TRIB

Gate 1: Discovery of Innovative Solutions

How to choose the best way to research and test solutions prior to the commercial stage.

Discovery means finding out more about something that already exists. In the context of innovation, discovery involves understanding new solutions and determining whether they are suitable for a particular challenge and environment. Whilst not to be used to procure commercial volumes, both Grant Funding and Pre-Commercial Procurement support the research and testing of solutions prior to the commercial stage. The following processes are therefore tools used to research and test solutions available in the market before considering commercial scaling.

This section offers knowledge and guidance for public-sector professionals on the following:

Grant Funding
Accellerator Programme
Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP)

What is Grant Funding?

A grant is often a lump sum of money that is usually subject to conditions set by the funder. The public authority contributes to a project or organisation that aligns with its policy goals. It is a light-touch selection and award process, but the authority must follow the Grant Standards, for such as transparently appointing contractors and advertising work.

If the arrangement is intended to benefit the recipient and provide them with money for a public good, it is likely to be a grant. If it is intended to discharge an obligation or obtain a benefit for the grant-making department, it is more likely to be a contract for services. With grants, therefore, the buyer has limited control over the funds spent, remaining at arm’s length to recipients and outputs.

Grants are also more focused on general outcomes and flexible requirements, including research and innovation. As a result, grant recipients are usually able to exercise the freedom to take their own decisions on how to achieve the desired outcomes.

What are the limitations?

A grant is provided on conditions aimed at ensuring the proper application of the funds, but not in return for anything. Terms and Conditions focus on broader aims and milestones, plus categories of expenditure.
The funding is to reimburse for the expenditure and can be paid in advance of activities. Though the authority can suspend a grant contract and claw back funds, there is limited control over output and performance.
Although the selection process is output-focused, there is less emphasis on results and impact. Therefore, grant funding offers a great opportunity for cost-effective discovery and learning. It can help provide firsthand customer feedback for newly developed solutions. However, the authority cannot guarantee grant funding for subsequent periods after the term of the initial grant agreement.
The authority is limited in terms of enforcing results arising from a grant. However, grant funding can effectively assist with developing a stronger set of long-term objectives and output requirements to facilitate a tender for scaling of a solution.
A grant is not typically used to scale a solution. Instead, the funding would generally be employed at an early stage of developing or understanding its potential.

Where to look for Grant Funding?

UKRI
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body which offers funding and support across all academic disciplines and industrial areas. It funds research and innovation on a competitive basis, with proposals assessed for excellence and impact. The funding finder on the UKRI website provides access to a broad mix of more than 100 opportunities. To help applicants prioritise, users can customise their search for funding not only by time factors such as opening or closing dates, but also by selecting from a menu of multiple different research councils to suit their specialisms.
Trig by CPC
Connected Places Catapult (CPC) offers small investments by way of Transport Research & Innovation Grants (TRIG). These grants help bridge the early-stage funding gap. TRIG is open to public-, private- and third-sector organisations, from SMEs to universities, as long as they have a UK-registered office. The application process is simple and accessible, designed to suit innovators needing a cash injection for R&D work.
CPC also offers a programme of Innovation Funding Grants, providing targeted support to organisations looking to develop supply chains of innovation. In addition, there is the CPC Accelerator Programme, which is a challenge-led, fixed-term initiative that follows a structured framework to speed disruptive products to market. It covers everything from market research, via pilots and demonstrations, through to partnerships and due diligence.
DfT’s CRSTS
Funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) form a £5.7 billion programme of investment in local transport networks. As part of the UK National Infrastructure Strategy, CRSTS provide consolidated, long-term capital funding to eight city regions across England, delivered via five-year settlements running 2022-27. There is an element of local discretion as to how the money is used and some potential to combine it with other sources of funding.
European Union
The Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) portal is the online version of the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU where all higher value European public procurement tenders are published. Users can browse, search and sort procurement notices by subject, country, purchaser, and more. All contracting authorities and entities publishing in TED employ a Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) classification, which makes it easier to find notices of interest. EU funding is available to a mix of applicants, from researchers and SMEs to public bodies and NGOs. It includes grants, subsidies, loans, guarantees and equity, plus prizes via Horizon Europe. As of January 2024, the UK became an associated country to Horizon Europe, meaning UK parties are eligible to apply for funding.

Resources & Support

Read this case study to learn about using grants for charging network to support eHGV transition.
Read this case study available on UKRI website to learn about sustainable net zero vessels for inter-island transport in Orkney.

What are Accelerator Programmes?

Accelerator programmes are targeted initiatives designed to fast-track the adoption of innovative and disruptive products and services. They are challenge-led, fixed-term, and follow a structured framework that connects innovators with industry stakeholders and end-users.

Innovation Focus: Provide support for businesses, offering access to investment, technology expertise, ethics guidance, and collaboration opportunities as well as opportunity to advance technologies to gain a competitive edge.
Risk Reduction: De-risk innovation for partners by validating SME propositions and creating sustainable growth plans.
Testing of innovation: Use living labs, pilots, trials, and demonstrations to solve commercial challenges faster and more effectively.
Develop Market Insights: Support organisations with tools to understand trends, technologies, and industry vertical.
Foster collaboration: Improved partnerships between SMEs and organisations to create innovative solutions to address real-world challenges.

Accelerators may sometimes start at Gate 0 and include support on PME stage.

Where to go for advice & support?

UKRI
UKRI’s Innovation Accelerator Programmes provide targeted funding, expert advice, and collaborative opportunities to help businesses and researchers accelerate the development and deployment of innovative solutions. These programmes focus on fostering regional growth and addressing key societal and economic challenges. Discover how the programme is accelerating the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters—Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands—and explore examples of public sector accelerator programmes.
Connected Places Catapult
CPC Accelerator Programme, which is a challenge-led, fixed-term initiative that follows a structured framework to speed disruptive products to market. It covers everything from market research, via pilots and demonstrations, through to partnerships and due diligence.
Digital Catapult
Digital Catapult’s Innovation Accelerator Programmes are designed to fast-track the growth of startups and scaleups by providing tailored support, expert mentorship, and access to cutting-edge technologies. These programmes help innovative businesses bring transformative solutions to market across sectors like AI, IoT, and immersive technologies

Resources & Support

Read this case study to explore how Connected Places Catapult is accelerating the future of air mobility through innovation, collaboration, and cutting-edge technology advancements.
Read this case study to discover how the West Midlands is championing clean tech innovation in rail and automotive through groundbreaking initiatives and collaborations.
Read this case study to learn how the Aviation Accelerator supports innovative firms in revolutionising the future of flight and aviation technology
Read this case study to explore how VivaCity formed a strategic partnership with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) in the hopes of improving future road safety within the region.

The process of securing grants can prove challenging and may require significant time and resources. Applicants could consider seeking internal budget within an organisation to fund a pilot. This might involve reallocating budget from existing revenue streams or identifying other available funds to support research and pilot projects. Consulting with relevant teams and commercial departments within the organisation is recommended when considering the route to market. Leveraging internal resources can not only help to kickstart innovative initiatives but also demonstrates a proactive approach to meeting an organisation’s goals and targets.

What is Pre-Commercial Procurement?

Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) is an approach to public-procurement of research and development services. It is designed for the commission of R&D services from multiple suppliers who develop alternative solutions in parallel. It allows an organisation to competitively test numerous solutions and then down-select at each phase of the trial.

Designed, at most, as a four-phased approach, PCP allows for a trial to be developed at each stage. As each stage is reached, the authority demonstrates feasibility or provides prototypes to address the challenge.

As PCP is for the award of R&D service contracts, the exemption is made in the Public Contracts Regulations.

There are two conditions for R&D exemption:

The services are intended by the authority to be for, or to result in, benefit to the public; and
The contract does not also provide for the provision of goods or works.

The authority should ensure the R&D services consist of at least one of the following activities:

Research aimed at acquiring new scientific or technical knowledge without any particular application or use in view;
Research primarily directed at generating scientific or technical knowledge for a specific objective;
Development that draws on existing knowledge to initiate the manufacture of new materials or products, establish new processes, systems, or services, or achieve substantial improvements in existing materials, products, processes, systems, and services;
and the manufacture and testing of prototypes.

Why is PCP still a relatively unused procedure in UK?

Due to the exemption, PCP can follow a light-touch procedure. However, it is also viewed as a long-term process. Authorities often do not have the budget and resource for an unknown outcome. In addition, it is discouraging that a multi-stage process cannot be used for the purchase of commercial volumes of products or services. Therefore, the resource to procure may outweigh the appetite to address the challenge.

Authorities may not be prepared to embrace an open approach.
Some authorities may not be in accustomed to the supplier predominantly owning the Intellectual Property Rights. For further guidance, please read the Intellectual Property Rights Guidance Note (HTML) on GOV.UK.

Arguably, PCP is more appropriate to larger organisations as joint investment is required.

The new regulations (refer to Gate 2: The Procurement Act 2023) support and encourage the use of PCP; however, it is not a newly introduced concept. This procurement exemption applies to contracts primarily focused on the R&D process, including prototype development and testing phases, rather than the large-scale purchase of a finished product. While the regulations promote PCP, and can be included within a Competitive Flexible Procedure (for further information, refer to Gate 3: Routes to Market to Scale); the exemption does not apply if commercial scaling is involved.

Where to go for advice on PCP ?

IUK’s Contracts for Innovation
Part of UKRI, Innovate UK (IUK) is the UK’s innovation agency. Focused on business, it provides tailored support, grant funding, loans and procurements. Its Contracts for Innovation offer innovative organisations the chance to work directly with the public sector to solve complex challenges. This relationship is mutually beneficial and brings about unique benefits for both parties. Contracts for Innovation competitions are open to any size or type of organisation, including businesses, academic and research organisations, plus not-for-profits and charities. In terms of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), they support the development of solutions to public-sector challenges at any stage, from early feasibility (TRL 2), to demonstrators (TRL 8) where no commercially available solution exists.

Resources & Support

Read this case study available on Connected Places Catapult’s website to understand how the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) model helped Belfast City Council transform its approach to problem solving.
Read this case study available on Innovate UK’s website to gather insights on how Transreport has developed an award-winning Passenger Assistance app which makes travel more inclusive for passengers requiring assistance using Contracts for Innovation funding.
Read this case study available on Innovate UK’s website to learn how Watermarq developed innovative water supply and demand analytics solutions with Contracts for Innovation’s support.
Read this case study available on Innovate UK’s Website to find out about NHS Wales Challenge and its innovative solution from Ibex Medical Analytics.
Further guidance on exemptions: Guidance: Exempted Contracts (HTML) – GOV.UK

Additional Resources & Support

The Subsidy Control Act 2022 regulates how public authorities provide financial assistance to businesses, ensuring fair competition by preventing any unfair advantages through subsidies. Subsidy control must be considered by universities, other higher education institutions, and research organisations (HEIs) receiving grant funding for research, development, or innovation projects (RD&I), entering into collaborations with commercial partners, or carrying out commercial activities.

Read The Subsidy Control Regime, drafted by the UK government, which ensures fair and transparent allocation of public funds, preventing market distortion and promoting competition.
The 25-page Contracts for Innovation Practitioner Handbook [coming soon] provides both funders and awardees with comprehensive background information, best practice guidance and basic points for awareness at all stages of the challenge process, plus answers to FAQs. The handbook is set to launch this financial year, so stay tuned for updates.

While Grant Funding, accelerators and PCP are valuable for initial research and testing, the ‘Discovery stage’ is not always essential. If you have conducted thorough PME and identified innovative solutions that address your challenge, you may choose to bypass this stage and proceed directly to Gate 3: Routes to Market to Scale.
Visit Gate 2: The Procurement Act 2023 to explore the changes coming with the new regulations.