Knowledge Exchange Funding Opportunities

It is a collaboration between three partners: a University Academic (the Knowledge Base Partner), a recent graduate or post-graduate employed by the University (the Associate) and the company.  The three partners work together to reach the objectives of a specific business project which is delivered by the Associate who works in the business premises.  

KTPs can come from any sector or industry – from technology and the creative industries through to environmental technologies. With the help of a dedicated KTP adviser, you can find the right academic to suit your business. You can then shape a collaborative project that will enable your business to draw on this expertise and apply it commercially.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme, funded by Innovate UK. It helps businesses to improve innovation, competitiveness and productivity through better use of the knowledge, technology and skills available within universities and other parts of the UK knowledge base. 

The University of Suffolk has a dedicated Knowledge Transfer Partnership Manager who will help to recruit a suitable graduate, known as an Associate.  They can be an undergraduate, Masters or PhD level.  The University will advise on the skills and qualifications that you will need for your project.  We will act as the employer of the graduate, who then works at the company for the duration.  The graduate can be from any University, but we actively promote any KTP vacancies to Suffolk graduates to encourage as many applications as possible.

The scheme can last between 12 and 36 months, depending on what the project is and the needs of the business.  A KTP can be in any subject or discipline as long as it is an innovative project that will lead to growth within your company.

Innovate UK need to see that the business has growth potential, so annual turnover should be about £500,000 upwards.  The company should have been in business for at least 3 years. 

If the company you are working with is not yet at this level, please contact the Knowledge Exchange team as there may be other other funding opportunities available. 

Each KTP is a 3-way partnership between: 

• a UK-based business of any size or a not-for-profit organisation. 
• an academic or research organisation. This could be a university, college or research and technology organisation in the UK.
• a suitably qualified graduate, with the capability to lead a strategic business project.

Growth

KTPs enable businesses to access highly qualified people to spearhead new projects and experts to take the business forward with innovative solutions to help the business grow. 

Businesses achieve an average increase in annual profit of more than £1million after participating. 

By embedding academic expertise within the business, performance is improved to enable the company to become more competitive and productive.  For every £1 of KTP grant invested, it results in up to £8 of net extra GVA.

Funding

KTPs are part-funded by Innovate UK (75% for charity/voluntary/not for profit organisations of any size, 67% for SMEs and 50% for large businesses) and encourage businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity by drawing on the knowledge, technology and skills within UK universities. 

• As a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME), you will need to contribute a third of the costs. The average annual contribution to a project for an SME is around £28,000. 
• As a large business you will need to contribute half the cost. The average annual contribution to a project for a larger company is around £50,000.

The Business and the Knowledge Exchange team will work collaboratively on an Expression of Interest form. This is sent to Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Adviser along with 3 years’ worth of accounts. They will check the feasibility of the idea and tell us if it is suitable.  

A KTP application is completed jointly by the prospective business, the academic and a member of the Knowledge Exchange team and the time commitment is about 20 hours from each partner.  It is in-depth and there is also a project workplan to be completed.  Both the application and workplan should include information about each of the participants, their objectives, the proposed tasks and deliverables for the Associate. 

The business and academic are supported by the Knowledge Exchange team throughout. The completed application should be submitted by the academic or research organisation on behalf of the partnership, following agreement from the Knowledge Transfer Adviser. 

The Knowledge Exchange team works with the academic to identify any possible University of Suffolk graduates who could apply. 

Applications are assessed by an independent group of assessors. The KTP project team will normally be notified of the outcome within 12 weeks or less of application.