Notice

Competition guidance: Agri-Tech Catalyst round 6 - late stage awards

Updated 25 January 2017

This notice was withdrawn on 21 September 2017

This competition is no longer open. Search current funding opportunities.

1. Dates and deadlines for late stage awards

Competition opens	11 July 2016
Competition briefing event	1 August 2016 (webinar)
Final date for registration	Noon 25 January 2017
Submission of the full application (including finance forms, appendices and Je-S forms deadline:	Noon 1 February 2017
Decision to applicants	by 31 March 2017

Please read the full competition brief before you make your application.

2. Updates for round 6

• all projects must target an international development challenge
• all projects must be collaborative and include a developing country partner
• grant rates for industry have changed across all 3 streams
• total project costs have been reduced across all 3 streams
• project duration has been increased for late stage awards

3. Funding

There is up to £4 million of funding available from the Department of International Development (DFID) across the early stage, industrial research and late stage awards. This is for research and development (R&D) projects that tackle the technical challenges for this competition and work with developing country partners on agri-tech innovations.

Late stage experimental development awards:

• projects with eligible costs of up to £800,000 and between 1 year and 18 months in duration

4. Requirements and eligibility

To be eligible for the late stage awards, projects must fall under the experimental development research category. A full definition of these categories is available in the guidance for applicants section of our website.

The objective of the late stage experimental development awards is to fund research and development (R&D) that requires a short period of further study after embarking on a larger R&D project. The larger project may have been publicly funded or have been undertaken privately.

These awards will allow applicants to trial innovative ideas in a real-life environment prior to large-scale deployment through:

• the visualisation, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services
• producing drafts, drawings, plans and other documentation, provided that they are not intended for commercial use
• the development of commercially-usable prototypes

We expect that all projects will be based on significant prior research where the feasibility has already been demonstrated. Examples of project work in this late-stage award category can include projects looking to achieve first tests in a real-life environment (eg field trial setting) to measure commercial potential (crop or livestock as appropriate).

In addition, projects can trial and test technologies in the external environment. Here projects can investigate product safety and effectiveness to the validation of the final product design and production of final prototype. In some cases we may support early adoption studies.

Projects may include work to support the overall usage of existing knowledge and skills to produce plans and arrangements, or designs, for new, altered or improved products, processes or services.

Please note: experimental development cannot include routine or periodic changes made to products, production lines, manufacturing processes, existing services and other operations in progress, even if such changes could involve improvements.

Eligibility criteria:

• typical project size: up to £800,000
• duration: 12 to 18 months
• applications must be UK business-led.
• funding proportion for business: up to 45% of total eligible project costs for micro and small companies; 35% for medium companies and 25% for large companies
• research-base organisations may only participate as subcontractors
• all projects must be collaborative and must include both a UK and eligible developing country partner. See International Development Funding section below for further details on eligible countries. All funding will be sent through UK based organisations and institutions
• applications must be industry focused with a clear case for business benefit and/or international development benefits
• the main objective of the project proposal should be to benefit developing country agriculture. Research can be conducted within the UK or outside the UK
• if you have been unsuccessful in a previous round, you may re-apply for funding in this grant category once only for the same project

4.1 International development impact

The UK Agri-Tech sector has an internationally recognised comparative advantage in post-harvest and value chain knowledge and technology. In developing countries, the intended users of new technology are poor. This is important for two reasons. First, the poor have limited purchasing power, leaving firms with little incentive to develop technologies for them. There is an argument in favour of motivating the development of technologies that address the needs of the poor. Secondly, the fact that the poor are a user group that firms are less familiar with, means it is difficult to assess the potential demand for new technologies (uncertain/unknown demands and returns). This increases the risk involved in developing new products for them. Motivating and introducing new players into this thin market will reveal more information about poor consumers, reducing risks and potentially encouraging others.

Your application must demonstrate how your project will contribute to international development outcomes, specifically enhanced food security, nutrition and welfare of the poor. The catalyst mechanism provides an excellent opportunity to use UK agri-tech sector skills to support international development and identify new markets for UK technology and skills. It will also enable the agri-tech sector in developing countries to source new technology and learn from the world leading UK sector.

4.2 Gender analysis and data separation

When discussing the poor, you should recognise that men and women may experience poverty differently and face different obstacles in moving out of poverty. It should not be assumed that the household is a unit in which everything is pooled and shared, and in which the household head makes decisions on behalf of all household members. Proposals should recognise that to promote gender equality and empower girls and women is not only a goal in its own right, but is often a means to achieving other goals.

For this reason you should make sure that gender analysis is included. You should make it clear when referring to categories of people, whether you are referring to both women and men. You should also make clear whether/how you have taken into account possible gender difference in experience and circumstances. For example, do not refer to ‘farmers’ without stating whether you are referring to male farmers, female farmers, or both. Data should also be separated, where relevant, across a range of variables in addition to gender including ethnicity, age, disability and spatial geography. You should consider the need for expertise on gender and social analysis.

5. International development funding

Round 6 of the Agri-Tech Catalyst is entirely funded by DFID. Therefore all projects must include a developing country partner. The table below indicates which options for partnership are eligible.

	UK	developing country
	business	business
Eligible options
Option 1	X	X
The following options are not eligible
Option 2	X
Option 3		X

If you have any questions concerning the eligibility or grant rate of developing country partners please contact customer support services on 0300 321 4357 or support@innovateuk.gov.uk

For this competition, projects targeting the following countries will be eligible.

Afghanistan	Ghana	Pakistan
Bangladesh	Guinea	Rwanda
Benin	Guinea-Bissau	Sierra Leone
Burkina Faso	Haiti	Somalia
Burma	Kenya	South Africa
Burundi	Kyrgyz Republic	South Sudan
Cambodia	Liberia	Sudan
Central African Republic	Madagascar	Tajikistan
Chad	Malawi	Tanzania
Comoros	Mali	Togo
Congo, Democratic Republic of	Mozambique	Uganda
Eritrea	Nepal	Yemen, Republic of
Ethiopia	Niger	Zambia
Gambia, The	Nigeria	Zimbabwe

Please note: You must make sure that all your proposed research, both in the UK and internationally, complies with the principles of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s (BBSRC) and other UK funders’ common guidance on [‘Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research’](http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/research/briefings/animals-in-bioscience-research/

Projects thought likely to directly compromise farm animal welfare outcomes will not progress and will therefore not be funded. Projects that have benefits for animal welfare will be viewed favourably in this context, and progress along with the other main aspects of the overall assessment process.

In particular, UK institutions should be aware of the following guidance relating to research or collaboration outside the UK:

When collaborating with other laboratories, or where animal facilities are provided by third parties, researchers and the local ethics committee in the UK should satisfy themselves that welfare standards consistent with the principles of UK legislation (e.g. the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986), and set out in this guidance, are applied and maintained. Where there are significant deviations, prior approval from the funding body should be sought and agreed.

6. Competition process

The Agri-Tech Catalyst awards are allocated through a competitive process. For late stage experimental development awards, the competition involves a single-stage process.

• submitted applications will be reviewed to make sure that they are in scope and meet the eligibility criteria for the competition
• only applications that meet the scope of the competition will be sent for assessment
• applications in scope will be assessed by up to 5 external assessors who are experts in the area of innovation identified in your application or international development
• assessors will score applications consistently and in line with scoring matrices. They will provide written feedback for each marked question
• applications will be ranked in descending order
• the lead applicant will be notified of the funding decision
• all applications in scope for the competition will receive assessor feedback.

We may apply a portfolio approach across the different award types, subject to applications reaching the required quality threshold.

7. How to apply

Before you apply into an Innovate UK competition, it is important to understand the whole application process. The information below is specific to this competition. In addition, please read our general guidance for applicants which will give information on:

• funding rules
• project costs
• state aid
• how to submit your application
• categories of research and development
• participation in a project

Register: You will receive an email acknowledgement of your registration followed by a second email up to 48 hours later. The second email will contain a username and password for our secure upload facility along with a unique application number and form.

Application: Once you have received your unique username and password, you can sign into the secure website to access the finance forms for this competition (full stage only).

Please note: Only finance forms named ’Project Finance Form 2016.xls’ will be accepted into this competition. Previous versions of the project finance form will be ineligible. When you register for the competition you will have access to our secure site. You will be able to download the finance form from the public area of this site.

Submit your documents: You or your lead partner should submit:

• your application form supplied with your unique application number for this competition
• project appendices as pdf documents, labelled with your application number
• partner finance forms for every non-academic partner in your project, and any non-UK academic partners
• Je-S submission pdf output document for every UK academic partner in your project, if any

Scope check: Only applications that meet the eligibility criteria and scope of the competition will be sent for assessment. You will be notified if your application is out of scope with full reasons as to why. Innovate UK reserves the right to declare applications as out of scope.

Assessment: Once the competition submission deadline is reached, your application is sent for assessment.

Notification: We will notify you or your lead partner of the outcome of your application on the date stated in the timeline.

Feedback: We will give feedback to successful and unsuccessful applicants approximately 4 weeks after you have been notified of the decision. The lead applicant can access the feedback by logging on to the secure website where you uploaded your application documents. It is the responsibility of the lead partner to communicate the feedback with the rest of the consortium. No additional feedback can be provided and there will be no further discussion on the application.

For further information on what happens after you submit your application please visit Innovate UK’s guide to submitting your application.

8. The application form

This section explains the structure of the application form and offers guidance on what to answer in each question.

There are 10 questions in the application form and each question is worth a maximum of 10 points. The assessors will mark and provide feedback on each question. They will provide additional feedback on the proposal including their overall opinion, the main strengths and weaknesses.

Applications must score a minimum of 60% in every question to be considered for funding. The structure is as follows:

• application details
• summary of proposed project
• gateway question: scope
• public funding
• academic collaborators
• section 1: The business proposition (4 questions, 4 pages)
• section 2: Project details (4 questions, 4 pages)
• section 3: Funding and added value (2 questions, 2 pages)
• public description of the project
• other funding from public sector bodies
• finance summary table

Please make sure that you upload the final version of your application by the deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not upload a blank or incomplete application form.

• you can only use the application form provided. It contains specific information including a unique reference number for your project
• the application form contains specific fields. It is important that you complete each field and submit a fully completed form. Incomplete forms will be rejected
• the application form must not be altered, converted or saved as a different version of Microsoft Word
• the space provided in each field of the form is fixed. You must restrict the content of your responses in each of the fields to the space provided. The typeface, font size and colour are predetermined and cannot be changed. Illustrations and graphics cannot be included in the application form. Please check your completed application form in print view: any text that can’t be seen in this view or when the form is printed will not be assessed
• the light grey shaded fields are completed automatically from other information entered on the form, e.g. the total columns of a table. These cannot be overwritten

Field	Guidance
Competition name	This field will show the full name of the Innovate UK competition to which the form applies. You do not need to enter anything here.
Document ID	This field is completed automatically.
Applicant number	This field is completed automatically and is the reference that you should use on all correspondence (this is the 5 or 6 digit number after the dash).
Application details
Project title	Enter the full title of the project
Challenge area	Please indicate the primary challenge area for your project by selecting from the drop down list in the application form.
Are you re-submitting an application from an earlier round of the Agri-Tech Catalyst?	Please select yes or no
Are you or your organisation submitting as the lead applicant into more than one award type in the Agri-Tech Catalyst fund?	Please select yes or no
How are you intending to match fund the grant?	Please select from: existing funds revenue seeking new investment other
Project timescales	Enter the estimated start date and its planned duration. These are indicative at this stage and are not guaranteed.
(Lead) organisation name	Enter the full registered name of the (lead) organisation for the project. Please note that the lead organisation will be the main point of contact between the Agri-Tech Catalyst funding body and the project team.
(Lead) organisation contact details	Enter the full name, postcode, email address and telephone number of the main point of contact between the Agri-Tech Catalyst funding body and the project.

8.1 Summary of proposed project (not scored)

Guidance

Please provide a short summary of the content and objectives of the project including what is innovative about it.

This summary is not scored, but provides an introduction to your proposal for the benefit of Innovate UK staff and assessors only. It will not be used for any public dissemination. It is important that this summary is presented in reference to the main outline of the project, with sufficient information to provide a clear understanding of the overall vision of the project and its innovative nature.

8.2 Gateway Question: Scope

Guidance

How does this application align with the specific competition scope?

• all applications must align with the specific competition scope criteria as described in the relevant competition brief
• to demonstrate alignment, you need to show that a clear majority of the project’s objectives and activities are aligned with the specific competition
• since your project must target international development objectives, you should describe the potential benefit that will be delivered to developing countries

Public funding

Have you received public funding in the previous 5 years for research that led to key evidence to support your project?

This section is to enable us to understand your previous track record in delivering and exploiting publicly funded project/s and may be used to inform a funding decision.

Please select yes or no.

If yes, describe the funding in terms of the value and who the funding body was. If the funding was provided by Innovate UK, please list the Innovate UK project number. Summarise the project aims and the outcomes of the project and how you sought to commercialise since the project completion.

9. Competition questions

All questions apply to all project partners and are scored out of 10.

9.1 Section 1: The business proposition

Each question is allocated 1 page.

Question 1: What is the agri-tech challenge that your project intends to address and with what solution?

• describe the nature of the challenges or issues facing developing country agriculture and its effective delivery specific to your area. Describe how the intended outputs of the project will address these challenges and issues
• quantify the potential positive impact at primary production level. Describe the potential uptake and the benefits your solution will provide to developing country agriculture
• compare and contrast the current landscape and the proposed solution. Reference existing products and practices that are currently in use and under development and discuss their benefits and shortcomings (both technical, commercial and environmental). Describe how the solution you are proposing is better than competing solutions and how the intended outputs of the project will meet the developing country agricultural challenge, or the resultant market need
• describe the relevant developing country agri-tech challenge that you are seeking to address, the nature of your proposed solution and how this creates a commercial opportunity for your business

Question 2: What is innovative about your idea?

• describe the product / service differentiation or ’unique selling point’
• you should identify the extent to which the project is innovative, commercially, scientifically and technically
• in evaluating this section assessors will consider:
  • does it push boundaries over and beyond current leading-edge world science and technology?
  • is it looking to apply existing technologies in new areas? If so what are the challenges in doing so and would it ultimately be innovative in the area of application (ie developing country agriculture)?
• the timeliness and novelty of the research aspects of the project should be highlighted and explained in an industrial and/or research / academic context with application to developing country agriculture
• provide evidence that you have researched potential competitors, both in the UK and internationally, who may be developing responses to the same challenge area or market opportunity. You should demonstrate that you have considered your potential competitors, and how the project outcomes might be separated from possible competitive offerings. This could include the results of competitor analyses, literature surveys etc.

Question 3: Do you have freedom to operate?

• provide evidence to show that you have freedom to operate (summarise results of patent searches etc). Detail your position regarding protected (background) and potentially protectable intellectual property (IP) (provide a summary of current IP)
• detail any IP which may affect project delivery and exploitation. State the ownership of IP and where necessary how rights have been assigned
• describe your strategy for protecting the knowledge arising from the project

Question 4: How do you intend to exploit the opportunity?

• provide evidence that the proposed solution would be commercially viable for the target market in relevant developing countries (consider cost of manufacture, pricing etc.).
• you should list the potential exploitable outputs of the project such as:
  • products or services
  • processes or practices
  • applications to increase agricultural productivity
  • environmental benefits (measured where possible)
• describe how these outputs will be exploited including, where applicable, the route to market, reconfiguration of the value system, changes to business models and business processes and other methods of exploitation and protection.
• describe the further development plans for the project post completion (if any) and the needs of the business to achieve them, such as further investment (duration and scale). Outline any potential barriers to exploitation / adoption / deployment in developing country agriculture.
• provide evidence for your statements about the target market for project outcomes. Outline your strategy for developing market share and quantify your projected return on investment from the project
• describe the size of the market opportunities that this project might open up, including details of:
  • current nature of the specific market(s) at which the project is targeted (eg is it characterised by price or competition amongst commoditised suppliers? Is it dominated by a single leading firm? Etc.)
  • the dynamics of this market including quantifying its current size, actual and predicted growth rates
  • the projected market share for the project outcome, with justification in the light of any potential competitors
• for highly innovative projects where the market may be unexplored, please explain:
  • what the route to market could or might be
  • what its size might be and
  • how the project will seek to explore the market potential
• you should describe anticipated benefits to developing countries, which may include:
  • integrating small-holders into supply chains
  • meeting quality standards and improving productivity
  • new supply chains
  • increasing value of production to small-holders
  • improving access to appropriate innovation in developing countries
  • innovation that increases rural income through improved processing/storage
  • control of crop pests/weeds/diseases

9.2 Section 2: project details

Each question is allocated 1 page.

Question 5: What is the underpinning scientific evidence?

• detail all relevant prior experimental / technical evidence and explain how the previous results connect to the proposed study
• please use appendix A to present relevant figures such as graphs or schematics (max 2 pages), note this should not be used for additional narrative.

Question 6: What technical approach will be adopted and how will the project be managed?

• provide a description of the technical approach including the main objectives of the work. Link the main areas of work together with their resource and management requirements
• in evaluating this the assessors will consider:
  • is the technical and methodological approach appropriate to the needs of the project? Are the innovative steps achievable through the proposed approach?
  • is the project plan sufficient in comparison to the complexity of the project? For example, is there sufficient detail to understand the tasks involved and the resources required?
  • are the timing of key milestones realistic?
  • have you demonstrated sufficient resource commitment and capability to undertake the project?
  • are clear management reporting lines identified?
• please compare and contrast alternative R&D strategies and describe why your proposed approach will offer the best outcome
• if appropriate, please provide justification for the use of animals and the numbers of animals, samples, etc tested
• please use appendix B to provide a Gantt chart (max 2 pages) and appendix C to provide additional information on your approach if required (max 2 pages)

Question 7: What are the risks (technical, commercial and environmental) to project success? What is the project’s risk management strategy?

• the Agri-Tech Catalyst funders recognise that projects of this type are inherently risky, but seek assurance that the projects it funds have adequate arrangements for managing this risk. Please focus on the arrangements for managing and mitigating risk as follows:
  • identify the key risks and uncertainties of the project and provide a detailed risk analysis for the project content and approach. Include the technical (including regulatory), commercial, managerial and environmental risks as well as other uncertainties (e.g. ethical issues) associated with the project. The main risks should then be rated as High/Medium/Low (H/M/L) (risk register)
  • discuss the potential impact of these scenarios
  • state how the project would mitigate these key risks
  • you should address all significant and relevant risks and their mitigation
  • identify key project management tools and mechanisms that will be used. These should provide confidence that enough control will be in place to minimise operational risk and, therefore, promote successful project delivery. This should include the arrangements for managing the consortium.

Question 8: Does your team have the right skills and experience and access to facilities to deliver the project and exploit it?

• detail the expertise and track record of your project participants (collaborators and subcontractors) in undertaking and exploiting the results of research and development projects. This is to show your capability to deliver the project and exploit the technology

• in evaluating this, the assessors will consider whether:
  • your project participants have the right available mix of skills and experience to deliver the project successfully
  • your project utilises the input of research expertise where necessary
  • the project builds the UK supply chain and addresses the needs of developing country partners and end-users
  • the project has access to the necessary expertise to commercialise the outcomes
  • the consortium’s formation objectives are clear and it would not have been formed without Agri-Tech Catalyst funding investment.
  • extra benefits demonstrated from the collaboration, for example, increased knowledge transfer and better working together
  • the work is being conducted internally where possible and if subcontractors are being used, there is adequate justification for the choice made

Question 9: What are the resources required to deliver the project and their cost?

• indicate the anticipated project cost. Make clear the level of contribution from any project participants and the level of funding required from the Agri-Tech Catalyst funding body. This information should be provided in the financial summary table in the application form
• use this section to detail the resources required to carry out the project. Break down the costs and justify them (for example quotations to evidence value for money). This should include all internal and external costs
• supporting information and explanation for project costs should be provided in this section of the form. It must be consistent with the category of research and development being undertaken within each work package. Please make sure the grant for business partners is calculated in line with the grant intervention rates provided in this document.
• In evaluating this the assessors will consider the following questions:
  • is the budget realistic for the scale and complexity of the project?
  • is it clear how costs are being allocated?
  • does the financial support required from the Agri-Tech Catalyst fit within the limits set by the specific competition?
  • does the funding request provide value for public money?
  • is a financial commitment from other sources demonstrated for the balance of the project costs?
  • has a realistic budget breakdown been provided?
  • have work package breakdowns been described and justified adequately?

Make sure that all key points relating to the finances of your project are included in the main body of your application form, or in the relevant appendix. These are the key documents used within the assessment process.

Question 10: How does financial support from the Agri-Tech Catalyst add value?

• please provide evidence that:
  • successful delivery of your project will increase the total amount of money the project team spends on research and development in the UK or developing countries and either:
  • why the funding is required for the project to be able to proceed
  • or, how the Agri-Tech Catalyst funding would allow you to undertake the project differently (more quickly, on a larger scale etc) and why this would be beneficial to international development objectives to benefit developing country partners / end-users
• outline how successfully securing funding will help to realise International Development objectives during the project lifetime and up to 5 years beyond the end of the project. This may involve (but is not limited to), leveraging additional investment, increasing your research and development spend, creating jobs and increasing revenue in the developing country associated with the project or within the UK
• you must demonstrate how a successful application will target international development outcomes. This is by contributing to enhanced food security, nutrition and welfare of the poor. Describe how you will measure this contribution
• if you think this grant will leverage additional private investment please describe your progress in securing commitment or interest from potential investors and/or international development benefits

9.3 Other funding from public sector bodies

If you have included one or more entries in column 7 of the finance summary table (on the following page), please provide:

• the name(s) of the bodies
• the name of the programme or scheme from which the funds are provided
• the amount of the funds

9.4 Public description of the project (not scored)

Guidance

To comply with government practice on openness and transparency of public-funded activities, Innovate UK has to publish information relating to funded projects. Please provide a short description of your proposal in a way that will be comprehensible to the general public. Do not include any commercially confidential information, for example intellectual property or patent details.

Funding will not be provided to successful projects without this.

10. Finance summary and project appendices

This table lists the total eligible project costs by participant. Please note that only certain project costs are eligible for grant funding under UK State Aid rules. For information on eligible project costs and how to complete the finance forms see the Innovate UK website.

Column	Guidance
Column 1 Organisation name	Please provide the full names of the (lead) organisation and any participants in the project consortium (organisation names as noted in Companies House)
Column 2 Organisation registration Number	Companies should provide the Company Registration Number (as noted in Companies House). Universities/HEIs should enter their RC number/charitable status/legal entity registration number etc
Column 3 Enterprise category	Please select your enterprise category. (SME definition is based on the EU definition ) Medium sized: Headcount <250: Turnover <=50 million euros or balance sheet total <=43 million euros Small: Headcount <50: Turnover <=10 million euros or balance sheet total <=10 million euros Micro: Headcount <10: Turnover <=2 million euros or balance sheet total <=2 million euros
Column 4 Postcode where majority of work will be done	Please provide the postcode of each organisation participating in the project
Column 5 Contribution to the project by each organisation (£)	Please list the total contribution to be made to the project by each organisation
Column 6 Funding sought from the Agri-Tech Catalyst	Please enter the funding sought from the Agri-Tech Catalyst for each participant organisation for this competition
Column 7 Other funding from public sector bodies	Please include any funding for the project from any other public sector bodies which has been applied for separately, and not as part of this competition. Funding from other public sector bodies might include other applications to research councils, other government departments, devolved administrations, other public sector organisations and some charities. The purpose of this column is to provide the Agri-Tech Catalyst with information on the total public funding for the project
Column 8 Total (£)	The total cost of the project for each participants. This is the sum of columns 5, 6 and 7 and will be entered automatically
Column 9 Total (£)	The total of each column will be entered automatically

Each non-academic or non-UK academic participant in your project must provide a finance form which must be submitted with the application form by the lead applicant. Each finance form provides a detailed breakdown on each participant’s total eligible project costs listed in your finance summary table. UK based academic partners must provide a Je-S form.

10.1 Project appendices

You may include appendices of additional supporting information for particular questions with the application form. Please do not use the appendices as an overflow of answers to the application form questions.

In order that assessors can open and read the appendices, each appendix must:

• conform to the maximum length specifications stated for each question
• be submitted in Portable Document Format (pdf)
• be legible at 100% zoom/magnification
• display prominently the ‘application number’ as in the filename of the application form

Please do not submit appendices longer than the specified lengths. Assessors are instructed to only read appendices to the lengths specified in the guidance.