What are Prosperity Partnerships
Prosperity Partnerships are collaborative research programmes funded jointly by businesses and the UK government through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and other UKRI councils.
Prosperity Partnerships are an opportunity for businesses and their existing academic partners to co-create and co-deliver a business-led programme of research activity arising from a clear industrial need.
Why apply for a Prosperity Partnership
Prosperity Partnerships aim to stimulate innovation for the businesses involved in order to tackle major challenges faced by the UK and the world, and drive capability in key technologies and scientific advancements.
Seventy-five Prosperity Partnerships have been launched since the scheme began in 2017. They have created and secured jobs across the country, attracted additional national and international investment, and delivered breakthroughs in solar cell technology, hybrid autonomous systems, rapid prototype manufacturing and many other industrial sectors.
Academic institutions benefit from working together with businesses as equal partners on real-world challenges, accelerating the transformative potential and impact of their research, and ensuring the skills, knowledge and expertise developed are aligned to the evolving needs of UK industry.
Who can apply
Large multinationals, SMEs and spin-outs have all had successful Prosperity Partnerships, and we welcome applications from any industry and across any discipline provided the majority of the research sits within EPSRC’s remit.
The lead business must be UK-based or have significant research activity within the UK. They must also be either a private sector organisation, or an organisation with a commercial arm which generates independent revenue.
The lead academic partner must be a UK-based university or research institute which is eligible for UKRI funding.
The partnership may have as many additional project partners as needed to ensure the appropriate resources, skills and experience are brought onboard to deliver fundamental, internationally leading research programmes.
Match funding: how it works
As a co-investment opportunity, we expect the business partner(s) to at least match the cash investment made by EPSRC. Further cash or ‘in-kind’ contributions can also be made such as data, software, management time and facilities access.
Academic partners and additional project partners can top up these investments, but their contributions will not count towards the required business contribution.
What to do next
The next round of Prosperity Partnerships will be launched in 2024, we expect the funding opportunity to go live in March. Keep an eye on the UKRI website’s funding opportunity pages for updates.
There will be two routes to this round:
Route 1: Aimed at early-stage collaborative relationships of approximately 1 to 5 years, with EPSRC funding available up to £1 million for each application.
Route 2: For well-established collaborative relationships of 5 years or more, with no restriction on the maximum amount of EPSRC funding that can be applied for. This route is intended for typically larger grants of more than £1 million.
More information will be on the funding opportunity web page when the funding opportunity goes live.
Steps to partnership
- Identify the challenge, innovation, technology or industrial need to be addressed by the Prosperity Partnership
- Work with your existing academic partner(s) to understand how a collaborative research programme would address the challenge.
- Find full details on the opportunity, application process, deadlines, and assessment criteria on the UKRI Funding Finder.