The Connecting Capability Fund – Research England Development Fund (CCF-RED): developing ecosystems funding opportunity aims to:
- support the strategic development of emerging and maturing place-based university-centred commercialisation ecosystems across England
- develop HEP commercialisation best practice, focusing particularly on best practices collaboration between HEPs and with wider ecosystem partners
The programme defines commercialisation to include collaborative R&D with business. Proposals should describe the geographic footprint of their ecosystem, and our expectation is that projects will primarily involve partners from within that footprint. External non-HEP partners based outside the geography are eligible to contribute to activity within the collaboration.
From expert evidence, university commercialisation ecosystems crosscut between higher education (HE), private and commercial partners and others including local leadership.
A number of internal HE and external factors together drive an environment where university research or knowledge and entrepreneurial talent can be commercialised or developed, to realise economic and societal impacts. Factors include but are not limited to:
- people and skills
- private business
- business support and professional services
- finance
- infrastructure
- commercial space and amenities
- access to networks and leadership
Factors and how they come together will differ in different places dependent on the economic or business characteristics of the place.
We distinguish between maturing and emerging ecosystems with the view that proposals should be clear on, and based around activity related to, the maturity of their ecosystem, and that it is clear in the bid whether it is in the emerging or maturing class.
Maturing
We understand that HEPs and place partners may have already developed an ecosystem upon which this funding can be used to expand and evolve beyond the natural course. We would expect in such proposals that the ambitions of activities and outcomes should be higher.
Emerging
We note that for some projects these funds will be used to grow an emerging ecosystem. Proposals need to identify evidence of clear groundings of an ecosystem and appropriate expertise within the collaboration to make it possible for it to achieve a significant step forward in maturity, with a good trajectory in terms of outcomes and sustainability.
There will be different expectations on proposals focused on maturing or emerging, with higher expectations that proposals addressing the former category deliver ambitious outcomes relative to the nature of their opportunity.
Proposals from HEPs in emerging ecosystems, earlier in the journey towards maturity, should look to describe and demonstrate their potential to develop, including evidence that this has begun and there is reasonable evidence on a potentially viable growth trajectory.
Proposals from HEPs embedded in ecosystems closer to maturity should be able to demonstrate greater additionality from receipt of this funding, including ambitions in activity and outcomes, which may include:
- bringing in partners beyond those that already exist in the ecosystem
- a sharp focus on demonstrating how the learning from their project can be disseminated throughout the sector
This funding opportunity will look to enable those with potential to move the dial on their local activity and evolve their emerging or maturing ecosystems to move towards joining those at the global frontier.
Activity should involve the participation of private partners (including businesses, investors, accelerators and more) and may include other public or third sector actors if helpful to delivering the aims of the project. Where appropriate, activity should look to support, or benefit from, local economic development strategies and engage with relevant local leadership in the development of plans. You should consider how you build upon the full diversity of strengths and potential of local and institutional entrepreneurs and innovators.
The technology, sectoral or other focus or breadth of projects should be determined by the nature of the ecosystem development opportunity, such as the concentration of a mix of HEP and private or business partners.
This funding opportunity is part of a series of targeted funding opportunities within the CCF-RED fund. A list of priority topics for future funding opportunities within CCF-RED is presented in the background document (additional information section).
Funding available
To account for differing scales of opportunity across ecosystems, there are two options to apply for funding.
Option one: primary funding
An expression of interest proposal is submitted for a total amount of funding between £3 to 5 million over the course of up to three years.
Option two: primary funding and boost
An expression of interest proposal is submitted alongside an addendum to the proposal to extend the project to a total of up to £10 million funding over a maximum of five years. This means up to £5 million additional funding over an extended project lifetime of up to an additional two years.
Costs
You should understand your costs, including indirect costs, but we do not determine a costing format. Your proposals are premised around risk-benefit sharing with an expectation that HEPs and other partners should contribute to costs appropriately to the benefits to them, with the CCF-RED contribution reflective of the sector or wider benefits. Proposals can be for all forms of knowledge exchange expenditure, which for CCF-RED includes capital costs.
Proposals cannot include research (or core teaching) expenditures such as support of research posts. Undergraduate students or graduates may form a component to proposals, but should be a minority of activity.
