Presentation

Biosciences KTN
- Overview –
Dr Tristan Eagling Knowledge Transfer Manager,
Industrial Biosciences - Biosciences KTN
Rothamsted Research
28th Feb 2014
Serving the Agriculture, Food and Industrial Bioscience Sectors
Project Funding
Academic-industry collaborations
Market readiness
TSB and its co-funders funding
Commercialisation
Prod. Prototype
System Qual.
Research Councils
System Dev.
Investment/
Venture Capital
Technology Demo
Technology Development
Feasibility
Knowledge
Fundamental
Research
Pre-industrial
Research
Industrial
Research
Experimental
Development
Market Ready Product
Origin of Knowledge Transfer Networks
UK Government
x 15
TSB anticipated in-year expenditure in 2014-15 by priority area
TSB anticipated in-year expenditure in 2014-15 by priority area
KTN Ltd from April 2014
A different
structure, but
otherwise
business as
usual.
What will Change?
A single company means we will achieve greater depth
and spread
More interface working with increased staff mobility
More coordination of expertise and delivery e.g. H2020
or Access to Finance
Faster response to opportunities
We will be an organisation of employees using
consultants for highly specialised or short-term
activities only
Geographical spread allows for ‘regional’ roles e.g. as KTN connectors to LEPs or Devolved Governments
KTN Objectives
To drive the translation of the UK's bioscience
knowledge into innovative agricultural, food and
industrial bioscience products and processes.
Strategy based on four identified sectors:
The role The KTN
To catalyse collaborations between
industry and research base.
Funders
and
Investors
Biosciences
KTN
Research
Base
To drive new commercial
opportunities through innovation.
Business
Innovation
Development of
Biosciences KTN Activities
Activities with in the four sectors
Developing activities at the interface of the sectors
Exploiting synergies through multi-disciplinary approaches
Examples of multi-disciplinary initiatives
• Special Interest Groups
• Interest Groups
• Algal Bioenergy
• Crop Defence for Food Security
• Industrial Biotechnology
• Commercial opportunities at
the crop / soil interface
• Synthetic Biology
• Rumen & Ruminants
What we do
To deliver our objectives we provide a number
of services to our members:
Information & News – in one place, up-todate
Events and activities – for knowledge
transfer & collaboration
Partnering - Access to strong network of
industry & research partners – connect with
partners for projects, join consortia
Funding – Help with finding & obtaining
funding
279 events
>8000
delegates
670 new
proposals
288 new
projects funded
£121.1 m
raised
Sept 2009 – Sept 2013
Information and News
BBSRC collaborative
research
• Horticulture and Potato Initiative (HAPI)
£4M to improve potato and edible horticulture crop production systems
Research challenges include: Changing Seasons, Crop Maturity and
Spoilage, Soil, Pests & Pathogens, Seed Quality & Vigour, Resource use &
Efficiency.
Projects must have at least one industry partner who provides a minimum of
10% of the full economic cost of the project; a minimum of 5% must be a
cash contribution but the remaining 5% may be in-kind resources.
Second call launch: 13th January 2014
Closing date for outline proposals: 5th March 2014
To register for the workshop, or for more information, visit:
www.bbsrc.ac.uk/hapi or email hapi@bbsrc.ac.uk
Diet and Health Research Industry Club
DRINC has now begun its second phase with a further
£10M. The Research Councils and Industry will continue
to work together to fund new research from 2013 - 2015.
• DRINC will accept outline applications in Spring 2014
• £3M to be allocated through a two stage process
• Funding from BBSRC and potentially ESRC, EPSRC and MRC
• A Call Launch Workshop will be held on 3rd June, London – details will be
posted online soon
Visit the ‘Apply for Funding’ page at: www.bbsrc.ac.uk/drinc
Contact: Jennifer.Postles@bbsrc.ac.uk , 01793 413366
Improving our understanding of diet and health
Understanding the
relationship between
processing & nutrition
Designing Foods to
maintain &
improve health
Understanding food
choice to improve health
through diet
UK Agri-tech strategy
Launched 2013
£160M to help implementation
- £70M catalyst fund
-
£90M for Centres for Agricultural Innovation
Serving the Agriculture, Food and Industrial Bioscience Sectors
Scope
The Agri-Tech Catalyst will fund proposals relating to:
Primary crop and livestock production, including
aquaculture
Non-food uses of crops (for example, for biomass)
Food security and nutrition challenges in
international development
Challenges in downstream food processing,
provided the solution lies in primary production.
Only examples, scope is very broad an covers almost
any agricultural project
Main features of
Agri-tech catalyst funding
Very broad scope covering all stages of research and all aspect of agricultural
research
Can have up to 50% of the cost incurred by academic partnerships, and early
stages can be academic led . Academic cost are funded 100% (80% FEC)
Can include projects aimed at developing countries and can have international
partners.
Always open, applications will be assessed 2 times a year. (next call June)
Agri-Tech Catalyst – award
types
TSB grant for example project
University
Large company
£750,000
£1M
50%
£500,000
SME
£250,000
£250,000
£2.3mil
60%
£150,000
Research
institute
£750,000
60%
£150,000
SME
£3M
£700,000
Sustainable Agri-Food
Innovation Platform (SAF IP)
Up to £90m over 5 years (launched Oct 09)
Competitions on specific topics, total project cost between ~100K-2m
Calls targeted at perceived needs in agriculture
Minimum 70% Industry involvement
50% match funding for large companies , 60% for SMEs
Academics receive 100% funding (80% FEC)
Most be industry lead
Issues with disease in
animals and plants
o Focus on solutions that target the causal agents of disease (viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes and
insects as disease ‘vectors’)
o Technologies for identification/ detection of pathogens for improved disease management on
farms will also be relevant to tackling the challenge
o Disease identification and assessment:
Improved diagnostics for disease/ pathogen strain identification
Methods for detecting pathogens resistant to certain treatments
o Disease prediction, management and control:
Data capture & decision support systems for optimised treatment plans, to reduce frequency/
concentration of actives being used
Integrated disease management approaches
Disease surveillance systems (ICT tools, sensor tech) to enable earlier/ improved information
delivery to enhance decision making
o Disease prevention and treatment:
Disease resistance through breeding/ biotechnology or vaccine production
Activation of innate defence mechanisms (feed additives, immunomodulators, bioactives)
Innovative approaches to avoid pathogen resistance.
Open in April ,
£12M?
Innovation Vouchers
Deadline: See website
•
•
•
•
•
£5k grants for SMEs to work with new collaborators
Get expert help to develop ideas and improve performance
Issued every three months around specific priority themes
Approx. 100 allocated per quarter by lottery (not competitive)
You can only have one!
https://vouchers.innovateuk.org/
https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/innovation-vouchers
Industrial CASE Studentships
• Industry-relevant PhD training
• Links academic and non-academic
(typically industrial) organisations
• Four year studentship with a placement
lasting between 3 and 18 months
• Company contributions:
- Placement expenses
- Small companies (<50 employees) are
no longer required to contribute cash
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/business/training/industrial-case.aspx
BBSRC deadline:
2014 TBC for Sept
2015 start
BKTN deadline:
2014 TBC for Sept
2015 start
Tech Inspired Feasibility Awards
• To stimulate innovation across four technology areas: advanced materials;
biosciences; electronics, sensors and photonics, and information and
communications technology
• Aimed at Small and micro business working in the UK either alone or part of
a collaboration.
• Pre-industrial research, examples include formulation and delivery
approaches for biological products, i.e biopesticides
• TSB fund up to 75% of your cost , projects can cost up to 33K and last up to
4 months
• Projects must be innovative and contain some risk
•Competition opens: 27 January 2014
•Briefing event: 10 February 2014
•Registration deadline: 5 March 2014, noon
•Deadline for receipt of applications: 12 March
2014, noon
SMART Awards
Aimed at small and early-stage companies with innovative ideas and
high growth ambition and potential.
3 types of award
1. Proof of market (funded 60% up to 25K)
2. Proof of concept (funded 60% up to 100K)
3. Developing prototype (funded 45% up to 250K)
Always open, call happen 4 times a year
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Deadline: Apply at any time
• 12-36 month projects
• Company pays either 33 % or
50% of project costs
http://www.ktponline.org.uk/
https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/knowledge-transfer-partnerships-ktp
Framework
Programme 7
Competitiveness
and Innovation
Programme
European
Institute of
Innovation and
Technology
Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020
• The framework programme for
research and innovation
• Started 21 Jan 2014
• €75 Bn
• Covers all aspects of strategic research
and closer-to-market innovation to help
bring more good ideas to market
• Increased focus and support for SMEs
(eg: single company projects allowed,
additional access to finance)
• Participation has been simplified
http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm?pg=h2020
InCrops Innovation Vouchers
•
Funded by the European Regional
Development Fund
•
Open to SMEs based in the east of
England
•
Can be used to fund R&D or technical
consultancy aimed at developing new
products, processes or services based
on biorenewables
•
Aims to increase the links between
research organisations and SMEs
Key Facts
•
•
•
Funding available: grants between
£1000 and £4000, a maximum of 40%
of the costs of a research and
development project.
Eligibility: small and medium
enterprises in the east of England.
Timescales: the scheme will run until
September 2014. The project has to
be completed and voucher must be
claimed within nine months from the
approval date.
Eligible activities
• Research and development
• Technical consultancy
• Market entry strategies
• Prototyping and testing
• Environmental impact analysis
How it works
1. Contact an InCrops team member with an idea
2. Develop a project and decide who will do the work (from
the list of approved service providers*)
3. Submit the application form
4. Once approved, the work can start
5. To claim the voucher, send InCrops the contract, the final
report, the invoice and the evidence of payment
6. 40% of the costs credited your bank account
What makes a good collaborative R&D proposal
& how the KTNs can help you?
Serving the Agriculture, Food and Industrial Bioscience Sectors
A Good Proposal Has:
A strong business case
A credible plan for Research and Development
The right consortium
A clear need for support (Risk)
Innovation
Alignment to the competition scope
A Strong Business Case
What is the need or benefit that this project will address?
What is the current market like (size, dynamics etc.)?
How will the industry partners profit from success; when
and how much?
• Quantify the Return on Investment
Describe the route to market
What will be the wider benefits? – Quantify if you can
• These may be economic, social, environmental
A Credible Plan for R&D
Outcome focussed research
R & D: Make sure there is enough time for D within the project
Provide sufficient detail to be able to judge the quality and feasibility
of the technical plan and the value for money
• WP No. & Name, Partners involved, timeline (e.g. M0-12),
Description of activity, Milestone
Demonstrate the necessary skills and resources are available
Provide a clear/simple management structure & plan
The Right Consortium
Horizontal or vertical consortia (or both) possible
Why these partners? – what makes this a particularly strong
consortium?
If there are global markets in mind, explain how these will be
accessed
Show how all the partners have an active role to play and how
each benefits in some way (No “passengers”)
Don’t have too many partners as it makes the project harder to manage
A clear need for support
Explain why the project would not go ahead (or would be
delayed or reduced in scope) without Technology
Strategy Board funding
• TSB word it this way:
• Have you explained and justified why you are not funding
the project yourselves?
• Have you explained how the project would be undertaken
differently with TSB investment?
A realistic prospect of success but sufficient uncertainty
that there is still need for research and development
A clear need for support (2):
RISK
• “funders recognise that projects of this type are inherently
risky, but seek assurance that projects have adequate
arrangements for managing this risk”.
• Explain the risks and how these will be mitigated –
Technical (including regulatory)
Commercial
Managerial
Environmental
• Use the format: Risk, Rating (High/Medium/Low), Mitigation
• State risk management tools e.g. risk register
General Tips
Agree key points of the collaboration agreement before you waste
too much time on a idea that won’t fly
Be clear, concise and realistic
Do not assume assessors are
experts in your subject
Provide evidence wherever
possible
•
e.g. of market data, of track record or of patent searches &
reference these (e.g. Defra, 2013)
General Tips - 2
Stress the added value of the funding applied for and the
excellent value for money
Explain the financing – Break down & justify
Check ALL deadlines
Start discussing, planning and writing ASAP
Do not leave it too late to ask questions or submit!
Write a proposal that excites and inspires
How can the KTNs
help with these competitions?
Advice on project scope and eligibility criteria
Help with identification of potential partners
• Industry or academic
Review of draft proposals
Information on _connect
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R&D
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