Driving innovation through collaboration: The impact of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships in Greater Manchester
Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) have been transferring knowledge, skills and capabilities between businesses and academia to drive innovation and growth for 50 years. The 50 years was recently celebrated at the Innovate UK 2025 KTP Awards.
KTPs, a UK government initiative, create dynamic connections between business and the country’s world-class universities, to deliver strategic innovation projects.
These challenges can range from new product or service development to embedding best management practice or new manufacturing processes.
KTPs are joint-funded by Innovate UK and the external partner. The award provides organisations with extraordinary and cost-effective access to unique academic resources – research expertise, technology and equipment to support novel ideas and business models.
The North West is the leading region for KTPs outside Scotland.
Since 2015, Innovate UK has funded KTP projects in more than 500 businesses in the region.
Today, there are more than 80 KTP projects live in the North West, accounting for more than £10 million in grant funding awards.
The Greater Manchester knowledge bases (the University of Greater Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Salford and University of Manchester) are involved with more than half of these projects, indicating the substantial contribution made by these institutions to support innovation-led growth across the region.
KTPs enjoy a 80-90 per cent success rate and businesses that participate might be eligible to claim for research & development tax credits.
KTPs employ a new, full-time specialist working with your staff to accelerate your innovation journey. Although employed by the academic partner, the specialist will dedicate 100 per cent of their time to the project.
There are two types of KTP:
Classic KTP
This involves a ‘business-critical’ project supported by a sound business case, that will embed new knowledge or capability into a partner organisation to support growth.
Duration: 12 – 36 months.
Grant Rate: Large organisation – 50 per cent, SMEs – 67 per cent (note SMEs registered in Wales qualify for 75 per cent).Submission deadlines: Approximately every 12 weeks.
mKTP
These involve strategic management-based projects, that deliver transformational productivity improvement. The project must build a strategy that drives change and improves business processes/operations and performance.
Duration: 12 – 36 months.
Grant Rate: Large organisation– 50 per cent, SMEs – 67 per cent (note SMEs registered in Wales qualify for 75 per cent).
Submission deadlines: Approximately every 12 weeks.
Who can apply?
UK registered businesses
Qualifying criteria:
- Organisation size – > 4FTE employees to be able to absorb and benefit from project outcomes
- Financial stability –external partner must provide three years of financial accounts to evidence that they are financial robust and they can afford both the project and its commercialisation
- Younger and Pre-Revenue Businesses are not excluded but they will be asked to provide additional evidence of affordability
- Project objectives must accelerate route to market/profitability for pre-revenue business partners
Dr Imrana Mushtaq, Knowledge Transfer Adviser for Greater Manchester, said: “KTPs are a powerful mechanism for bridging the gap between academic expertise and business needs.
“They not only drive forward innovation and commercial growth but also empower collaborative problem-solving across sectors.
“I’ve seen first-hand how these partnerships can help businesses scale and bring novel ideas to market while also enriching academic research with real-world application.”
For further information and case studies, see the national KTP website:
Contact Ben Diette on [email protected] who will signpost you to your GM University of choice (Manchester Met, Greater Manchester, Manchester, or Salford) or contact your local Innovate UK KTP Adviser who will support you in identifying the correct University partner to meet your needs and facilitate introductions.
You will have meetings with a funding adviser, and we will help you develop a proposal and detailed work plan.
Should KTP not be appropriate for the project, the University team will suggest alternative routes of engagement and other support mechanisms.
In Greater Manchester, we support you throughout this process.
