Connecting Capability Fund (CCF)
The Connecting Capability Fund (CCF) complements Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) by supporting HEP collaboration in commercialisation through competitive projects and formula funds.
Aim
The CCF aims to share good practice and capacity internally across the higher education sector, forge external technological, industrial and regional partnerships, and deliver the Government's Industrial Strategy priorities.
Current CCF funded projects
There are currently 18 projects funded by the CCF. Overall these projects involve 60 HEPs collaborating with each other and more than 128 individual businesses and investors, as well as wider business investor networks. More than 13 different local enterprise partnerships will benefit.
Subject to 2020 Spending Review outcomes, we expect to fund both new awards and follow-on funding for selected wave 1 projects in wave 2 CCF. We have prioritised setting in train the process for the follow-on funding competition in advance of knowing the budget to ensure that any follow-on funding awarded can dovetail into the end of currently confirmed wave 1 budgets. We have invited applications from lead universities for existing Connecting Capability Fund (CCF) wave 1 projects for follow-on funding as part of a competitive application process.
Supporting documents
- Letter inviting wave 1 projects to apply for follow-on funding (sent 31st July 2020)
- Original CCF wave 1 guidance and policy document
- Follow-on funding FAQs
- CCF Follow on Funding - Annexes
Additional investment
The projects are attracting over £375 million of additional investment from universities, business investors and other partners.
With six Catapults (the Catapult centres are a network of world-leading centres designed to transform the UK’s capability for innovation in specific areas and help drive future economic growth) and other UKRI councils involved, the projects also build on partnership working across many of the organisations that make up UKRI.
Interim Programme Evaluation
In Summer 2019 consultants IP Pragmatics were commissioned to carry out an interim review of the CCF programme. The review aimed to provide evidence about the potential impact of the programme (recognising it is too early to get individual project results) to inform decisions about future need and improvements in delivery should the programme be continued. The evaluation report can be viewed here. Director of Knowledge Exchange Alice Frost discusses the findings of the review in a blog here.
Which projects currently receive CCF funding?
Lead institution |
Partner institutions |
Project name |
Amount of funding |
University of Bath |
University of Bristol; University of Exeter; University of Southampton; University of Surrey |
£5,000,000 |
|
University of Birmingham |
Aston University, Cranfield University, Keele University, University of Leicester, Loughborough University, University of Nottingham and University of Warwick |
Midlands Innovation Commercialisation of Research Accelerator (MICRA) |
£4,990,000 |
University of Brighton |
University of Portsmouth; Liverpool John Moores University |
£3,500,000 |
|
University of Cambridge |
University of East Anglia; University of Hertfordshire; University of Lincoln; University of Reading |
£4,781,000 |
|
De Montfort University |
Brunel University London; Nottingham Trent University |
£4,648,000 |
|
Durham University |
Newcastle University, Northumbria University, University of Sunderland |
The Northern Accelerator – Integrating Capabilities in the North East |
£4,933,767 |
University of Essex |
University of East Anglia; University of Kent |
Eastern ARC 'Enabling Innovation: Research to Application' (EIRA) |
£4,696,000 |
Imperial College London |
Buckinghamshire New University; Institute of Cancer Research; Queen Mary University of London; Royal College of Art; Royal College of Music; Royal Veterinary College |
£4,947,000 |
|
King’s College London |
University College London; Imperial College London |
£4,922,055 |
|
University of Leeds |
University of Bradford; Leeds Beckett University; Sheffield Hallam University; University of Huddersfield; University of York |
£4,995,000 |
|
University of Leicester |
Open University; University of Surrey; University of Edinburgh; University of Southampton |
£4,796,000 |
|
London School of Economics and Political Science |
University of Manchester; University of Sussex |
ASPECT (A Social sciences Platform for Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Transformation) |
£5,000,000 |
University of Manchester |
University of Leeds; University of Sheffield |
£5,000,000 |
|
University of Oxford |
University of Birmingham; University of Dundee |
UK SPINE KE: free flow of knowledge to accelerate innovations in ageing |
£4,820,000 |
Royal Veterinary College |
London School of Economics and Political Science, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, School of Oriental and African Studies University of London. |
£4,960,000 |
|
University of Sheffield |
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and Newcastle University |
Promoting the Internet of Things via Collaborations between HEIs & Industry (Pitch-In) |
£4,917,863 |
University of the West of England |
Bath Spa University; Falmouth University; University of Plymouth |
£4,585,416 |
|
University of York |
University of Hull; Teesside University |
THYME Project (Teesside, Hull and York - Mobilising Bioeconomy Knowledge Exchange) |
£5,000,000 |
What's the background to the Connecting Capability Fund?
In its 2016 Autumn Statement, the Government allocated additional funding for science and research of £100 million over 2017-18 to 2020-21 to incentivise universities to collaborate in commercialisation. This funding was allocated to complement and build on established HEIF mechanisms.
£15 million of the CCF was allocated by formula in 2017-18, through a 10 per cent addition to main HEIF institutional allocations.
The CCF funding for 2018-19 to 2020-21 has been allocated through competitive project funding, with supported projects beginning from April 2018.
Case studies
Read more about the work of some of these projects below: