Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund

Date published: 9 July, 2019

For recent changes to this guidance, please see the bottom of the page.

The Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund has two aims.

The first is to promote skills development and knowledge transfer in the primary agricultural sector.

This will be achieved through providing funding to organisations to deliver vocational training, coaching, workshops, courses and farm visits designed to develop skills and transfer knowledge.

The second is to deliver on-the-ground improvements in agricultural competitiveness, resource efficiency, environmental performance and sustainability.

This will be achieved through meeting the running costs of operational groups seeking to implement innovative projects in these areas. Operational groups can be made up of different individuals or organisations within agriculture who are working collaboratively.

The scheme will be aligned with the European Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and sustainability. This helps form partnerships between farmers, advisers and businesses working on the ground.

These operational groups are expected to generate new insights and innovative ideas, as well as mobilising existing knowledge into practical solutions.

If you have any queries or questions please contact the team who manage the scheme direct. Details can be found below in the Contact section.

Further information about operational groups and collaboration can be found on the Scottish Rural Network website.

Scottish Rural Network

KTIF Update - August 2020

The date for the next KTIF Project Assessment Committee (PAC) has been set for Tuesday, 6 October 2020:

Applicants to submit a short inception note to KTIF@gov.scot by Tuesday, 15 September 2020. The Secretariat will offer valuable critique and feedback prior to submitting a full application.
Final applications should be submitted no later than Tuesday, 29 September 2020 (midnight).
The PAC will meet to consider all final applications on Tuesday, 6 October 2020.

Please note the latest guidance to be followed when applying:

The remit for the Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund (KTIF) Project Assessment Committee (PAC) is:

(a) to consider and determine applications for assistance under KTIF, including the level of grant and any conditions to be imposed; and

(b) to monitor operation of the Scheme and consider any adjustments needed to achieve its objectives more effectively.

New Additional Requirements for Applications: ·

Funding for projects will be capped at £30K; ·
A maximum lifetime of 4 months and all project to be completed by 31 March 2021
Knowledge Transfer projects only (eligible for 75% funding under KTIF);
Encouraging applicants to focus on resource efficiency (including projects that will support Knowledge Transfer on cutting emissions), environmental performance and/or sustainability of agricultural holdings.

Projects can take the form of: ·

Specific training courses, workshops and coaching;
Demonstration activities that can take place on a farm (distancing measures permitting) or more likely by virtual means.
Information action activities to disseminate information concerning agriculture and forestry. These actions can take the form of exhibitions, meetings, presentations or can be information in printed and electronic media.
Farm and forest visits to learn about specific ways of doing things that may be of benefit to others.
Measures that aim to introduce innovative approaches and result in improvements to efficiency, effectiveness and/or environmental performance.

Projects must be in a position to operate under Covid-19 restrictions but flexibility can be considered in the case of restrictions tightening or loosening. We suggest this would in most case mean being able to deliver the project by digital means.

The remit for the Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund (KTIF) Project Assessment Committee (PAC) is:

a) to consider and determine applications for assistance under KTIF, including the level of grant and any conditions to be imposed; and

b) to monitor operation of the Scheme and consider any adjustments needed to achieve its objectives more effectively.

Full scheme guidance
Updates
Eligibility
Selection criteria
Applications
Claims
Payment
Inspections
Breaches and penalties
Appeals and complaints
Contact

Before you apply for this scheme, please read the full scheme guidance. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us before completing your application.

Full scheme guidance

- 15 August, 2017

We've updated the PAC Approved Projects document.

Support is available to organisations that have an interest in the primary agricultural sector and wish to promote projects that support skills development, knowledge transfer, explore new ways of working and improve performance.

This includes:

public sector organisations
private sector organisations
constituted not-for-profit organisations
research institutions

Groups made up of individuals or organisations working in collaboration can also apply. These groups will form operational groups and could be made up of:

farmers
researchers
advisors
non-government organisations
private sector businesses involved in the agricultural sector

The lead party for the project should have a proven track record in delivering similar projects in agriculture.

Project proposals will be assessed on:

contribution towards meeting national and European Commission objectives and priorities
value for money
affordability
deliverability
level of commitment
how well the project benefits can be demonstrated and utilised by others

Applications can be submitted throughout the year and you can apply using the scheme’s dedicated application form.

More information on the applications process can be found in the full scheme guidance.

Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund application form: KTIF 2 - 2015

Applications need to be made by the project’s lead organisation or person and should include:

a project description
an explanation to how it meets national and European Commission priorities
project objectives, timescales, milestones and targets
an explanation of why funding is needed and what difference it will make to the project
project funding proposals, including level of funding sought, details of funding sources, and costs broken down by item
project management and delivery proposals, including details of how project partners will work together
evaluation and monitoring proposals
an explanation of how the results of the project will be used

A Scottish Government Project Assessment Committee will assess and score applications and make decisions on projects that will be supported.

The committee will meet four times per year. We aim to make funding decisions within six to eight weeks of receiving an application.

If your application is successful, we will send you a grant acceptance letter. You need to sign and return this before spending any funding.

Payments can then be claimed using the scheme claim form.

Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund Claim Form - coming early 2015

The claims process will vary depending on the project and the conditions under which funding is paid.

This will be detailed in your grant acceptance letter.

Claims for grant payments should be submitted on a quarterly basis.

The final grant payment will be paid after submission and approval of the final project report. Your claim forms need to be accompanied by relevant documents.

This will include:

properly receipted invoices, with amounts and dates of expenditure incurred
the main claimant’s bank statement showing the amount and date of payments made
detailed evidence of the costs being claimed

Claims will be paid within 30 days where documentation is properly completed and accompanied by appropriate evidence of expenditure.

If you receive funding from this scheme you may be inspected. You can find out more about how and why we carry out inspections in our dedicated section.

Inspections

If we discover that you have not followed the scheme guidelines, we will call this a breach. It’s important that we penalise breaches to make sure we are following European Commission law.

Further information why we need to penalise breaches can be found below.

Breaches and penalties

If you disagree with a decision we have made regarding your application or funding, you may ask for it to be reviewed.

Likewise, if you are unhappy with our service, or if you have a complaint about the scheme or its administration, you can make a formal complaint using our dedicated complaints procedure.

You can find out more about both the appeals and complaints processes in the full scheme guidance.

Full scheme guidance

If you have any questions about this scheme, please get in touch.

Head of Agricultural Development and Crofting Branch
The Scottish Government
Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities Directorate
D Spur
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 3XD

Tel: 0300 244 6777