Information for business

Recent times have clearly demonstrated that innovation is a key attribute harnessed by thriving businesses, or indeed businesses reinventing themselves to maintain their foothold in the face of massive challenges. Innovation tends to emerge when individuals with new ideas and different perspectives and experiences come together to consider a current challenge or problem. The KTP programe enables this intersection to happen in a structured yet organic way.

Why work with York?

We offer a wide range of expertise in disciplines from over 25 Departments and 40 major research centres.
We have a strong track record of over 55 KTP, which have formed valuable collaborations between businesses of varying sizes, from micro to multi-nationals.
In the UK-wide assessment of the quality of research undertaken in universities - Research Excellence Framework (REF) - the proportion of our research of world-leading 4* status was among the highest of any UK university, with eight of our departments ranked in the top five for their subject. We ranked tenth out of 122 higher education institutions for the impact of our research.

Eight steps of the KTP process from inception to Final Reporting

Contact the KTP Team at York

1. What are the benefits of KTP to a business or not-for-profit?

KTPs represent an extremely cost-effective means of introducing new skills into your work place to resolve an ongoing challenge or issue. Depending on the nature of your KTP you will ultimately improve your bottom line, capabilities, products and/or processes by extracting value through the application of University knowledge and expertise.

Six key benefits of a KTP to a Business

See what those who've had a KTP with York have to say

2. What are the typical costs of a KTP

A KTP is part-funded by a grant. Your business will need to contribute to the overall cost of the project. The amount you will need to contribute depends on the scale and length of the project. It will also depend on the size of your business. Typical costs are detailed below.

Typical annual costs for a KTP
Description	Cost
Graduate salary £24k to £38k	~£27k to £45k
Associate development, travel and equipment	£5,250k
Access to and support of University team, facilities etc	£45k to £50k
Project costs before grant	£77,250 to £100,250

Typical annual costs to the company
Business size	Cost
Cost to SME (grant at 67%)	£25,500k to £33k
Cost to large business (grant at 50%)	£39k to £50k

* The grant rate for ALL 3rd Sector applications has increased to a 75% contribution from IUK. This is a long-term commitment from KTP to help increase the numbers of projects from 3rd Sector Businesses.

Public sector organisations are also eligible to apply for a 50% grant contribution from IUK.

The duration of a KTP is dictated by the project which is being delivered. They typically last around 24 months but can be anywhere between 12 and 36 months.

3. What support is provided to a business

A KTP is a company-driven partnership i.e. the partnership works to deliver solutions for your business. This in no way means that you do all the work! You have the support and expertise of the KTP Team available to you at any time, access to one of the national Knowledge Transfer Advisers from the KTN network and of course the academic(s) collaborating with you.

Your project has, by design, regular catch-ups between the three key parties: the company supervisor (line manager to the Associate), the academic(s) involved and the Associate, as well as less frequent but no less important Local Management Committee meetings which are attended by Innovate UK and a member of the University's KTP Team. The structures and systems in place for KTP have been developed over decades and are there to ensure the best possible outcomes for the partnership and therefore your business.

4. Other eligibility criteria

Businesses and not-for-profit organisations who wish to apply should;

Be UK based and have absorptive capacity, i.e. be of sufficient size to supervise the KTP Associate and have the resources required to embed new knowledge. Usually businesses should be a minimum of 5 FTE, but please do contact us if you're smaller than this.
Have the financial capacity to make the required contribution to the cost of running a KTP project.
Be able to show that your project demonstrates Impact, Innovation, Challenge and Cohesiveness.

As well as receiving up to 67% in grant funding for your project, you are also likely to be able to reduce your costs further through claiming Research and Development Tax Relief. (You should seek advice on your eligibility).