Rural Payments and Services

The Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund has two separate aims.

Knowledge Transfer Projects:

These projects must aim to promote skills development and knowledge transfer in the primary agricultural sector.

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

Innovation Projects:

These projects must aim to deliver innovative on-the-ground improvements in agricultural competitiveness, resource efficiency, environmental performance and sustainability.

Funding support will meet 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.

This helps form partnerships between farmers, crofters, land managers, Non-Governmental Organisations, advisers and businesses working on the ground.

These operational groups are expected to provide new insights and deliver innovative approaches and ideas, as well as mobilising practical on-the-ground solutions.

If you have any queries or questions please contact with the project management team. 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.

KTIF - New Funding Window - Summer 2024

• applicants are encouraged to submit a short inception note (one side of A4) to KTIF@gov.scot to get informal feedback on proposals in advance of submitting a full application with associated forms
• final application, costings and communications plan forms should be submitted no later than 24 June 2024 (midnight). All three forms should be emailed to KTIF@gov.scot
• the Project Assessment Committee (PAC) will meet to consider all final applications. This is provisionally planned for Tuesday 16 July 2024

New Funding Arrangements

• phased or modular projects can extend beyond the end of financial year 2024/25
• please be aware, however, that funding will only be confirmed for financial year 2024/25 (ending 31 March 2025). Any project extending beyond that date will be subject to budgetary confirmation in future financial years, and funding may be limited to this financial year
• project outputs should be laid out in the application on an annual basis to make clear what deliverables will be achieved each year

Additional Requirements and Information for Applicants

• funding for individual projects will be capped at £200K per year
• Knowledge Transfer project applications are eligible for 75% funding under KTIF; and Innovation projects are eligible for 100% funding under KTIF
• all projects must complete and submit:
  • an application form (KTIF 2 -2024)
  • an application costing form (KTIF 5 – 2022)
  • a communications plan (including linkage of project dissemination with the Farm Advisory Service and the Scottish Rural Network)
• forms and scheme guidance can be found further down on this webpage

Funding window focus

We will be accepting applications under any of the 5 KTIF objectives, but may prioritise climate change and biodiversity imperatives. The objectives are:

1. Enhancing competitiveness and enhancing viability in agriculture

2. Restoring, preserving and enhancing biodiversity and ecosystems dependant on agriculture

3. Improving water and/or soil management

4. Pollution prevention and control

5. Promoting resource efficiency and supporting a shift towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy in agriculture

Knowledge Transfer projects can take the form of:

• training courses, workshops and coaching
• demonstration activities that can take place on a farm, croft or forest or by virtual means
• knowledge transfer or knowledge exchange activities aiming to disseminate information concerning agriculture and crofting. These activities can take the form of exhibitions, meetings, presentations, or can take the form of printed information and electronic media
• farm and croft visits to learn about specific ways of doing things that may be of benefit to others

Please note, no capital or participant costs will be funded

Innovation projects can take the form of:

• measures that aim to introduce innovative approaches and result in improvements to efficiency, effectiveness and/or environmental performance
• agricultural/forestry demonstration/benchmarking and similar types of projects
• all innovation projects must form an Operational Group with farmers, crofters and land managers taking the lead in delivering innovations
• experimental and/or pilot projects that aim to introduce new and/or innovative approaches in agricultural/forestry practice
• piloting a solution to deal with a particular issue
• trying something new to take advantage of a specific innovation opportunity

Please note, no capital or participant costs will be funded.

Some examples of eligible co-ordinating bodies are:

• an agricultural levy body
• an enterprise company
• a non-profit organisation

Applications will be considered by the Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund (KTIF) Project Assessment Committee (PAC). The remit for the PAC is:

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

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