Key Features
UK registered businesses and research and technology organisations (RTOs) can apply for a share of up to £5 million for feasibility studies. These will make supply chains more resource efficient and resilient through addressing cross cutting challenges.
Programme: Innvoate UK
Award: Share of up to £5 million
Opens: 2nd Feb 2026
Closes: 11th Mar 2026
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £5 million into supply chain innovation projects. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.
The aim of this competition is to support feasibility studies to explore new ways of making supply chains more resource efficient and resilient.
This will be achieved by addressing cross cutting challenges faced by the six Industrial Strategy’s growth driving sectors and the Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries in scope.
Your proposal must be aligned to at least two of the following six high growth sectors defined in the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Alternatively, it must be aligned to at least two of the advanced manufacturing frontier industries identified in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.
High growth sectors in scope:
Advanced manufacturing frontier industries:
Your project must:
The involvement of the end user can be in the form of, but is not limited to:
In this competition, we will not accept letters of support from the end user.
Within your application you must:
Portfolio approach
Innovate UK want to fund a variety of projects across different high growth sectors in scope, advanced manufacturing frontier industries, and technologies. Innovate UK call this a portfolio approach.
Your project
Your project must:
Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.
Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.
Lead organisation
To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size or a UK registered RTO. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered business of any size claiming grant funding on this application.
To work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. RTOs cannot work alone.
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in the IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.
To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:
Non-funded partners
Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project. Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.
Where non-funded partners have been invited to the application on IFS, their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and are limited to no more than 30% of the project’s total eligible costs.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.
You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.
Number of applications
A business can only lead on one application and can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications. If a business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.
An RTO can only lead on one application and can be included as a collaborator on any number of applications.
An academic institution, charity, not for profit, public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.
Sanctions
This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.
Use of animals in research and innovation
Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.
Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
Innovate UK are not funding projects that are:
Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:
Up to £5 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
Innovate UK reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.
If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.
For feasibility studies in Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:
Category 1 Feasibility studies
For more information on company sizes, refer to the company accounts guidance.
If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.
Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.
Research participation
The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 70% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 70% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:
Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding
To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.