Guidance

Competition guidance for UK-China: precision for enhancing agricultural productivity

Published 14 October 2019

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

1. Dates and deadlines

Competition opens	14 October 2019
Competition briefing event in London and online	5 November 2019
Submission of the full application (including finance forms, appendices and Je-S forms)	Midday 23 January 2020
Applicants contacted by	February 2020

2. Funding

There is up to £5 million of funding available from Innovate UK. This is for research and development projects that tackle the technical challenges described in the brief for this competition.

The maximum grant available for UK partners is £500,000 per project. Projects can last up to 24 months. Please read our guidance for more information on the different categories of funding and the rules around our state aid framework.

3. Competition process

For this competition, Innovate UK will use a portfolio approach. This is to make sure that the strategic criteria described in the competition brief, is met for all projects considered to be above the quality threshold. This will be as a result of independent expert assessment. The process follows these steps:

• submitted applications are reviewed to make sure that they are both eligible and in scope for the competition
• only applications that meet the eligibility and scope requirements of the competition are sent for assessment
• applications in scope are assessed by up to 5 UK external assessors who are experts in the innovation area identified in your application
• UK assessors score applications consistently and in line with scoring matrices and provide written feedback for each marked question
• applications will be ranked in descending order.
• applications which score over a quality threshold are reviewed against Innovate UK’s strategy to build a portfolio of projects that:
  • are high quality
  • operate across a variety of technologies, markets and industry sectors
  • demonstrate sufficient innovation, potential return on investment and degree of technical risk
  • demonstrate value for money, include the potential impact of the project relative to its cost, and the cost of other projects under consideration
  • demonstrate true collaboration between the UK and China
• the funding decision is made by Innovate UK co-ordinating with the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry or Science and Technology (MoST)
• the UK lead applicant is notified of the funding decision by email from Innovate UK
• all eligible and in scope applications receive UK assessor feedback

4. How to apply

Before you apply into an Innovate UK competition, it is important to understand the whole application process. The information contained in this guidance is specific to this competition. In addition, please read our general guidance for applicants to give you further information that will help you to complete your application.

The UK lead applicant must register for the competition through the Innovation Funding Service at least one week before the competition closes.

The UK lead applicant, once registered, will receive an email acknowledgement of their 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 in to the secure website. You are then able to access the finance form for this competition from the public download area.

Finance form

Only finance forms named ’Project Finance Form.xls’ will be accepted into this competition. Previous versions of the project finance form will be ineligible.

Submit your documents

The UK lead applicant must submit to the secure file transfer protocol (FTP) site:

• your application form with your unique application number for this competition
• project finance forms for every UK non-academic partner in your project
• Je-S submission PDF output document, confirming a “with council” status for every UK academic partner in your project, if any
• project appendices as PDF documents, labelled correctly as per the appendices guidance in section 10

Innovate UK will initially screen all the applications received by the application deadline for completeness of information and to ensure all mandatory documents have been submitted. Applications which do not meet the basic or main criteria as outlined in these guidelines will be classed as ineligible and will not be sent for assessment.

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 a full explanation as to why. Innovate UK reserves the right to declare applications as out of scope.

Assessment

Once the scope and eligibility checks have been completed, all applications that are both eligible and in scope will be sent for assessment.

Notification

Innovate UK will notify the UK lead organisation of the outcome of the application by the date stated in the timeline, using the email address provided in the application form.

Feedback

Approximately 4 weeks after you have received your notification email, we will give feedback to all applications that have been assessed by UK assessors. The UK lead applicant will be able to access and download the feedback by signing in to the secure FTP site where you uploaded your application documents. It is the responsibility of the UK lead applicant to communicate the feedback with the rest of the consortium, if applicable. No additional feedback can be provided and there will be no further discussion on the application.

5. The application form

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

The structure is as follows:

• application details
• summary of proposed project
• public description of the project
• gateway question: scope
• question 1: transforming food production
• question 2: approach and innovation
• question 3: team and resources
• question 4: market awareness
• question 5: competitors
• question 6: outcomes and route to market
• question 7: outputs and wider impacts
• question 8: project management
• question 9: risks
• question 10: added value
• question 11: costs and value for money
• 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 the lead organisation’s responsibility to ensure that you do not upload a blank or incomplete application form. You must follow these steps:

• only use the application form provided as it contains specific information including a unique reference number for your project
• complete every field and submit a fully completed form as incomplete forms will be considered ineligible and won’t be sent for assessment
• the application form must not be altered, converted or saved as a different version of Microsoft Word
• restrict your responses in each of the fields to the space provided without changing the typeface, font size or colour
• do not include illustrations, graphics or hyperlinks
• the light grey shaded fields are completed automatically from other information entered on the form, such as the total columns of a table, and cannot be overwritten
• view your total answer to the question by using print view as any text that cannot be seen in this view or when the form is printed will not be assessed
• your answer to the questions should be no longer than half a page of A4 using the font Calibri 11

As part of our objective to stimulate and support UK innovation, we have established a close network of affinity partners. This list is made up of organisations that can help Innovate UK fund and support innovative businesses. Our joint aim is to speed up sustainable economic growth for the UK.

In some cases, we may share the public description of your project with other potential funding bodies, for example local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and agencies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These bodies may wish to contact you about providing funding or other support for your proposal.

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 6 digit number after the dash).
Application details
Project title	Enter the full title of the project.
Theme	Please select from the drop down list.
Research category	Please select ‘Experimental Development’ from the drop down list.
Project timescales	Enter the estimated start date and its planned duration. These are indicative at this stage and are not guaranteed.
UK lead organisation name	Enter the full registered name of the (lead) organisation for the project. If you are not in a consortium application, these will be your organisation details. Please note that the lead organisation will be the main point of contact between Innovate UK and the project team.
UK lead organisation contact details	Enter the full name, postcode, email address and telephone number of the main point of contact between Innovate UK and the project.

Summary of proposed project (not scored)

Describe your project briefly, and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign experts to assess your application. Your answer can be up to 400 words long. 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 should cover, in brief:

• the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity to be targeted
• the approach to be taken and how this will improve on current state-of-the-art
• the difference the project will make to the competitiveness and productivity of the partners involved

Public description of the project (not scored)

To comply with government practice on openness and transparency of public-funded activities, Innovate UK has to publish information relating to funded projects. Describe your project in detail, and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.

Gateway question: Scope

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.

6. Competition questions

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

Question 1. Transforming food production

How will your project improve productivity, increase sustainability and help the industry (or industry subsector) move towards achieving net zero emissions by 2040?

Describe or explain:

• the main motivation and commercial rationale for the project
• the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity
• how the project output(s) will improve productivity, increase sustainability and help the industry (or industry subsector) move towards achieving net zero emissions by 2040
• any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity

Question 2. Approach and innovation

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Describe or explain:

• how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified
• whether the innovation will focus on the application of existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas or a totally disruptive approach
• the freedom you have to operate
• how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings
• how it will make you more competitive

You must submit one appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 3. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Describe or explain:

• the key partners in the project, the relationships between partners and the rationale for working together
• the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking
• the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
• the details of any vital external parties, including sub-contractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
• any roles you will need to recruit for

You must submit one appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 4. Market awareness

What does the market you are targeting look like?

Describe or explain:

• the markets (domestic, international or both) you will be targeting in the project and any other potential markets
• the size of the target markets (including market share indicators such as share of total producers / land area / national herd / production etc that form the primary market) for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available
• the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
• the expected rate of adoption across the industry and any impact this might have on sector productivity
• the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist
• the current UK position in targeting these markets

If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:

• the characteristics of the expected target market, for example business type, demographics, user attitudes
• what the market’s size might to be
• how your project will try to explore the market’s potential

Question 5. Competitors

Who else is operating in this space and how does your proposal build on and or differentiate from competitors?

Describe or explain:

• the process you have completed to evaluate the work of competitors
• the nearest current state-of-the-art (both UK and international) - including those near market or in development, and its limitations?
• how your project will improve on the nearest current state-of-the-art identified
• what you will do during the project to incorporate new developments and monitor competitors

Question 6. Outcomes and route to market

How are you going to grow your business and increase your productivity into the long term as a result of the project?

Describe or explain:

• your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
• your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example why they would use or buy your product
• your route to market
• how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction
• how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term
• how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model
• your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

• your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale
• how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Question 7. Outputs and wider impacts

What will your project deliver and how it will meet the aims and objectives of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: Transforming Food Production programme.

What impact might this project have outside the project team?

Describe, and where possible measure:

• the nature of the outputs you expect from the project (for example, know-how, new process, product or service design, prototype, demonstrator)
• how these outputs will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified
• the economic benefits from the project to external parties, including customers, others in the supply chain, broader industry and the UK economy, such as productivity increases and import substitution
• the environmental benefits from the project to external parties such as contributing to net-zero targets for emissions and reduction of waste . This should include customers, others in the supply chain, broader industry and the UK overall
• what your project will deliver to meet the objectives of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund; Transforming Food Production programme and particularly objectives 1, 4 and 5

Question 8. Project management

How will you manage the project effectively? Describe or explain:

• the main work packages of the project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one
• your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
• the management reporting lines
• your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 9. Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Describe or explain:

• the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks, providing a risk register if appropriate
• how you will mitigate these risks
• any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, data sets
• any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and so on, and how you will manage this

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Added value

What impact would an injection of public funding have on the businesses involved?

Describe or explain:

• if this project could go ahead in any form without public funding and if so, the difference the public funding would make, such as a faster route to market, more partners or reduced risk
• the likely impact of the project on the businesses of the partners involved
• why you are not able to wholly fund the project from your own resources or other forms of private-sector funding, and what would happen if the application is unsuccessful
• how this project would change the nature of R&D activity the partners would undertake, and the related spend

Question 11. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer? Describe or explain:

• the total eligible project costs and the grant you are requesting in terms of the project goals
• how each partner will finance their contributions to the project
• how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer
• how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
• the balance of costs and grant across the project partners
• any sub-contractor costs and why they are critical to the project

7. Finance summary

This table lists the total eligible project costs by organisation. Please note that only certain project costs are eligible for grant funding under UK state aid rules. See our project costs guidance for information on eligible project costs and how to complete the project finance form.

Column 1: UK lead organisation name	Provide the full names of the UK lead organisation followed by any other organisations in the project consortium (organisation names as noted in Companies House).
Column 2: UK lead organisation registration number	Organisations should provide the Company Registration Number (as noted in Companies House). Universities and higher education institutes should enter their RC number, charitable status, legal entity registration number or other appropriate registration information.
Column 3: Enterprise category	Select your enterprise category. SME definition is based on the EU definition Medium sized: Headcount less than 250: Turnover less than 50 million euros or balance sheet total less than 43 million euros Small: Headcount less than 50: Turnover less than 10 million euros or balance sheet total less than 10 million euros Micro: Headcount less than 10: Turnover less than 2 million euros or balance sheet total less than 2 million euros
Column 4: Postcode where majority of work will be done	Provide the postcode where the majority of work will take place for each organisation participating in the project.
Column 5: Contribution to the project by each organisation (£)	List the total contribution to be made to the project by each organisation. Where a University is claiming grant funding, the contribution should be £0.
Column 6: Funding sought from Innovate UK	Enter the funding sought from Innovate UK for each contributing organisation for this competition.
Column 7: Other funding from UK public sector bodies	Include any funding applied for separately for the project from any other public sector bodies 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 Innovate UK with information on the total public funding for the project.
Column 8: Total (£)	The total cost of the project for each contributor. This is the sum of columns 5, 6 and 7 and will be entered automatically.
Bottom Row: Total (£)	The total of each column will be entered automatically.

Please ensure that you click out of each cell after entering your figures.

8. Finance form

Each non-academic organisation in your project must provide a project finance form using the template “Project finance form” which is available on the FTP site. This must be submitted in excel format with the application form by the lead applicant. Each finance form provides a detailed breakdown on each organisation’s total eligible project costs. Please ensure that all total figures listed in your finance summary table match those stated in the ‘Form status’ tab within the project finance form.

9. Project appendices

You must include appendices in support of questions 2, 3, 8 and 9 as described in the guidance for those questions. Submission of any additional appendices or documentation not described in this document will result in your application be judged as ineligible and it will not be sent for assessment. Applications submitted with appendices with incorrect content or names that do not match the naming convention will be ineligible and not sent for assessment. 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
• display prominently the ‘application number’ as in the filename of the application form, for example, ‘AppendixQ2-(application number eg.123456)’

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