ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 1

Who can apply

Your project

If you are successful, any awards given to primary agricultural producers are subject to the green box exemption under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. Please see further guidance on green box subsidies here WTO Guidance for support in Agriculture.

Applicants receiving this type of support must ensure that there is minimal to no distortion of trade and comply with the requirements of Annex 2 of the Agriculture Agreement.

To be eligible to apply for this competition, you must:

• engage with an external Project Facilitator that is registered in the Innovate UK Business Connect database

• work with the facilitator to develop and submit an eligible application for a Full ADOPT Grant competition

If you are successful in this competition you will need to provide evidence within six months of the funding being awarded that your Full ADOPT Grant application has been sent for assessment.

A total of £2,500 will be awarded per successful participant once the claim and evidence is submitted.

Project Facilitator

You must only include in the ‘other costs’ line of the finance section the name of the Project Facilitator you will be working with and the maximum grant amount of £2,500.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be an active farming, growing or forestry business of any size based in England

• be able to evidence that you are an established commercial business, including sole traders and partnerships

• have a UK bank account

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

The subcontractor must be the Project Facilitator who will be working with you to submit a Full ADOPT Grant application.

The Project Facilitator must be registered in the Innovate UK Business Connect database.

Number of applications

A farmer, grower or forester can only lead on one application per competition round and receive a maximum of two Facilitator Support Grants in total.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project

• an overdue independent accountant’s report

• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

No award will be allocated under state aid. Please check the Windsor Framework for more information.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.

Funding

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has allocated up to £100,000, to provide support through the ADOPT Facilitator Support Grants. Funding will be in the form of a grant of £2,500 per successful applicant.

You can get 100% funding for your eligible project costs if you are an active farmer, grower or forester based in England.

Your proposal

This competition is designed for farmers, growers and foresters based in England who are keen to test and trial new ideas or solutions on-farm and require support to develop a Full ADOPT Grant application.

The aim of this competition is to:

• provide a £2,500 grant for a farmer, grower or forester based in England to engage an external Project Facilitator to support with submissions into the Full ADOPT Grant competitions

• improve the quality of Full ADOPT Grant applications

• make ADOPT funding accessible to a wider range of applicants

• enhance the skills and expertise of the farming eco-system to engage with innovation funding

The project you intend to develop and submit as a Full ADOPT Grant application must be for an on-farm trial or experiment to test new ideas and solutions. This is to demonstrate to you and other farmers, growers or foresters if it works in real on-farm conditions.

Your project will need to address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges or opportunities and it must have the potential to significantly improve one or more of the following:

• productivity

• resilience

• sustainability and progression towards net zero farming

Your proposal must demonstrate to other farmers, growers or foresters in England how the idea or solution will be of benefit to them.

Your project must focus on testing and trialling ideas or solutions that are either new or not yet widely used.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, themes, technology, practices and processes, farming sectors, and regions. We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

Your project must address a significant industry challenge or opportunity in at least one or more of the following sectors:

• agriculture

• horticulture

• agro-forestry

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• do not benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England

• are based on equine systems ​

• involve wild caught fisheries

• are for the production of crops or plants for medicinal or pharmaceutical use

• are based on funded crop variety plot trials

• are based on existing demonstration trials or projects

• include aquaculture, such as algae and seaweed, for human consumption

• fermentation systems for bacteria, yeast or fungi​ or cultivated meat

We cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country

• dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

28 April 2025

Recorded briefing, scope and process: watch the recording

Briefing slides are available to download from Supporting Information

28 April 2025

Full ADOPT Grant Rd 1 open date

30 April 2025

Live Q&A event: join here at 10am

12 June 2025

ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant Rd 2 Open date

10 July 2025

Applicants notified

1 September 2025

Support grant starts from

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start. Specific guidance can also be found on the Support Hub website.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct

• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria

• all sections of the application are marked as complete

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into three sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Application team

Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the application and invite them to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your Support Grant title, intended start date and duration. The project duration must be a maximum of six months.

Project summary

Describe your Full ADOPT Grant project you intend to apply for. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application so you must be clear about which agricultural, horticultural or forestry area you are working in.

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

Scope

Describe how your Full ADOPT Grant project fits the scope of the competition by summarising how your project will be testing and trialling on-farm or immediate post farmgate solutions that are either new or not yet widely used

If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 4. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions. Your answer to each question can be up to 250 words long. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Question 1. Location of the farmer, grower or forester who is the project lead for this application. (not scored)

You must state the name of your farming, growing or forestry business along with your full registered address and, where relevant, the County Parish Holding (CPH).

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all participants of a project.

Question 2. Tell us about you and your business (not scored)

Tell us about you and your business.

You must include:

• your name and role in the business

• the trading names of your farming, growing or forestry businesses if different from your registered name

• which county your main farming, growing or forestry activity is based

• what you grow or produce

Question 3. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 4. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your FULL ADOPT Grant project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

• In process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 5. What is the idea or solution you have identified to trial on-farm?

What is the problem that you are trying to fix, and what idea or solution do wish to trial and test?

Explain:

• what the idea or solution is

• where did you hear about it

• what is the problem this is seeking to address, and how this also affects other farming businesses

• why is this idea or solution better than what already exists

• what your plan is to test this on-farm

Question 6. How will your idea or solution benefit other farmers, what improvements will it offer?

What improvements will this idea or solution offer you and other farmers, growers or foresters like you?

Explain how your idea or solution will impact one or more of the following:

• productivity

• resilience

• sustainability and progression towards net zero emissions

How could the idea or solution be adopted by other farmers, growers or foresters?

Describe:

• the applicable farming or forestry business sectors

• how do you expect the idea or solution to be integrated or adopted into existing systems

Question 7. Project Facilitator and Full ADOPT Grant team

Who is the Project Facilitator you are planning to work with for the Full ADOPT Grant application. Who else may be part of your team for the Full ADOPT Grant project?

Provide details of the ADOPT Project Facilitator who is working with you, including their name, relevant skills, experience and their business relationship if any, to your project

Explain:

• if you already know the team you are intending to work with for the Full ADOPT Grant project

• any resources, equipment and facilities you will be needing

any additional parties you may need to help you test or trial the idea or solution on-farm

3. Finances

You must submit in the other costs section the name of the Project Facilitator you intend to work with to submit your Full ADOPT Grant application. You must enter the total costs of £2,500 as part of this section.

You can also view our application finances video for further guidance.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by one independent assessor based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. Their score will be used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Background and further information

This funding is from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Farming Innovation Programme and is being delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

The Farming Innovation Programme is made up of three funds: the Industry led R&D Partnerships Fund, Farming Futures R&D Fund and the ADOPT Fund.

This competition is part of the ADOPT Fund. This fund aims to:

• support collaborative farmer-led, on-farm trials or experiments to generate, test and demonstrate innovative practical solutions to farming challenges

• create new routes for collaborative peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange between farmers, growers and foresters to facilitate the adoption of the new technology, processes and practices

• drive productivity, profitability and sustainability by increasing the adoption of technology, processes and practices by the farming sector, including by those not directly participating in ADOPT

• enhance skills and capabilities around innovation and R&D

• increase awareness amongst farmers, growers and foresters of how innovation can benefit them and encourage them to make use of and share results and learning of successful and unsuccessful innovation projects

ADOPT has two different types of grants available depending on the needs of the grant applicant:

1. A small Support Grant to access professional assistance from an industry expert to help develop an application to the Full ADOPT Grant. These small Support Grants are intended for applicants who are less familiar with Innovate UK systems. You do not have to apply for a Support Grant in order to apply for a Full Grant.

2. A Full ADOPT Grant will support collaborative farmer-led, on-farm trials or experiments.

Innovate UK Business Connect will be hosting the ADOPT Project Facilitator database. This will include the names of individuals who can help farmers turn ideas into a potential funding opportunity and support in the application submission for ADOPT. Farmers, growers and foresters will be able to request a list of registered facilitators from Innovate UK Business Connect.

The ADOPT programme will run a number of continuous competitions over the financial year. Each subsequent round's opening date will be added to the dates tab.

The ADOPT Support Hub, run by ADAS, have been commissioned to work on ADOPT and they can support applicants and funded projects throughout their journey.

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing recording and slides will be available to download.

Applicant Briefing Template ADOPT.pdf (opens in a new window)

What happens if you receive a grant offer

If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.

You will be notified by email on the date published for this competition if you have been successful. Notifications may be sent any time up to 5pm.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your Innovation Funding Service (IFS) Set Up portal, where we gather the information to set up your project.

Watch our video on what steps there are before a project starts.

Your Grant offer letter (GOL) and claim

Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your GOL through your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this for us to approve.

Once approved we will send you an email confirming you are approved for a support grant and any relevant dates.

To make a claim you will need to provide within six months of the GOL being approved:

• your Full ADOPT Grant application number that has gone to assessment

• the invoice for your Project Facilitator for the total grant amount £2,500

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessor. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful if your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach.

Find a Project Facilitator

This grant is intended for a farmer, grower or forester based in England to engage an external Project Facilitator to support with the submission into the Full ADOPT Grant competitions.

The Project Facilitator must be registered in the Innovate UK Business Connect Facilitator database.

If you want help finding a Project Facilitator contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

ADOPT Support Hub

The ADOPT Support Hub, run by ADAS, has been commissioned to work on ADOPT and they can support applicants and funded projects throughout their journey.

They can:

• act as the first point of contact for the applicant providing advice on scope, suitability or on-farm trial practicalities

• help form connections finding expertise, partners and capabilities necessary for a full grant application

• provide and promote standards on best practice for on-farm R&D

• support the exchange of information and outputs from funded projects to share amongst farmers to enable broad knowledge exchange and dissemination

Email: adoptsupport@adas.co.uk or call 0800 987 8006. The Support Hub line is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, and Defra (each an ‘agency’).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to Defra and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

• the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants

• scoring and feedback on the application

• information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Service Provider reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK and Defra are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect and Defra will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Defra’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.

If you have any enquiries about the ADOPT funding opportunity please contact the ADOPT Support HUB. Email: adoptsupport@adas.co.uk or call 0800 987 8006. The Support Hub line is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.