Develop a new farming product or service
If you have a new farming product or service you want to develop, you can apply to be funded as a ‘Research and Development (R&D) Partnership’ project. It’s your chance to pitch something that could improve farming methods and help the environment. You need to be a business registered in the UK to lead a project. Research organisations and other businesses, including farmers, growers and foresters, can collaborate as part of the project team.
Which competition to apply for
There are 2 different competitions you can apply for. You should consider total project costs and length when deciding which one is right for you.
| Competition name | Amount | Project length (up to)* |
|---|---|---|
| Small R&D Partnerships | £1-3 million | 3 years |
| Large R&D Partnerships | £3-5 million | 4 years |
- Indication of project length. Please refer to each competition scope as this can vary.
What’s coming up
Full details of eligibility and how to apply will be published on the Innovation Funding Service when each round opens. You can find early information here to help you plan ahead.
| Competition name | Status |
|---|---|
| Defra Farming Innovation Small R&D Partnerships (Round 5) | Opens 1 September and Closes 14 October |
What we’re looking for
This is a competitive process. Applications will be reviewed and funding awarded to the projects that best meet the overall aims of the programme. In particular, your product or service needs to benefit farmers in England. Your application needs to show how you’ll:
- solve a real-world problem for farmers, growers or foresters
- increase productivity
- reduce emissions and the environmental impact of farming
- improve the resilience of farming businesses in England
Work as part of a team
We want to encourage collaboration between farmers, researchers and businesses. We believe that by working together you can develop the solutions and improvements needed to meet environmental and industry challenges. You have to be a UK registered business to lead on an R&D Partnership project. You’ll need to collaborate with at least one other business or research organisation. Once the competition is open, Innovate UK Business Connect can help you find the right people to work with (opens in new window) on your project.
Work with farmers
Farmers, growers or foresters must be involved throughout the project. This is so that any new product or service works for them in practice. There are different ways you could collaborate:
- work with them directly to develop a product (for example on their land)
- put them on your advisory or project boards
- regularly check that the product you are developing works for them
Businesses: what you can claim
The amount of funding you can apply for depends on the:
- size of your business
- type of work you’ll be doing (industrial research or experimental development) The rules are the same for both leads and collaborators. There is guidance to help you check what size your company is if you’re not sure.
Industrial research projects
You can check which category your project is on the UKRI website.
| Size of business | % of your project costs |
|---|---|
| Small or micro | 70% |
| Medium | 60% |
| Large | 50% |
- Percentages relate to these competitions only and could vary in future competitions.
Experimental development projects
You can check which category your project is on the UKRI website.
| Size of business | % of your project costs |
|---|---|
| Small or micro | 45% |
| Medium | 35% |
| Large | 25% |
- Percentages relate to these competitions only and could vary in future competitions.
Research organisations: what you can claim
You can collaborate as part of the project team. Your costs are capped at 30% of the total project costs. For example, if you’re working on a project that has a total cost of £5 million, combined costs for the research organisations involved would be capped at £1.5 million (30%). Research organisations can apply for funding to cover these costs, up to the full amount. In this example, that would be up to £1.5 million.