UK-Switzerland CR&D Round 3

Key Features

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3 million for innovative projects in specific technology areas. You must collaborate with at least one Swiss implementation partner applying under the equivalent Swiss Innosuisse programme.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £3 million

Opens: 1st Jul 2026

Closes: 3rd Sep 2026

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Grant Overview

Innovate UK alongside Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Authority are investing up to £3 million from Innovate UK and up to CHF 3 million from Innosuisse to support innovation projects.

Grant Scope

The aim of this competition is to enhance UK and Swiss collaborations and capabilities in the emerging technology fields. Proposals must address innovation in the fields of Semiconductors, Life Sciences or Engineering Biology.

Projects must focus on one of more of the following specific themes:

  • Semiconductors
  • Engineering Biology
  • Life Sciences

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this grant, projects must have a total grant funding request £450,000 with projects lasting between 18 and 36 months. Projects must start by 1st February 2027 and end by 31st January 2030. Projects must involve at least one grant claiming UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise.

UK Lead Organisation: To start an application on the Innovation Funding Service, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size. You must be involved in at least one grant claiming micro, small or medium sized enterprise and collaborate with a least one research institute from either the UK or Switzerland. Swiss organisations can be a project lead but cannot start an application on IFS.

UK Project Team: To collaborate with a lead, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, charity, not for profit, public sector organisation or RTO.

Non-funded partners: Projects can include organisations that do not claim funding for their work on a project. These costs need to be covered from their own resources and can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out work within their home countries and exploit results outside the UK.

International partners: Swiss partners do not need to be invited into Innovate UK’s application on the Innovation Funding Service. Swiss partners will be funded by Innosuisse following a parallel application.

Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed in this competition but are limited to no more that 20% of the total eligible costs of the UK participation. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK. Overseas subcontractors can be used, but you must state why UK subcontractors could not be used.

Number of applications: An eligible organisation can only lead on one application. Any further applications by the same organisation as lead will be ineligible. An eligible organisation that is leading an application can be included as a collaborator in two further applications if not leading and can collaborate in any number of applications.

Previous applications: Previously submitted applications can be used in this competition.

Exclusions

Innovate UK will not fund the following projects:

  • Projects that do not have a genuine collaboration with a Swiss implementation partner who has been successful in the corresponding Innosuisse programme
  • Projects that do not collaborate with a minimum of one UK or Swiss research institution, however if the Swiss applicant is an individual start-up, pre-market and less than 50 FTE, the requirement to include a research institute is waived
  • Projects that do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria

Grant Funding

Up to £3 million has been allocated by Innovate UK and up to CHF 3 million from Innosuisse has been allocated to fund innovation projects. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

UK Partners

If your UK registered 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 and industrial research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 25% if you are a large organisation

Research participation for UK Organisations

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% 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 30% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation
  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are an academic institution

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

  1. Research organisations must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) method as the Je-S form has now been decommissioned.
  2. We pay 100% of the 80% Full Economic Cost (FEC). On IFS only enter the 80% being claimed.

For further information on this competition, please see full details.

Full competition details

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