On the 15th of January another round of the Large R&D Partnerships competition will open for applications.
Part of the Farming Innovation Programme, this competition offers a share of £7.8 million to farmers, growers and foresters in England to take forward ideas that improve productivity, sustainability, resilience and move the sector towards net zero.
Competition overview
The Large R&D Partnerships competition funds industrial research and experimental development projects: from those that will accelerate the development and demonstration of new agricultural solutions, to those that can be integrated into existing agricultural practices.
These should help address major challenges and opportunities on-farm, or those immediately post farmgate. Your project should address a significant industry challenge or opportunity in at least one of the industry subsectors below:
- livestock
- plants
- novel food production systems
- bioeconomy and agroforestry
Your solutions or project outputs should also significantly improve:
- productivity
- sustainability and environmental impact of farming
- progression towards net zero emissions
- resilience (e.g. helping farms deal with input stresses, such as spikes in fertiliser prices, or in dealing with threats from pests and disease)
Businesses are encoraged to come together as a partnership to solve these major challenges or opportunities. Projects will last up to 4 years and be valued between £3 million and £5 million. Businesses will be expected to contribute funding to the projects.
Dates to note
13th December – competition guidance published
15th January – competition opens
23th January – collaboration building and briefing event for potential applicants. Register to attend.
13th March – competition closes to applicants
Find out more at: Competition overview – Farming Innovation Programme: Large R&D partnerships Round 3 – Innovation Funding Service (apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk)
