BBSRC Business and Academia Prosperity Partnership

Funding to support emerging or established research-based partnerships between UK business and academic institutions.

The BBSRC prosperity partnership funding opportunity aims to fund business-led research that arises from an industrial need, with the work being co-delivered between the business and project leads.

The opportunity is aimed at supporting excellent, world-leading discovery research and innovation, which has clear benefit to the businesses involved, resulting in accelerated impact arising from the new knowledge, innovations, or technologies.

Co-creation of the research programme is essential. BBSRC expects programmes funded through this opportunity to:

• Drive forward shared research challenges.
• Demonstrate impact beyond the partners.
• Provide benefits to the businesses involved.

The programme should contribute positively to the overall strategic partnership framework which exists between the parties. It should be clear that both the business and academic researchers are making distinct intellectual contributions to the partnership. Where an individual is discharging responsibilities within both a business and a research organisation, for example, as a consequence of being involved in university spin-outs, clarity on separation of duties and managing conflicts of interest is essential.

The primary balance of research and innovation should be focused on bioscience and biotechnology which covers BBSRC’s remit (at least 50%). Other research and innovation areas supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) may be included if they clearly strengthen the research, innovation, or partnership.