ATI PROGRAMME STRATEGIC BATCH: JANUARY 2021- FUNDING

1. Title: ATI PROGRAMME STRATEGIC BATCH: JANUARY 2021- FUNDING2. Awarding Authority: Innovate UK, GB Tel: 0300 321 4357. Email: support@innovateuk.ukri.org. (Competition Helpline)3. Contract type: Service contract4. Description: The ATI Programme funds industrial research and investment aid for research infrastructures to make the UK civil aerospace sector more competitive.The ATI Programme represents a £3.9 billion joint government and industry investment to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace.This programme is co-ordinated and managed by:the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovationthe Aerospace Technology InstituteWe work in collaboration to deliver a portfolio of projects to meet the objectives of the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’.This is phase 1 of a strategic batch competition within the ATI Programme. There are 2 phases to each strategic batch competition. If you are successful at phase 2 you will proceed to final approvals and contracting. The whole process takes at least 6 months.1.Expression of interest (EoI) – this competition: opens monthly and is reviewed by the Aerospace Technology Institute only. There is no funding in this phase.2.Full stage application (FSA): invite only, if successful in the expression of interest phase. Independent assessment by Innovate UK, value for money (VfM) and policy review by BEIS, and strategic review by the Aerospace Technology Institute.If you are successful at phase 2, Innovate UK will perform financial viability and eligibility checks. Final approvals are issued by BEIS. You will be contracted by Innovate UK.The competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.5. CPV Code(s): 73400000, 73420000, 73110000, 73100000, 734250006. NUTS code(s): UKK, UKK1, UKK147. Main site or location of works, main place of delivery or main place of performance: South West (England), Gloucestershire, Wiltshire And Bristol/Bath Area, Swindon.8. Reference attributed by awarding authority: Not provided.9. Estimated value of requirement: Funding: FundingIf your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.This competition provides state aid funding under articles of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER):industrial research projects are under article 25, ‘Aid for research and development projects’capital infrastructure projects are under article 26, ‘Investment aid for research infrastructures’It is your responsibility to make sure that your organisation is eligible to receive state aid.Industrial research projectsIndividual partners that are conducting commercial or economic activities (which may include research organisations) as part of the project can claim grant funding up to:70% if you are a small or micro organisation60% if you are a medium-sized organisation50% if you are a large organisationThe total grant funding limit for any individual organisation is 20 million euros. The exchange rate to sterling will be taken from the HMRC exchange rates at the time we issue your contract.The research organisations undertaking non-economic activities in your consortium can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation, this maximum will be shared between them. They can each claim 100% of their total eligible costs.Capital infrastructure projectsUnder Article 26 of the state aid rules, your project must focus on the construction or upgrade of research infrastructures that perform economic activities.Each infrastructure project can receive total grant funding of up to 20 million euros. The exchange rate to sterling will be taken from the HMRC exchange rates at the time we issue your contract. Your total project grant funding must not exceed 50% of your total eligible project costs.Your total eligible project costs must be the investment costs in intangible and tangible assets.If the research infrastructure pursues both economic and non-economic activities, you must:account for the financing, costs and revenues of each type of activity separatelyuse consistently applied and objectively justifiable cost accounting principlesAccess to the research infrastructure for its operation or use must be open to several users without discrimination and be granted on a transparent basis. Users must be charged the market price.If an organisation has financed at least 10% of the investment costs of the project infrastructure, it can be granted preferential access under more favourable conditions.The access must be in proportion to the organisation’s contribution to the investment costs and access conditions must be made publicly available.In a collaborative capital infrastructure project, the research organisations undertaking non-economic activities in your consortium can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation, this maximum will be shared between them. They can each claim 100% of their share of the total eligible project costs.10. Competition closes: 20.1.2021 (11:00:00).11. Address to which they must be sent: For further information regarding the above contract notice please visit: 12. Other information: Funding type : GrantProject size: The grant funding you can apply for is limited. See ‘Eligibility’ for details.Who can applyState aidAny UK registered business claiming grant funding must be eligible to receive state aid at the time we confirm you will be awarded funding. It is not possible to award grant funding to organisations meeting the condition known as undertakings in difficulty (UiD). However, as per the amendment on 2 July 2020 to the General Block Exemption regulation, we will provide funding to organisations that can prove they were a UiD pass on the date of the 31 December 2019 but became an UiD between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2021.If you are unsure please take legal advice. For further information see our general guidance on state aid.Lead organisationTo lead a project or work alone your organisation must:be a UK registered business of any size for research projectsbe a UK registered business of any size, a research and technology organisation (RTO) or academic institution for capital infrastructure projectscarry out your aerospace research or capital infrastructure project work in the UKintend to exploit the results from or in the UKaddress the specific requirements of the UK’s Aerospace Technology Strategysign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute framework agreementclaim fundingYour project’s duration must be appropriate and in proportion to the planned objectives and prioritisation within the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’.Project teamTo collaborate with the lead organisation your organisation must:be a UK registered business, academic institution, charity, public sector organisation or RTOcarry out its project work in the UKintend to exploit the results from or in the UKbe invited to take part by the lead applicantsign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute framework agreementYour business does not have to be registered with Companies House when you apply, but it must be registered before you can receive funding.Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will not count towards the total eligible project costs but must be included in your answer to question 7.Previous applicationsResubmissionsThe Aerospace Technology Institute will accept resubmissions in the expression of interest strategic batch competitions.Failure to exploitIf you applied to a previous competition as the lead or sole organisation and were awarded funding by Innovate UK through the ATI Programme, but did not make a substantial effort to exploit that award, we will award no more funding to you, in this or any other competition. You will not be able to contest our decision. We will:assess your efforts in the previous competition against your exploitation plan for that projectreview the monitoring officers’ reports and any other relevant sources for evidencedocument our decision, which will be made by 3 team members, and communicate it to you in writingPrevious projectsUnder the terms of Innovate UK funding, you are required to submit an independent accountant’s report (IAR) with your final claim. If you or any organisation in your consortium failed to submit an IAR on a previous project, we will not award funding to you in this or any other competition until we have received the documents.Your proposalThis is an expression of interest (EoI) competition. You must have a successful application in this competition before you can be invited to apply to the full stage competition.Your project must have a potential application within the civil aerospace sector. This can include dual use technologies.Your proposal must align with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’, which is split into these areas:vehicles: strengthening the UK’s whole-aircraft design and system integration capability, and positioning it for future generations of civil aircraftadvanced systems: developing UK advanced systems technologies to capture high-value opportunities in current and future aircraftaerostructures: ensuring the UK is a global leader in the development of large complex structures, particularly wingspropulsion and power: advancing a new generation of more efficient propulsion technologies, particularly large turbofanscross-cutting enablers: developing high value design capabilities, advanced materials, manufacturing and assembly, advanced through-life engineering technologiesThe ATI Programme partners will monitor changes between your phase 1 and phase 2 submissions. We will not accept unjustified major changes in the consortium or costs.Research categoriesThe ATI Programme will fund industrial research (as defined in the categories of research and development section of the Innovate UK general guidance) under article 25 ‘Aid for research and development projects’ or ‘Investment aid for research infrastructure’ under article 26 only.Projects we will not fundWe are not funding projects that:focus solely on defence, space or other industrial sectors, but we will recognise dual use technologies providing the primary application is in civil aerospacefocus on fundamental research, early stage technologies or experimental development4 January 2021 5:00pm: Competition opens7 January 2021: Online briefing event: join at 9.30am20 January 2021 11:00am: Competition closes8 February 2021: Applicants notifiedBefore you startYou must read the general guidance for applicants on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.If you are invited to apply for phase 2 and are successful, Innovate UK is unable to award grant funding to organisations meeting the condition known as undertakings in difficulty (UiD). However, as per the amendment on 2 July 2020 to the General Block Exemption regulation, we will provide funding to organisations that can prove they were a UiD pass on the date of the 31 December 2019 but became an UiD between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2021. We will ask for evidence of this.What we will ask youThe application is split into 2 sections:1.Project details.2.Application questions.1. Project detailsThis section sets the scene for the assessors and is not scored.Application teamDecide which organisations will work with you on the project. Invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.Application detailsThe lead applicant must complete this section. Give your project’s title, start date and duration. Is the application a resubmission?Equality, diversity and inclusionWe collect and report on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) data to address under-representation in business innovation and ensure equality, diversity and inclusion across all our activities.You must complete this EDI survey and then select yes in the application question. The survey will ask you questions on your gender, age, ethnicity and disability status. You will always have the option to ‘prefer not to say’ if you do not feel comfortable sharing this information.Research categorySelect the type of research you will undertake.Project summaryDescribe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign experts to assess your application. List any organisations you have named as collaborators.Your answer can be up to 100 words long.ScopeDescribe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope your application will not be scored and you will not be invited to apply for phase 2.Your answer can be up to 400 words long.2. Application questionsIf your project is in scope, the Aerospace Technology Institute will score your answers. You will receive feedback by email from the Aerospace Technology Institute. No feedback will be available through the Innovation Funding Service.Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any links to websites in your answers.Question 1. Business opportunityWhat is the business opportunity that your project addresses and what is the size of the potential market?Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Describe:the business opportunity identified and how you plan to take advantage of ithow it is done today and the limits of current practicethe customer needs that have been identified and how the project will meet themthe challenges you expect to face and how you will overcome themthe target market, and how the outputs from this project are required to progress or achieve strategic targetsthe growth opportunity your project will createYou can submit charts in a one page A4 PDF appendix to support your answer. It must be no larger than 10MB in size and legible at 100% zoom.Question 2. Exploitation and disseminationHow will you exploit and disseminate your project results? What economic, social and environmental benefits do you expect your project to deliver, and when?Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Consider:expected project outputs, including products, services, processes and capabilitiesyour initial exploitation plan: the route to market, intellectual property, changes to business models or processes, research and development (R&D), and manufacturing servicesspill-over or dissemination of ideas, demonstrating how your activities will contribute to the wider aerospace industry and other sectorsthe UK benefits expected to be delivered as a result of this project, such as R&D and capital expenditure, supply chain, jobs, training and skills, and environmental benefitsQuestion 3. Technical approach and managementWhat technical approach will you use and how will you manage your project?Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Consider:the technical approach, including the main objectives of the workhow and why the approach is appropriatehow you will make sure the innovative steps in the project are achievablehow you will measure your successthe areas of work and your objectivesYou must submit a work breakdown structure (including the cost of each work package) in a one page A4 PDF appendix to support your answer. It must be no larger than 10MB in size and legible at 100% zoom.Question 4. InnovationWhat is innovative about your project?Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Consider:how it will push boundaries beyond current leading-edge science and technologyhow it will apply existing technologies in new areaswhat competitors are doing, and how they are trying to achieve the same outputshow and why any IP from the project will be free from restriction and readily exploitedhow the research is novel in an industrial and/or academic contextYou must submit a table in a one page A4 PDF appendix to support your answer. It must be no larger than 10MB in size and legible at 100% zoom. In your table list the technology, why it is innovative, and the change in technology or manufacturing readiness at the start and end of the project.Question 5. Skills, experience and facilitiesDoes your proposed project team have the right skills, experience and facilities to deliver this project?Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Demonstrate that the likely project team:has the right mix of skills and experience to complete the projecthas a track record in managing research and development projectshas clear objectives and roles or responsibilitiesincludes project partners with clear objectives and roles or responsibilitiesIf you are part of a consortium, describe the benefits of the collaboration. What advantages does being part of a consortium offer the project?If you are subcontracting any work, explain why you need to. If you have chosen a subcontractor, explain your choice.If you have not yet chosen a subcontractor:include details of the companies you are considering usingexplain your shortlisting processQuestion 6. Adding valueHow does financial support from the ATI Programme add value to the UK? What will happen to the project in the absence of grant funding?Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Answer both of the following:Why do you need this amount of grant funding? Explain what other sources of funding have been considered, including private investment, and why it is not available.What will happen to the project in the absence of grant funding? Describe and provide evidence for what will occur if the application for grant funding is not successfulQuestion 7. FinancesProvide us with estimates of partners’ eligible costs and the grant funding you are seeking. Include any subcontracted costs. If you have chosen a subcontractor, tell us their name and the country where they will carry out the subcontracted work.Type ‘Table attached’ below and give your estimates in a table as an uploaded appendix. Give details of the total eligible costs and total grant funding requested for this project. The table can be in a one page A4 PDF or in a spreadsheet. It must be legible at 100% zoom.Give your table the following headings:partner’s namecountry where work is being carried outpartner’s eligible costs (£)partner’s subcontracted costs (£)subcontractor (if identified)country where subcontract is being carried outpartner’s ineligible costs (£)grant funding sought by partner (£)The grant funding sought by a partner can be zero (for example non-UK business).Your grant funding must meet the rules listed in ‘Eligibility’.Background and further informationATI ProgrammeBEIS is the government department accountable for the £150 million yearly programme budget. BEIS decides which projects will be funded with government resources. It also performs value for money (VfM) assessments on project proposals.The Aerospace Technology Institute’s mission is to help the UK realise growth by creating a coherent and ambitious portfolio of research and technology (R&T) projects. It is responsible for developing the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy and encourages projects that fit with this strategy and maximise the potential to the UK economy.Innovate UK is the funding agency for the ATI Programme. It delivers the competitions processes including independent assessment of project proposals in phase 2 and provides funding recommendations to BEIS. Following funding award, Innovate UK manages the programme, from contracting projects, through project change requests to completion.In securing grant funding from this programme, each industry participant receiving a grant will pay an industrial contribution to the Aerospace Technology Institute operating budget. This will be proportional to its grant. You can read the contributions detailed by the Aerospace Technology Institute.Help finding a partnerIf you want help to find a project partner, email info@ati.org.uk.Help with your applicationThe Aerospace Technology Institute can help you develop your proposal before you apply. The service is entirely optional and it does not guarantee success at this stage. If you are not already in contact with the Aerospace Technology Institute, send your draft application to info@ati.org.uk.Your project will be assigned a project lead from the Aerospace Technology Institute technology team. They will:monitor the progress of your applicationprovide development feedback, where appropriatemeet you as necessarydiscuss the requirements of the application processgive feedback on parts of your proposal that need more developmentAt no point will the Aerospace Technology Institute project lead give a preliminary indication of project evaluation against the assessment criteria. At all times the responsibility for the application and its completion rests with the lead applicant and its partners.The Aerospace Technology Institute can only provide development feedback on completed draft applications, and within a reasonable timeframe. The Aerospace Technology Institute will be able to provide development feedback up to 2 weeks before the competition closing date. After this date the Aerospace Technology Institute cannot guarantee any feedback will be provided.This is a monthly expression of interest (EoI) competition. To allow enough time to prepare your application, you may wish to submit into a future EoI instead.Help with the Innovation Funding ServiceIf you need more information, email us at support@innovateuk.ukri.org or call the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357.Our phone lines are open from 9am to 11:30am and 2pm to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).Innovate UK is committed to making support for applicants accessible to everyone.We can provide help for applicants who face barriers when making an application. This might be as a result of a disability, neurodiversity or anything else that makes it difficult to use our services. We can also give help and make other reasonable adjustments for you if your application is successful.If you think you need more support, it is important that you contact our Customer Support Service as early as possible during your application process. You should aim to contact us no later than 10 working days before the competition closing date.# funding opportunity