 July 2026. They are included to explain the cycle’s published sequence and should not be read as current submission dates.

Preparing for a later KTP round

Because later KTP competitions are published separately, a future applicant should begin with the current live IFS record. Confirm the current competition year and round, closing time, sector wording, exclusions, cost guidance, required adviser process, and any changes to the application questions. Do not copy Round One’s dates or assume that a later round has identical eligibility wording.

The partnership conversation should start with the business problem. Define the result the business needs, the knowledge it does not have, and the evidence that will show progress. Agree which staff will work with the associate, what data or facilities will be available, who can make decisions, and how the business will pay its share of the eligible costs. The academic team should also specify what will be transferred: a validated method, a new process, a working prototype, an internal data capability, staff training, or another durable operational result.

A useful preparation pack can include a one-page problem statement, an initial work breakdown, baseline measures, a draft project budget, a partner responsibility map, a risk register, and a short route-to-market explanation. These documents are not substitutes for the live IFS questions, but they help the partners find gaps before the formal application. It is also sensible to agree an internal submission date well before the official closing time so the knowledge base, business, and adviser can review the final application together.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply to Round One now?

No. The official record marks Round One closed, and its closing time was 11:00am UK time on 1 April 2026. This page is a historical reference. Check Innovate UK’s live IFS competitions for a later round.

Is the £10 million an individual grant?

No. It was the amount allocated for the round as a whole, to be shared across eligible projects. Individual project costs are typically £8,500 per month, with Innovate UK funding a proportion and the business partner paying the remainder.

Can a business submit alone?

No. The knowledge base led the application, and the project required a UK registered business partner. The knowledge base had to be an eligible and registered UK HE or FE institution, RTO, or Catapult.

Does the business need to contribute money and staff time?

The official Round One record explicitly required the business to contribute to project costs. The partnership model also requires meaningful participation in the project, including access, supervision, decisions, and the conditions needed for the associate to work with the business. Confirm the exact financial and participation rules in the live round’s guidance.

Where is the official source?

The verified official destination is the UKRI opportunity page for Knowledge Transfer Partnership: 2026 to 2027 round one. That page links to the Innovation Funding Service competition record, where the detailed eligibility, scope, funding, application, and timetable information was published.

Archive note

Round One’s deadline remains in the metadata as 2026-04-01 because it is the actual closing date recorded by Innovate UK. historicalReference = true tells the site that this is an archive entry rather than an expired live listing. Later programme rounds have been announced in the official KTP guidance, but this page still points to the Round One competition and should not be treated as the application route for those later rounds. Verify the latest competition directly with Innovate UK before preparing or submitting a new KTP proposal.