Grant Ready Live. 15 June 2026.
11:00 AM (CEST) | 7:00 PM (AEST)
Could a research partnership unlock your next innovation funding pathway?
In this live session, we unpack how the Innovate UK AKT programme works, who can actually access it, what assessors are looking for, and what you need to build before this funding pathway becomes realistic.
Live on Google Meet · £14.00 (+ taxes) · Free for FUNDiD members.
Register for AKT6 Live SessionThis is not a standard grant opportunity.
That is exactly why it is worth understanding.
AKT6 is open. It closes 15 July 2026.
The programme offers up to £35,000 per project, funded at 90% of project costs, for short-form innovation partnerships between a UK business and an eligible Knowledge Base partner (aka university or research organisation).
Many founders are told to “collaborate with universities” or “find research partners” without being shown how those relationships actually translate into fundable projects.
AKT6 is one of the pathways where partnerships of this type are rewarded.
But... the business does not apply directly. The Knowledge Base leads the application. The business co-develops the project, hosts the work, contributes cash, and must show that the project needs academic or research expertise — not just a consultant, contractor or agency.
For some founders, this round will not be realistic. If you do not already have a suitable partner in place, the timeline is tight.
But understanding this round now can help you decide whether AKT belongs in your funding strategy and what to build before the next opportunity opens.
Funding is not just about finding an open programme.
It is about understanding the structure early enough to become ready for it.
AKT is a short-form knowledge transfer partnership.
AKT stands for Accelerated Knowledge Transfer. It is designed to help businesses access academic, research or technical expertise to solve a defined innovation challenge over a fixed 13-week period. The model has three core roles.
The Knowledge Base
An eligible academic or research organisation - a university, further education college, Research and Technology Organisation, or Catapult centre. The Knowledge Base leads and submits the application, receives the grant, employs the Associate and manages the project finances.
The Business Partner
This is the UK-registered business that co-develops the project, hosts the work, contributes at least 10% cash, and benefits from the commercial outcomes. The business cannot apply directly. It must be brought into the application by the Knowledge Base.
The Associate
This is the researcher or specialist employed by the Knowledge Base who works on the project. The Associate is the delivery mechanism for the knowledge transfer. Their role is to help translate academic or research expertise into a commercial innovation outcome.
AKT is a lighter, faster version of the longer Knowledge Transfer Partnership model. A full KTP can run for one to three years. AKT is designed for rapid evaluation and delivery: 13 weeks, one focused innovation challenge, and a clearly defined business outcome
The opportunity is real but it is not open-ended.
AKT6 is funded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Round 6 has up to £2.5 million available across all funded projects. Each project can receive up to £35,000 at a 90% funding rate.
That makes AKT attractive for businesses that need specialist knowledge, technical expertise, applied research capability, or academic input to move an innovation forward.
But it is not designed to fund general business activity.
It is not for marketing campaigns, sales strategy, operational improvement, general consulting, or work that could be delivered by hiring a commercial provider.
The most important scope question is simple: Would a consultant deliver this instead?
If the answer is yes, AKT is probably not the right fit.
If the project genuinely needs academic expertise, research capability, advanced technical knowledge, data science, AI methodology, specialist testing, or knowledge transfer from a university or research organisation, then AKT may be worth understanding.
The programme is particularly aligned with the UK’s Industrial Strategy sectors:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Clean energy industries
- Creative industries
- Defence
- Digital and technologies
- Life sciences
Projects outside these sectors may still be eligible, but aligned projects are prioritised.
This is why the session matters.
The opportunity is not just the money. It is learning how this type of partnership funding works before you try to use it.
WHAT WE COVER
This is programme intelligence, not general grant writing advice.
Each part of the session is specific to AKT6 and the way Innovate UK assesses this programme.
What AKT actually funds
Not every innovation project fits.
We look at the types of projects AKT is designed to support, how the 13-week structure works, and the difference between genuine knowledge transfer and work that could be delivered by a consultant, contractor or agency.
You will understand the kind of innovation challenge that belongs in this programme — and the kind that does not.
How the partnership model works
AKT is not a direct-to-founder grant.
The Knowledge Base leads. The Business Partner hosts. The Associate delivers the knowledge transfer.
We unpack each role so you can understand where your business might fit, what the partner relationship needs to look like, and why the structure matters before the application is even considered.
Where founders get ruled out
The opportunity is real, but the gates are firm.
We cover the 4 FTE requirement, the 10% cash contribution, excluded organisation types, the two-party structure, and the eligibility rules that can remove an application before it is assessed.
This is the part founders often find too late.
What assessors need to believe
AKT6 is assessed across four scored criteria worth 40 marks.
We look at how assessors read innovation, risk, academic need and commercial outcomes — including guidance from the May applicant briefing that does not appear in the written competition documents.
You will leave with a clearer view of what a strong AKT project needs to demonstrate.
You may not be ready for AKT6.
That does not mean this session is premature.
A strong AKT application does not begin with the application form.
It begins with the right project, the right partner, the right commercial logic, and the right understanding of what Innovate UK is trying to fund. For many founders, this round is too soon in your funding pathway.
If you do not already have a suitable Knowledge Base partner, a clearly defined innovation challenge, and the internal capacity to support the project, submitting by 15 July may not be realistic.
That is okay. You are still well-placed to understand the pathway now, so you can make a strategic decision - in the future:
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Is this type of funding relevant to your business?
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Could your innovation benefit from academic or research expertise?
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Are you eligible to participate as a Business Partner?
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Do you have the internal structure needed to host the project?
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What kind of Knowledge Base partner would you need?
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What should you build before the next round opens?
This session gives you the programme intelligence to answer those questions before you invest time, energy or credibility in the wrong direction.
This session is for founders who want to understand funding pathways before they are under pressure to apply.
Who this is for ...
This is for you if:
- You are building an innovation-led business in the UK, or planning to work with UK partners
- You are exploring funding pathways connected to research, technology, commercialisation or innovation
- You think a university, college, research organisation or specialist academic partner could help move your business forward
- You want to understand how Innovate UK programmes work before committing time to an application
- You are thinking three to six months ahead, not just reacting to open deadlines
- You want to know whether AKT belongs in your funding strategy
- You prefer clear eligibility and assessment logic over guessing
This session is highly relevant if your work connects to:
- Digital technologies
- AI, data or analytics
- Clean energy or sustainability
- Life sciences
- Advanced manufacturing
- Creative industries
- Defence-related innovation
- Research-led commercialisation
- Technical product development
- New methods, models or applied innovation
You do not need to know what AKT is before attending.
That is the point of the session.
This is not a general grant writing workshop.
This is not the session for you if:
- You want broad grant writing advice that applies across every programme
- You are looking for a template to complete an application quickly
- You want to submit an AKT6 application before 15 July but do not already have a suitable Knowledge Base partner in place
- Your project could be delivered by a consultant, contractor or agency without academic or research expertise
- Your business does not meet the core eligibility requirements and you are only looking for a workaround
- You are not interested in understanding how partnership-based funding works
This session is not designed to create false urgency.
It is designed to help you make a better funding decision.
By the end of this session
you will understand how this type of partnership funding works and what it could make possible.
You will leave with:
- A plain-English understanding of what AKT6 is and how it works
- A clearer view of the Knowledge Base, Business Partner and Associate roles
- A practical understanding of the main eligibility gates
- The ability to assess whether your business could participate now or in a future round
- A stronger sense of what kind of project would fit the programme
- Insight into the “consultant test” and why it matters
- A breakdown of the four scored assessment criteria
- A stronger understanding of how business + research partnerships can become credible funding pathways
- A clearer sense of what your business may need to build before partnership-based funding becomes realistic
- A clearer view of what to build before the next round
- A better understanding of how research partnerships can become part of your funding strategy
This is not about rushing an application.
It is about understanding the pathway early enough to use it properly.
Meet Your Host:
Lisa Erhart
Lisa Erhart is the Founder of Funding4Growth and FUNDiD, and the author of Advanced Grant Writing for Female Founders.
Lisa began her funding journey with a single $10,000 grant and went on to secure more than $4.2 million in funding.
As an active assessor for government and private funding programmes, she has reviewed more than $50 million in applications and understands how funders read strategy, evidence, capability, risk and commercial logic.
Her work helps founders move beyond reactive applications and build a more strategic funding system.
Lisa does not teach founders to outsource judgement to AI. She shows founders how to use AI to think more clearly, test their logic, and understand how assessors read applications — while keeping founder judgement at the centre.
In this session, she brings that assessor lens to AKT6 so you can understand the opportunity before deciding whether it belongs in your funding strategy.
Understand the power of the partnership model before deadlines force rushed decisions.
AKT6 closes 15 July 2026.
For some founders, this round will move too quickly. For others, it may reveal a high-value funding pathway they had not considered before. Either way, AKT is not just another grant. It is a pathway for turning academic or research expertise into commercial innovation. If that strategy could help your business, this session is for you.
Register for GrantReady Live: Innovation Partnerships Funding Session
Monday 15 June 2026. 11:00 AM (CEST) | 7:00 PM (AEST) . via Google Meet
£14.00 · Free for FUNDiD members · Recording included
Register for AKT6 Live Session →