Innovation, Impact and Knowledge Exchange (IIKE)
Collaborative R&D Awards
Rolling Call
1. Background
The University of Sheffield defines its mission as “the goal of changing the world for better
through the power and application of ideas and knowledge”. This process involves partnerships
with people and organisations beyond our walls; these partnerships are not one-way, and the
insights that we gain from our partners stimulate and enrich the research we do, fuelling
innovation and keeping our researchers in touch with the real questions and challenges faced
by modern society. Knowledge Exchange (KE) is more than a funding mechanism. It is a key
priority and strategic need for our University, and we place it at the heart of our activities.
The IIKE strategy has 4 key objectives

To create and maintain deeper partnerships with external organizations

To make the most of our intellectual property

To engage with our city region

To embed Innovation, Impact and Knowledge Exchange within our organization
1.1. One of the ways TUOS will fulfill this mission is to fund collaborative research and
development with forward plans for collaboration.
1.2. We are looking to seed and develop relationships with external partners. The purpose of
the Collaborative R&D Award scheme is to support short term commercially focused
projects or to look for additional opportunities to build our capacity to engage effectively
with external partners.
1.3. All Collaborative R&D Awards must have an external partner. External partners could
include national and international businesses, public and third sector organisations, or
community bodies. However this fund will not support academic-academic collaboration.
1.4. Projects could include a range of activities (or mix of different activities),
1.5. Collaborative R&D Awards can be used to support existing staff employed by the University
or to recruit new members of staff if necessary to meet the skill requirements of the role,
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providing this can be achieved in an appropriate timescale for the implementation of the
project.
1.6. Projects can be carried out on a full-time or part-time basis, depending on the nature of
the work. Projects may involve one or more researchers. Researchers are expected to get
the benefit of working with the external partner on an industry led or societal problem.
1.7. The award should be used to leverage further funding, or initiate, a longer term project
with an external partner.
1.8. External partners are required to contribute to the project costs in the form of cash or
a realistically valued in-kind contribution, using the in kind calculator. As part of the
letter of support, an authorized person in the external partner organization will also be
asked to agree to the IIKE Funding Terms & Conditions.
1.9. It is expected that the majority of projects will be undertaken at the end of a researcher’s
current project. However, they may also be taken part way through a project where there is
a clear case for this. In such cases, it is critical for the PI to ensure that there will be no
impact on the delivery of the researcher’s existing project, and that any impact is
appropriately managed between all involved parties.
1.10
Projects with external partners outside the UK are eligible, however all partners should
have a significant presence in the UK, e.g. manufacturing and/or R&D base, and the
activity should be able to deliver benefit to the UK.
2. Eligibility Criteria
2.1. Applications for IAA Collaborative R&D Awards must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Eligibility
Comments
Criteria
Research and

Projects must be research and development not consultancy.
Development
External
This support is particularly aimed at getting new/early relationships
partners
started or developing existing relationships where:

The external partner has not worked with UoS before

The academic PI is new to working with external partners, or

The project will create a step-change in the relationship with an
existing partner. Projects with external partners outside the UK are
eligible providing that the project can demonstrate clear potential
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for delivery of a net benefit to the UK.
Applicant
eligibility to
The PI must:

lead the project
Be an academic member of staff employed by the University of
Sheffield.

Have the skills, experience and enthusiasm to lead the project.

Have the necessary time and/or researcher in post to deliver the
project.
Proposal fit

The project must match the spirit of the call.

There must be a clear need for this flexible resource – e.g. a project
that would be difficult to resource by other means.
Potential impact

The project should have the potential to deliver economic,
environmental and/or societal benefit to UK organisations or citizens
outside academia.
3. Project costs and justification of resources
3.1. Eligible costs include:
i.
Directly
Incurred
-
Staff
costs
can
include
researcher,
technician
or
clerical/administrative positions
ii. Directly Incurred – Non staff costs can include laboratory costs, consumables, travel
to related meetings, events etc, small pieces of equipment and expenses incurred
during the project
iii. Internal trade/facility charges can be costed in to the project if necessary to the
project scope.
3.2. Ineligible costs include:
As a guide, no directly allocated costs will be approved and awarded unless external
contributions are sought. However, please still apply full fEC costs for your URMs
costing. Directly allocated costs include:
iv. Directly Allocated – Staff costs can include the academic time and pool technician
v. Directly Allocated – fEC costs, overheads and estates costs
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Other ineligible costs:
Equipment which is considered the responsibility of the department to supply such as
office and IT equipment, e.g. laptops, will not be funded by IIKE.
Some costs may require justification and if you do not see a category listed or would
like to check a cost from the list, please contact projects-finance@sheffield.ac.uk.
Once a project is approved, a final decision will be made as to whether the project can
be classified as Research or Non-Research which will in turn decide which finance
team will administer the project for you.
Once the project is set up, the finance team administering the project can provide
assistance in monitoring your project budget.
4. Application Process
4.1. All projects must be discussed with a member of the Faculty KE Team and entered
into the Pipeline of Faculty KE activity
4.2. When planning your project please submit a realistic start date bearing in mind the
assessment time needed for the application, the financial set up for the project and
most importantly the time required negotiating any requested changes to Terms &
Conditions.
4.3. Application forms and the Letter of Support Template are available at the bottom of
this page
4.4. The application is in the form of a cover sheet, a two page application statement, and
a Letter of Support. Please be aware that the panel may not be technical experts in
your field. Successful applications will demonstrate a convincing case for their research
or project in a non-technical manner.
4.5. To submit an application, please email a signed electronic copy or post a hard copy of
the completed application form and signed Letter of Support to your Faculty KE
contact .
4.6. All applications will be submitted for consideration by the Faculty IIKE delivery team
having been accepted into the appropriate Faculty Pipeline of valuable IIKE activity .
4.7. Where projects meet the eligibility criteria, a BDM will work with you and the external
partner to develop and deliver the project. This could involve:

Developing the project plan.
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
Checking the costing of the project in URMs.

Preparing and costing a proposal for the client (if this is required).

Liaising with the Research Partnerships and Engagement team who administer the
IAA funding.
4.8
Prior to submitting an application the funding Terms & Conditions must be read by
the
applicant before it is sent to the external partner for consideration. If the
external partner agrees with the Terms & Conditions it will be included as part of
their Letter of Support.
If the partner wishes to negotiate any of the Terms & Conditions associated with
the fund, they must indicate this on the Letter of Support template.
Please remember that the letter of support will be used in any assessment of your
application and should detail the partner’s commitment to the project and
understanding of its potential benefits
All successful applications must have an agreed Terms & Conditions, before
funding is released.
4.9
Applicants should provide the following information:
 Fully signed application form
 Project costing using the URMS system (please see eligible costs section above.)
When costing your project please enter Christine Hill as an Investigator at 0%. Select
University of Sheffield as the Sponsor, IIKE as program name and IIKE Collaborative
R&D as the scheme.
 A signed letter of support from the external partner. The letter of support must
detail all partner contributions including “in kind” contributions (type and value)
that the external partner intends to provide and indicate whether the external
partner agrees with the Terms & Conditions.
5.
Assessment Criteria
Applications will be judged and prioritised against the following assessment criteria:
Assessment
Comments
Weighting
Criteria
1. Quality of
%

Is there clear evidence of the research value of this project?
10
research
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2. External

partner
Does this collaboration fit within the broad objectives of the University’s
IIKE strategy?
(http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.229137!/file/IIKE_Strategy_State
ment_October_2012.pdf)

Is this partner new to the University?
15

Is this academic new to external collaboration?

If with an existing partner, does the project make a step change to this
relationship?
3.

Is there a letter of support showing clear commitment to the project
Commitment
including a shared understanding of its potential benefits and planned
of external
program of works/deliverables?
15
partner
4. Project plan

Is there a clear project plan with SMART objectives? (SMART: Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time-bound)
5. Follow-on

Are there clear objectives and deliverables?

How will the project be managed?

Is there a realistic plan:
i.
Plan
10
For the uptake and/or further development of the project
outputs (if successful) either with or by the external partner?
ii.
For this collaboration/relationship to continue - in any form -
15
after the duration of the project?
6. Potential

Have potential future funding sources been identified?

Is there a clear understanding of the potential impact that could result
impact
from this project?

Are there realistic and appropriate plans in place to deliver this?

Will the impact deliver significant benefits or reach a large number of
15
beneficiaries, or both?

Is the impact identified both realistic and likely to be delivered by the
activities described?

For non-UK partner, is there realistic potential impact and net benefit to
the UK?
7. Resources

Are the resources applied for appropriate and justified?
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
Is there potential to deliver strong impact with these resources?

Does this represent good value for money?

What financial contribution will be made by the external partner?
value/leverage 
What additional in-kind contribution will be made by the external
8. Added
10
partner?

10
Will this collaboration allow any other funding or in-kind support to be
leveraged?
6. Funding and Conditions
6.1. By accepting the award, the applicants agree to engage with a nominated member of the
IIKE delivery team to monitor project progress both during the life of the project and post
project to allow the reporting of outcomes and capture of (potential) impact. This will
include making non-confidential aspects available to assist with the development of case
studies.
As impact often occurs after the project lifetime, the IIKE delivery team may also contact
you appropriate intervals after the project has finished to find out how the project has
progressed and any new/additional outcomes that have been realised.
Appropriate Terms & Conditions must be agreed between collaborating partners
before the project commences and funding is released.
6.2. PhD extensions will be managed in line with internal rules and external expectations, which
will be dependent on the funding body, to ensure that collaborative R&D does not have a
negative effect on the progress of the doctoral training.
6.3. PhD students will continue to receive a maintenance payment when they are seconded to
the collaborative R&D project.
This will be equivalent to their £16,000 p.a. pro rata. A
contribution towards student fees to the department will also be made where necessary.
6.4. The IIKE reserves the right to recover funds where there is evidence that a project is failing
to adhere to the agreed application. Similarly, funds may be recovered where these have
not been spent in accordance with the application, unless a change has been agreed in
writing
6.5. All awarded funds are a maximum contribution from IIKE and can only be used to support
eligible costs agreed as part of the application assessment.
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6.6. Applicants agree to comply with the University’s financial regulations –
http://www.shef.ac.uk/finance/regulations.
7. Faculty KE Contacts
Faculty of Engineering
Elinor
E: e.noble@sheffield.ac.uk
Noble
Faculty of Science
Patricia
29734
E: p.hart@sheffield.ac.uk
Hart
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry
Sue Smith E:
sue.smith@sheffield.ac.uk
T: 0114 22
28723
Gareth
Young
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
T: 0114 22
29381
& Health
Faculty of Social Science
T: 0114 22
Amy Ryall
E:
gareth.young@sheffield.ac.uk
E:a.ryall@sheffield.ac.uk
T: 0114 22
28389
T: 0114 22
29709
General enquiries
Chris Hill,
R&IS
E: iaa@sheffield.ac.uk
T: 0114 22
21456
Note: For all enquiries from applicants who are not attached to one of the faculties
listed above, or are proposing cross-faculty projects, please contact Chris Hill for advice
(0114 222 1456, c.hill@sheffield.ac.uk)
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Innovation, Impact and Knowledge Exchange (IIKE)
Application for Collaborative R&D Award (Annex 1)
Project title:
Award request:
£
Proposed start date:
Proposed end date:
Faculty KE Contact:
1. Applicant details
Primary investigator:
Department:
Phone number:
Email:
Academic new to IIKE activity
Yes/No
2. Partner details
Organisation name:
Organisation type: e.g. Commercial
organisation, charity, government
Address:
Contact name and position:
Telephone (inc STD code):
Email:
UK based partner? If no, please provide details of how the project/collaboration will
Yes/No
provide net benefit (e.g. economic, environmental or societal) to UK in the application
statement
New external partner to
Y/N
TUOS:
New external partner to
Department:
Y/N
New external partner to
Y/N
Academic:
(Please select as appropriate)
Letter of support attached:
Yes/No
3. Non confidential summary
Please provide a short non-confidential summary of the project – this will be placed on the R&IS website if the
application is successful.
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4. Link to previous research
List the Research Council grant(s) for the original research and give a brief summary of how this /these enable
the project.
5. IP position
Please provide full details of any background IP required for the project and the status of this (e.g. submitted
COD, filed patent, granted patent). Also include details of any IP protection. Please note: ownership of all IP
connected to the project must be clearly defined.
6. Plans for follow on activity
Follow on plans for the development of the project or relationship is a key requirement of IIKE funding.
Please detail any anticipated plans for follow on activity (e.g. Innovate UK, RCUK, H2020, KTP application,
student placement).
7. Project costs
Projects must be costed via URMS using UoS as the Sponsor and IIKE as the collaborator. When completing
the URMS record please include C Hill (KE Officer) at 0% in the investigator tab.
Please provide details of the resources required for the project including:
i)
Staff time – PDRA or PhD time
ii)
Access to equipment, consumables, travel, expenses and other costs
URMS project code (for information only)
Use
Details
Amount
Staff costs
Travel & subsistence
Consumables
Equipment
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Other costs
Indirect & estates
costs
Total cost (100% FEC)
Cash funding provided by external partner
Additional or in-kind contribution from external partner (FEC)
IIKE funding request
8. Signatures
I confirm that I wish to apply for funding for a Collaborative R&D Award.
I confirm that the information presented in the application is accurate to the best of my knowledge and I
agree to participate in the ongoing monitoring and capture of outcomes.
Signature of Principal
Investigator:
Date:
I support the application, agree to provide the funding detailed above and to participate in ongoing
monitoring and capture of outcomes.
Signature of External Partner
Representative:
Date:
I support this application.
Signature of Head of
Department:
Print name:
Date:
I support this application and confirm it meets the scheme eligibility criteria.
Signature of Faculty KE
Contact:
Date:
Submit
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One fully signed copy of the application form, a
In the absence of a Faculty alignment please
signed Letter of Support and an URMS
contact:
Reference to your Faculty KE Contact
c.hill@sheffield.ac.uk
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Application statement
Application statement (max 2 A4 sides of 11pt)
Please provide details of your project, which will be assessed against the following criteria:

Research value of the project

Fit of the collaboration with the objectives of the IIKE strategy:
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.229137!/file/IIKE_Strategy_Statement_October_2012.pdf

Demonstration of partner commitment to engagement with the project

Clear project plan (including objectives/deliverables/project management, if this is an existing
partnership then the project must be a demonstrate a step change in the relationship

Potential impact and plans to deliver this

Appropriate and justified resource

Any added value (e.g. financial, in-kind, leveraged support)
FULL DETAILS OF THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND THEIR WEIGHTINGS CAN BE FOUND IN SECTION 5.1
OF THE SCHEME GUIDELINES
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Partner Letter of Support
Application for IIKE Funding 2015/16
1. Project Title
PI Name
2.Partner details
Organisation name:
Organisation type: e.g. Commercial
organisation, charity, government
Address:
Contact name and position:
Telephone (inc STD code):
Email:
New external partner:
(Have not previously worked with TUoS)
Existing partner
Yes/No
(Partner has previously worked with TUoS)
Yes/No
3. Support Details
The Project Partner Letter of Support is part of the award application and is taken into consideration during assessment.
With that in mind please provide the following information:

Why you are a partner on the project

What do you hope to get out of the collaboration

What will you contribute toward the project, including any cash and/or in-kind contributions (which can include staff
time, access to equipment in your organization, provision of data, software or materials)
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4. Partner Contribution to Project:
Cash funding provided by external partner
In-kind contribution from external partner
(calculated using in kind calculator)
5. Terms and Conditions
Should the application for IIKE Funding be successful the following Terms and Conditions need to be
agreed before the funds will be released

The Impact, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (IIKE) fund at the University of Sheffield has
awarded funding to the above titled project (the “Project”) to the Principal Investigator at the
University of Sheffield. The Project involves commitment and collaboration from the Project
Partner. Each is hereafter referred to as a Party and together the Parties.

The funding will be administered by the University of Sheffield and any costs incurred by the
Project Partner will be borne by the Project Partner. The Project will run from the start date
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to the end date as stated in the application, contingent on the Project starting as described in
the proposal.
Any revision to these dates will be advised in writing by the University of
Sheffield.

In consideration of the University of Sheffield undertaking the Project, the Project Partner
agrees to make the contribution outlined in section 7 of the application form. Where this is a
cash contribution, the Project Partner agrees to make the contribution within thirty (30) days
of the date of the relevant invoice. The IIKE Fund will provide the match funding specified in
section 7 of the application form

The Project Partner shall perform the tasks envisaged in the Project proposal as submitted in
their application, or as may be agreed between the Parties.

All intellectual property and know how generated in the course of the Project (“Arising IP”)
shall belong to the Project Lead. The Project Lead hereby grants to the Project Partner an
option to take a licence to any Arising IP (“Option”). The Option shall be exercisable within 6
months of the end of the Project (as advised in the offer letter) or any subsequent agreed
extension period (as advised in writing by the Project Lead). Should the Project Partner
exercise the Option the Parties shall negotiate in good faith a licence which shall include a
fair and reasonable royalty rate to be paid by the Project Partner to the Project Lead, taking
into account the respective financial, intellectual and technical contributions of the Parties.
(This default IP position is set to meet funder and legal obligations and the objectives of the
IIKE strategy. To negotiate this position, please tick the relevant box at the bottom of this
section.)

All intellectual property and know-how belonging to either Party before the date of this
Agreement (“Background IP”) shall remain the property of such Party. Nothing in this
Agreement shall be construed to grant any right, title, property or license in such Background
IP.

For the avoidance of doubt, the University of Sheffield reserves the right to publish material in
any form which is based on results arising from the Project. Where such publication is based
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upon information disclosed by Project Partner, and has been clearly identified as commercial
and in confidence, then Project Partner’s prior agreement will be sought.

In carrying out the Project, the Parties may disclose information to each other that is
confidential in nature (“Confidential Information”). The disclosing Party shall ensure that the
other Party is made aware, either verbally or in writing, when the information shared should
be considered Confidential Information and the receiving Party agrees to keep such
Confidential Information secret, treating it as they would their own Confidential Information.

If any benefit to the Project Partner arising from this Project is considered to be unlawful
state aid by any of the European Commission, the European Court of Justice or any national
court and an order for its repayment is made the Project Partner will make the relevant
repayments within fifteen (15) days of demand together with any such interest as shall be
applicable.
Confirm
Authorised Partner
Signature
I have read & agree to the Terms and Conditions
detailed above
I would like to negotiate an
amendment/amendments to the Terms and
Conditions detailed above
I support the application, agree to provide the funding detailed above and to participate in
ongoing monitoring and capture of outcomes.
6. Signature of External Partner Representative:
Print name:
Date:
Please provide appropriate contact details for negotiation of Terms & Conditions if
different to those given above.
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7. Return
One signed electronic/hard copy to the Principal Investigator at the University of Sheffield.
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