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Industrial partnership awards

Application deadline: apply at any time

Science-led, responsive mode grants where an industrial partner contributes in cash (not ‘in-kind’) at least 10% of the full economic cost of the project.

Our funding covers the remainder of the cost (at 80% of fEC rate). For example, for an Industrial Partnership Award (IPA) costed at £350k (including the element supported by industry), industry should contribute a minimum of £35k in cash, with BBSRC contributing 80% of the remaining £315k i.e. £252k.

Applications are assessed by our Research Committees, alongside standard applications, using the same criteria. IPA projects are normally funded in preference to standard grants of equivalent scientific merit, because of the industrial contribution.

Applicants should describe the value of the partnership and its mutual benefits. The company partner should be registered in the UK or have a UK R&D or manufacturing site. Where a suitable company cannot be found in the UK, an overseas company may be used. However, such collaborations are judged on a case by case basis, and clear justification must be provided.

Applicants should include a letter from their university's Technology Transfer office stating that should the IPA be funded, a collaborative agreement will be put in place with the industrial partner before commencement of the IPA.

How to apply

Visit our ‘Apply for funding’ section to submit your application through our electronic submission system.

Applications are processed alongside other responsive mode applications. Application deadlines are therefore the same as responsive mode applications. Responsive mode deadlines can be found on our application deadlines page (see related links).

Case studies

University of Glasgow and Pfizer Global R&D

Researchers at the Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow and Pfizer Global R&D are investigating the role of natural chemicals in the body that have been implicated in thickening of the walls of blood vessels that supply the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) - with the aim of identifying targets for novel approaches to prevention.

Image: raised transporter levels in mice lead to an increased expression of the calciom binding protein mts-1 in a small pulmonary artery.

University of Sheffield and Syngenta

Scientists at the University of Sheffield and the agrochemical company Syngenta are combining the academics’ structural biology expertise with the company’s development of new chemicals that have potential as new generation herbicides. The partnership advances understanding of how molecular structure determines the activity of herbicides, and offers the industry the opportunity of novel targeted compounds capable of killing weeds that have become resistant to conventional herbicides.

Image: the active site of a novel herbicide target (imidazoleglycerol phosphate dehydratase), which binds its substrate between two manganese ions. Courtesy of University of Sheffield.

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