Accelerated Knowledge Transfer

Introducing Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT)

Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) is a programme from Innovate UK that will see £1million distributed to businesses looking to innovate or develop new and disruptive capabilities in the Circular Fashion Sector.

The programme is designed to create short-term collaborations between a business and a UK Knowledge Base, such as the University of Essex, to rapidly inject innovation capacity with grant funding of up to £35,000 per project.

AKT's are inspired by the highly successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) model and aims to deliver a targeted collaboration lasting between two to four months that accelerates the evaluation or development of an innovation project or concept, which has the potential for significant impact for a business or organisation.

Circular Fashion AKT Funding Call | July 2024

The business must be looking at one of the following: 

• Sustainable manufacturing and design interventions for circularity and improved efficiency and output
• Addressing Scope Three emissions
• Use of AI
• Transformative technologies and materials e.g.to supporting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), on demand production to zero waste to supply chains of the future
• Economically benefit the UK\s fashion and textile industry
• Transparency and accountability of carbon footprint

Innovate UK will not consider projects that are not innovative or addressing and industry challenge and will have a negative impact on the environment. They project must be undertaking industrial research and it needs to focus on the fashion and textile sector, and their immediate supply chains.

Is an AKT project right for your business or organisation?

For many businesses, it can be a challenge to fully identify the barriers and solutions that can open the door for innovation, greater productivity, and growth. Here, a short term AKT with Essex can be the ideal solution.

It offers a more intensive collaboration that quickly transfers new knowledge and creates a framework to help business teams to:

• Identify innovation blockers
• Evaluate an innovation concept
• Find solutions to immediate as well as prepare the foundations for longer term challenges
• Accelerate new thinking and processes
• Develop new business models and expand capacity

The next call for AKT applications opens on Monday 1 July and closes on Wednesday 31 July 2024.

Talk to us about AKTs today

Our ambitions match yours. We’re business-led and hands on. From scoping through to funding wins, from recruitment of talent through to project completion.

Speak to us today to find out how we can help you with an AKT or alternative funding opportunity today.