Commercialising Knowledge Assets Fund (CKAF) Winter

Overview

The Commercialising Knowledge Assets Fund (CKAF) supports eligible government research organisations to move viable public sector Knowledge Assets with identified market potential closer to commercialisation.

Run by the Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) and administered by Innovate UK, the competition provides between £50,000 and £250,000 per project.

Knowledge Assets are intangible assets held by an organisation. They can include know-how, expertise, intellectual property, design rights, R&D outputs, source code and creative outputs.

The competition is technology agnostic and is open to eligible projects across all sectors.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to support organisations to move viable public sector Knowledge Assets with identified potential markets towards commercialisation.

CKAF provides funding ranging from £50,000 to £250,000 for each project to move viable public sector Knowledge Assets with identified potential markets towards commercialisation.

A Knowledge Asset is an intangible asset held by an organisation. Examples include know-how, expertise, intellectual property rights for designs, research and development outputs, source code and creative outputs.

The fund is technology agnostic and encourages applications from across all sectors.

Proposals must be based on a pre-existing identified Knowledge Asset (KA), as defined in the Rose Book, and describe a plausible potential commercial market for the KA.

To ensure CKAF funding supports a range of organisations, an annual funding distribution threshold of £800,000 per organisation applies. This threshold acts as a trigger point in the assessment process to help balance support across the ecosystem.

Key themes and topics

Projects must focus on moving a pre-existing, identified Knowledge Asset towards commercialisation and demonstrate a plausible potential commercial market for that asset.

Knowledge Assets examples include:

• know-how
• expertise
• intellectual property
• rights for designs
• research and development outputs
• source code
• creative outputs

The fund is technology agnostic and encourages applications from across all sectors.

Projects will not be funded if they:

• undertake fundamental research and development to create new Knowledge Assets
• are already engaged in economic activities, such as offering goods or services on the market
• directly or indirectly request funding for an existing commercial entity that is not an eligible government research organisation
• subsidise business-as-usual activities, including activities directed by ministers or set out in organisational strategies or remits, unless they address new markets or customers
• only benefit the applicant organisation or its existing customers and users
• are from privately owned companies, including spin-out companies, which are classed as State aid under the Windsor Framework or a subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act 2022

Organisations that are not eligible include universities and academic institutions, local governments and their organisations, Local Enterprise Partnerships, devolved administrations and certain organisations overseen by them, public corporations and NHS secondary and tertiary care sectors, including NHS trusts.

Project duration

Projects must have a duration of either 6, 12 or 18 months.

Must start between 1 March 2027 and 1 April 2027.

End by:

• 30 September 2027 for 6-month projects
• 31 March 2028 for 12-month projects
• 30 September 2028 for 18-month projects

Projects must not start until GOTT has received the signed Grant Offer Letter.

Award value

Grant funding request between £50,000 and £250,000

Funding rates

Total eligible project costs will be funded at 100%.

Total eligible project costs included in the application must not exceed £250,000. Applicants can reference additional voluntary contributions in their application answers, but these must not be included in the finance section.

Eligibility criteria

• Projects can be led by an eligible UK government research organisation, including a Public Sector Research Establishment (PSRE), UKRI wholly owned institute or another public sector body that undertakes research as a primary function
• Projects can be delivered by the lead organisation alone or across several organisations
• The lead organisation must own the identified Knowledge Asset and have the rights to use and commercially exploit any intellectual property generated through the project
• Projects must be based on a pre-existing identified Knowledge Asset and describe a plausible potential commercial market for it
• Subcontractors should preferably be UK-based, with all costs fully justified and appropriate. Overseas subcontractors are permitted where there is a clear case for why suitable UK subcontractors cannot be used
• All funded project work must be carried out within the UK
• Projects must intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• The award is designed to be provided on a no subsidy basis under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. In limited circumstances, EU State aid rules may apply under the Windsor Framework

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