CAM Pathfinder: Enable

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of between £2 million and £4 million

• last between 18 and 24 months

• start by 1 June 2026

• end by 31 May 2028

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results in the UK.

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

If your project’s duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation

To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be one of the following:

• a UK registered business of any size

• a local authority

• a transport authority

The lead organisation must be the service operator or entity which will directly benefit from the intended end use of the CAM service.

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

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size

• academic institution

• charity

• not for profit

• public sector organisation

• research and technology organisation (RTO)

For public road applications, your project application must identify which partner will be acting as Authorised Self Driving Entity (ASDE) and which partner will be acting as No-User-in-Charge Operator (NUiCO) as per the definitions in BSI Flex 1890 v6.0: 2025-03 Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM), Vocabulary.

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application

• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application

Collaborators must be separate legal and non-linked entities. A collaboration between different organisations will only be valid if the following criteria applies between those organisations:

• there is a no common shareholder with more than 25% ownership in each of the collaborating businesses

• there is no common ‘person with significant control’ (as per Companies House definition) in each of the collaborating businesses

• a ‘person with significant control’ in one collaborating business has a share of no more than 25% ownership of another collaborating business

• a collaborating RTO has less than 50% ownership of a collaborating business

Non-funded partners

Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project. Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Number of applications

A business, local authority or transport authority can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator on one further application.

If a business, academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation is not leading any application it can collaborate on up to two applications.

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 can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition if it complies with the requirements of this competition. If you have previously submitted an application that reached our assessment stage you can re-apply once more with the same proposal.

If there are minor differences to the proposal, but it is judged by us to be ‘not materially different’, the same rule applies.

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 or award terms and conditions

• overdue industrial contribution payments to Zenzic

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.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

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 not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to or 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

£15 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

If 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 but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

For industrial research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 25% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs if the project lead is a business, or up to 50% if the project lead is a statutory body such as a local authority or transport authority. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity this maximum is shared between them. Of that percentage you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

• 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.

2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.

3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

Zenzic industrial contribution

A 3.5% industrial contribution is payable Zenzic by all partners on grant received.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to support the UK Government’s ambition to advance Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) services in high value areas into commercial offerings. This will be achieved by funding trials led by service operators or entities who benefit directly from the end use of CAM in live or analogous settings.

The design of the trial services should be dictated by a ‘market pull’ rather than a ‘technology push’. Suitably mature technologies should be used in order to answer commercial operational business case requirements, rather than developing technologies during the project.

Your proposal must outline a project for a live trial with real stakeholders, to demonstrate clear potential towards a commercial CAM service.

Your proposal must identify the type of service to be trialled, for example, passenger services, freight, last-mile delivery, and identify key aspects of the deployment domain.

Your proposal must also clearly identify all key roles and responsibilities including, but not limited to: the Authorised Self Driving Entity (ASDE), the No-User-in-Charge Operator (NUiCO) and the land owner or body responsible for the operating domain. Where relevant, connectivity providers, maintenance organisations and other key organisations should be identified.

Your project must

• trial suitably mature CAM technologies in a plausible commercial service, develop operational models and support business case definitions for a future CAM deployment at scale

• use CAM technologies to advance commercial readiness to deploy CAM services in specifically defined locations in the UK

• be led by the service operator or entity who will benefit directly from the end use (the service) of the CAM technology deployment; they must quantify these benefits as part of the business case analysis during the project

• be conducting substantial trial operations to a level of maturity that actionable business cases can be defined for the service, a derivative of the service or for similar deployments elsewhere

• have the aim to lead to larger scale deployment opportunities which will drive measurable economic benefit to the project lead and the UK

Adaptation of CAM technologies are permitted to enable trials to be undertaken, such as route mapping, logistics on-site support and debugging.

Technology providers may build relationships with future operators to develop business cases, however core development of technologies is excluded from this competition.

If your project uses public roads or other public places it must follow the Department for Transport (DfT) Code of Practice: Automated Vehicle Trialling. If your project intendeds to pilot without a safety driver present, you must seek to comply with the associated requirements expected to be published during 2026.

Terminology in your application must comply with the meanings as per BSI Flex 1890 v6.0: 2025-03 Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM), Vocabulary.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different geographies, service types, supply chain origins, vehicle types and deployment domains, for example, on and off public roads. We call this a portfolio approach.

If you are applying with different projects across the Enable and Demonstrate competitions we will take into account your capacity to deliver more than one project.

Specific themes

Your project must consider, analyse and report on each of the following aspects:

• operational models, role definitions, legal and ethical liability areas across roles

• routes towards compliance with current, near term and likely long term regulatory requirements for vehicle approval, authorisation and service licensing

• detailed solutions to training of developers, operators and maintenance staff, and where appropriate, remote monitoring, operating staff

• virtual and physical verification and assurance processes required to meet stakeholder requirements

• in-service use monitoring

• data; including collection, reduction, handling, processing, storage on and off-vehicle

• safety cases, including content of versions for different stakeholders such as ASDE, NUiCO, insurance companies, local authorities, emergency services and the public

• insurance engagement and insurance cost modelling

• infrastructure requirements, including connectivity, remote monitoring and operations

• scalability to a wider customer market and assessment of willingness to pay for services such as those trialled in the project

• establishing supplier requirements for vehicle platforms based on the operator and users’ needs

Research categories

We will fund industrial research projects and experimental development projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• are focussed solely on technology, component, system or vehicle development

• are targeting a commercial service using Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) or Driver Control Assistance Systems (DCAS), or on levels of automation of level 3 or lower as defined by SAE J3016

• are early stage research into automated driving systems

• are using micro goods vehicles, indoor or pavement based robots or vehicles

• include testing or deployments of drone technologies in public spaces

• include aircraft or waterborne craft

• include rail vehicles

• are military in nature

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

24 October 2025

Online briefing event: register to attend

Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event.

22 January 2026

Invite to interview

28 January 2026

DBT Value for Money discussion start

30 January 2026

DBT Value for Money discussion end

16 February 2026

Interview panel starts

20 February 2026

Interview panel ends

1 April 2026

Applicants notified

3 April 2026

Successful applicant briefing

1 June 2026

Project start from

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

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

• that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

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 four sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

4. Project Impact.

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.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. 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 8 and question 26. 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.

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. If you do, your application will be made ineligible.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation, all partners and any subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 2. 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 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your 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 the process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored)

Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement.

You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in.

You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement your answer must confirm this.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored)

You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Question 6. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)

You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications

• a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List

If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 7. Short public description (not scored)

You must provide a shorter version of the public description in the project details section, with less detail, more focussed on marketing.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 8. Executive summary and trial context (not scored)

Briefly summarise your proposal and explain why this opportunity matters now.

Explain:

• and clearly summarise the trial you will run, for example, service type, locations, duration; and why now (operator need, timing, enabling regulations)

• and clarify the participating roles of your trial, including the lead operator or beneficiary and the name of who is acting as the proposed Authorised Self Driving Entity (ASDE), the No-User-in-Charge Operator (NUiCO) for public road applications and operating domain owner or authority

• and describe the CAM technologies you will use and why they are sufficiently mature for trial

• and refer to any relevant previous work, grant or commercial, that underpins trial readiness and market need; if grant funded, state the amount received and the key successes from the project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 9. Strategic rationale

What is the strategic importance of this project to your organisation and the wider CAM sector.

Explain:

• how it aligns with your long term business strategy

• if this is a new service or a replacement for an existing one

• how this project fits within any current service offerings

• what senior level commitment or parent company commitment is in place to ensure delivery and ability to exploit this project

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 10. Market size and timing

What is the target market opportunity for your innovative service, and why is now the right time to undertake your project.

Explain:

• and evidence the market size, growth potential and timing

• your realistic serviceable and obtainable market, identifying areas in other sectors, clearly addressing any splits

• why this project positions you to capture that opportunity

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 11. Target market entry strategy

How will you enter and scale in your target market or markets?

Describe:

• your entry strategy, including any barriers that exist and strategies to overcome them

• how trial results will translate into service contracts, anchor customers or sites, and scaling to additional routes or sites

• an outline of your commercial model and indicative pricing (tariffs, cost sharing, or service level models) and how competition benchmarks inform positioning

• the status and provide evidence of customer interest or demand appropriate to maturity, for example, operator commitments, local authority interest, site access, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), trial commitment

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 12. Service proposition at end of trial

What is the service you aim to deliver at scale after the trial?

Describe:

• how the combination of technologies, operations and commercial model differentiates you versus alternatives, now and at launch

• and identify competitors or comparators, including non-automated incumbents, and how your service will compete on cost, reliability, safety, user experience

• any commercial or business model innovation which gives you competitive advantage

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 13. The operational maturity and trial readiness

What is the current maturity of your operational approach?

Describe:

• and evidence technology availability and suitability for the proposed trial operating domain, including any adaptations required, for example, mapping, on‑site logistics, debugging

• operational readiness: trained personnel, remote monitoring or operations, maintenance arrangements, depot or site access

• and confirm regulatory and approvals status relevant to the trial, for example, on‑road Code of Practice and site permissions, and timelines to obtain any remaining approvals

• and summarise intellectual property (IP) and any freedom to operate (FTO) considerations that could affect the trial or subsequent service

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 14. The trial delivery approach

How will you deliver the trial to advance you toward full operational deployment?

Explain:

• and clearly state your outputs and deliverables by work package and describe how these will generate actionable insights toward full operational deployment

• the route to achieving these outputs, including partner responsibilities, site access dependencies, data capture or telemetry, and stakeholder engagement points

• and clearly state milestones and decision gates tied to trial readiness, launch, ramp‑up, measurement, and exit or transition planning

• the key resources, equipment and facilities required for the project

• and summarise the trial’s learning agenda that directly informs the final service design

• your project plan with a Gantt chart and costed work package breakdown

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 15. Technical assurance, safety and data

How will you approach key aspects of technical assurance, safety and data?

Explain your approach to:

• hazard analysis and safety case development, including the content and versions to be produced for different stakeholders, for example, Authorised Self Driving Entity (ASDE) and No-User-in-Charge Operator (NUiCO), insurer, local authority, emergency services, public

• virtual and physical verification and validation aligned to the trial operational domain, for example, test cases, acceptance criteria, traceability from hazards to evidence

• regulation and standards compliance; identify applicable standards and regulations, such as Department for Transport Code of Practice, cybersecurity, any required permits and authorisations, and your plan to secure them in time to allow the trial

• insurance and insurance engagement, risk allocation, liability assumptions, and how insurance cost modelling will inform the business case

• data, specifying what data will be collected, both on and off the vehicle, data reduction and handling, data storage and retention, access controls and privacy; outline how data will support Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and be used to inform British and international standards

• determining project outputs; list the assurance artefacts you will deliver, for example, safety case packs, test reports, data dictionary, schemas, cyber risk assessment

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 16. The project management approach and governance

How will you manage the project effectively?

Explain:

• your governance structure, providing an overview of reporting lines

• the frequency and nature of project reviews

• the tools, processes and procedures used to execute the project

• the interfaces between operator, ASDE, NUiCO, landowner and other critical partners, for example, connectivity, maintenance

• how you will ensure timely delivery and quality control

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 17. Benefits of this collaboration

Why is this the right consortium and what are the benefits of this collaborative project to the consortium members?

Explain:

• why the consortium is essential to deliver the project and how the formation of this consortium is an opportunity for all involved

• the benefits of the collaborative project to each of the partners, in detail

• the financial returns for each consortium member that might be delivered as a result of this project

• how the project will lead to the development of new, long lasting skills and capabilities for the consortium members

• how knowledge will be shared between partners

• how this project will leverage the consortium to deliver capability improvement across the companies engaged

If one partner accounts for a significantly higher share of project costs (more than 70%) explain why this distribution is appropriate and how the project remains a genuine collaboration.

Assuming successful delivery of the project, explain:

• the plan within the consortium for forming longer term partnerships based on the successful outcomes of this project

• how the project will unlock technical and commercial opportunities beyond the core aims of this project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 18. The team, roles and responsibilities

Who is in your team, and why are they the right people to deliver this project?

Describe and highlight:

• roles, skills, and relevant experience across the consortium but also covering each key role in the trial

• any required recruitment or resource plans to fill gaps including subcontracting and how it will be achieved without delaying trial start

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 19. The supply chain and delivery partners

How will your project leverage and strengthen the UK supply chain including the capability of your own organisation?

Explain:

• and identify critical suppliers and their readiness to deliver key aspects of the project such as vehicles Automated Driving System (ADS), connectivity, control rooms, depots, maintenance, insurance and data hosting

• how the project will engage with and create lasting UK supply chain relationships and value; this can be among your own consortium if applicable or within the wider supply chain

• your capacity and the capacity of any partners to support the trial within the required timescales

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 20. Handling risk

What are the main risks to successful delivery and how will you manage them?

Explain:

• all risks which impact the delivery of the project such as technical, commercial, financial, and operational risks

• the risks to the continuation of the service following the project, and to the ongoing commercial viability of the service

• your mitigation strategies and contingency plans

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 21. Project dissemination and sector benefit

How will you share the outcomes of your project?

Describe:

• a clear dissemination plan of non-confidential findings, including target audiences and channels, such as operational data, results, outcomes you expect to contribute to standards development

• your approach to publishing a public, non-confidential safety case summary relevant to the intended trial

• how this will benefit the wider CAM ecosystem

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

• your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale

• how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

Question 22. From trial outputs to investible service (project exploitation and impact)

How will you exploit the results of this project to achieve commercial success?

Explain

• how trial learnings and artefacts, for example, safety case, ops model, KPI evidence, cost, benefit, will be used to build an actionable business case and secure service contracts or follow‑on investment

• the types of early adopters expected and identify key ones; what evidence will you gather to move them to decision

• any internal exploitation expected by partner, for example, new capabilities, training, processes, and how you’ll track impact

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 23. Project expenditure and value for money

How will you ensure the project is affordable and delivers value for money to you, the consortium and the taxpayer?

Explain

• and justify your total project costs and how they are appropriate for delivering the service demonstrator at the required level

• the balance of costs and grant across the project partners

• any major cost items such as assets and depreciation, site works, data platforms, why they are necessary for this trial and how they will be funded

• the reason for any major subcontracting especially where taking place overseas and why this cannot be completed in the UK

• in brief any identified post project spend needed to move to deployment, such as CAPEX and OPEX assumptions

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 24. Added value: additionality

Why does your project rely on this grant funding and why do you need the amount of grant funding you have applied for?

Explain, quantify and evidence:

• how each partner will finance their contributions to your project detailing the status of any funding required to complete the project activities

• the need for applying for public funding and how this compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise

• explain what would happen in the absence of public funding

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 25. Added value: wider impact potential

What additional benefits will this project deliver within, and beyond, each organisation?

Explain, quantify and evidence:

• the benefits from involvement of the partners

• the wider benefits to the UK supply chain and CAM sector

• the potential economic and environmental benefits, such as jobs created or safeguarded

• the projected investments and additional spend required to achieve your ambitions, highlighting the sources of funding

• the growth in sales and profitability and any carbon or air quality savings

• any regional or national impacts, or impact on government priorities

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 26. Economic monitoring form (not scored)

The information provided for this question will be used as part of the assessment process.

You must:

• download and complete the Economic Monitoring form

• upload the completed worksheet as an appendix to this question

• write ‘worksheet uploaded’ as your response to this question

3. Finances

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.

For an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance please see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

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.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

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

Interviews

If your application passes the first stage of assessment you will also be invited to attend an interview where you must give a presentation.

Some specific preparation will be required before the interview.

Written response to assessor feedback

Following the first stage of assessment you will be provided with feedback from the Innovate UK assessors. You may also receive feedback from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Value for Money (VfM) appraisers. This is likely to include a number of questions to clarify certain points. You will be required to respond to these questions as a written response.

Your response can be up to 10 A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document and a template will be provided. Your response can include charts or diagrams as part of the 10 pages. All of the information, including charts and diagrams, must be legible at 100% zoom and if they are not they will not be considered.

The DBT VfM appraisers may want to call you to clarify the information you shared in the application. This is carried out by professional economists employed by DBT and they assess whether the project is good value for money for taxpayers and the UK. We provisionally expect the calls to take place between 28 January 2026 and 30 January 2026.

Interview location and timing

Your interview will take place at the APC offices at Warwick University. The interviews will be held between 16 February 2026 and 20 February 2026.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you at the interview you must email us at support@iuk.ukri.org within three days of receiving your invitation.

Before the interview and by the deadline stated in the invitation email, you:

• must send a list of who will attend the interview

• must send your interview presentation slides

List of attendees

Agree the list with your consortium. Up to nine people from your project can attend, ideally one person from each organisation. They must all be available on all published interview dates. We are unable to reschedule slots once allocated.

Presentation slides

Your interview presentation must:

• use Microsoft PowerPoint

• be no longer than 30 minutes

• have no more than 30 slides

• not include any video or embedded web links

You cannot change the presentation after you submit it or bring any additional materials to the interview.

Interview

After your presentation the panel will spend up to 45 minutes asking questions. You will be expected to answer based on the information you provided in your application form, presentation and the response to feedback.

After your interview

The panellists will individually score your application and these will be averaged for your overall interview score. This score will supersede the one you received from initial assessment. We will notify you whether you have been successful or not by email and you will receive feedback on your interview within a week of notification.

Background and further information

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV)

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) is a joint policy unit established in 2015 between the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Transport.

CCAV is an expert unit that is shaping the safe and secure emergence of connected and self driving vehicles. This makes the UK the best place in the world to develop and deploy the technology while ensuring that all areas of society can benefit from its potentially transformative effects.

We have made good progress to date, leading on a clear regulatory pathway, joint investment in R&D and an integrated testbed ecosystem. We shall continue by working on the following themes:

• ensuring safety and security

• securing the industrial and economic benefits

• making connected and automated mobility work for society

Zenzic

Zenzic-UK Limited (Ltd) has been established by government and industry to support the integration and coordination of the UK CAM ecosystem. It builds on the successful creation of CAM Testbed UK, facilitating early commercial deployments and a strong UK CAM supply chain.

Zenzic supports the wider CAM ecosystem through a programme of insights, innovation and collaboration.

These CCAV competitions are formally delivered in partnership between Zenzic, Innovate UK and the CCAV.

Zenzic will:

• work with consortia to support bid development

• support the competition process, including both launch, guidance events and interviews

• act as advocates for consortia to improve future competitions

• support project delivery once contracts are awarded, through Zenzic staff

• act as a source of guidance for consortia during the critical project start-up phase, and while projects are running, through Zenzic appointed Project Delivery Leads (PDLs)

• monitor the impact of the project portfolio

Zenzic can help by:

• providing general guidance regarding interpretation of competition rules, scope and guidelines on an informal basis

• helping your consortium to structure the bid development process

• explaining common pitfalls

Zenzic is committed to supporting the success of CCAV funded projects.

Zenzic-UK Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK Ltd (APC).

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing recording and slides will be available to download here after the briefing event.

What happens if you receive a grant offer

If you have passed your initial assessment and have received an email with a grant offer, you will be asked to complete the project set up process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).

We will ask for information that will allow us to undertake mandatory checks on your organisation and the eligibility of your costs, as well as review the documentation for your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your project's dedicated IFS Set Up portal, where we gather the information required to set up your project.

Watch our videos on what steps there are before a project starts and how successful applicants receive their funding or read more about Project Setup in our General guidance.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. 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 as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

We would like to remind you that eligible non-funded business can still benefit from fully funded and bespoke support from the Innovate UK Business Growth service

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth service

Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.

Our innovation and growth specialists provide our fully funded and bespoke support to clients nationwide. Visit the service’s website to discover whether you could benefit from this advisory support, which is available to Innovate UK funded and non-funded businesses alike.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, Zenzic-UK Limited (Ltd), Advance Propulsion Centre (APC) and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) (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 Zenzic, APC and CCAV 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 may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

Innovate UK, Zenzic, APC and CCAV 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, Zenzic, APC and CCAV will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Zenzic’s Privacy Policy

CCAV: Department for Business and Trade Personal information Charter

Advanced Propulsion Centre UK’s (APC) 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.