Closing SoonDefence / Security
European Space Agency: Digitalisation of The Water Sector
IUK Business Connect
Today, the world faces a defining challenge: how to manage too much, too little or too polluted water in the face of growing populations, climate change and strained infrastructure . Among these pressures, water sanitation has emerged as one the most urgent global concerns. The impacts of climate change, growing demand and the depletion of natural resources call for a paradigm shift in how water service providers, water management authorities, regions, cities and citizens manage and protect water. Society must develop and increase the adoption of innovative solutions to ensure water sustainability and resilience across all societal functions, while fully safeguarding the environment. Strengthening sanitation systems, preventing pollution and improving wastewater treatment are essential steps, but achieving this requires tools that allow for better monitoring, enforcement and long-term planning.
New solutions are required for:
• preventing and detecting non-revenue losses across the entire supply chain
• improving wastewater treatment performance
• raising awareness
• locating leakages
• repairing sanitation and distribution infrastructure.
The adoption of digital solutions in the water sector is still fragmented, occurring primarily in specific geographical regions. It lacks consistency and is typically constrained by limited financial resources which hinders scalability.
Unlocking private investment for water solutions, initiating the partnerships needed to finance them at scale, connecting supply and demand, creating sustainable business models, and deploying robust technical solutions are all essential steps for generating enduring economic returns and creating lasting impact in the sector.
Topics identified for this call:
• Water Resilience , including: Water quality monitoring Water availability management Water Sanitation Monitoring of Industrial Discharge
• Water quality monitoring
• Water availability management
• Water Sanitation
• Monitoring of Industrial Discharge
• Water Sustainability , including: Infrastructure monitoring High-Non Revenue Water Failures in Sewage Resilience to drought and flooding
• Infrastructure monitoring
• High-Non Revenue Water
• Failures in Sewage
• Resilience to drought and flooding
• Water quality monitoring
• Water availability management
• Water Sanitation
• Monitoring of Industrial Discharge
• Infrastructure monitoring
• High-Non Revenue Water
• Failures in Sewage
• Resilience to drought and flooding
This opportunity is open to companies that intend to develop space-enabled services and products related, but not restricted, to the topics of relevance outlined above. Applicants from the UK are eligible and can receive funding covering up to 50% of their costs, subject to approval from the UK Space Agency.
ESA held a briefing webinar on 20 May: watch the recording on YouTube .
📅 Closes 30 Aug 2026📍 UK-wide
Closing SoonAgriculture / Food
ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 11
Innovate UK
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will invest up to £100,000 to support the development of applications for on-farm trials and farm experiment projects.
This funding is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme , delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
This competition is designed for farmers, growers and foresters based in England who are keen to test and trial new ideas or solutions on-farm and require support to develop a Full ADOPT Grant application.
The aim of this competition is to:
• provide a £2,500 grant for a farmer, grower or forester based in England to engage an external Project Facilitator to support with submissions into the Full ADOPT Grant competitions
• improve the quality of Full ADOPT Grant applications
• make ADOPT funding accessible to a wider range of applicants
• enhance the skills and expertise of the farming eco-system to engage with innovation funding
If you are successful in this competition, you will need to provide evidence within six months of funding being awarded that your Full ADOPT Grant application has been sent for assessment before any payment can be made to you.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the applications we receive.
We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.
We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.
Up to £100,000📅 Closes 30 Aug 2026📍 UK-wide
Closing SoonCommunity / Social
Dartford Health Innovation Fund
Funding For All (aggregator)
The Dartford Health Innovation Fund is now open for applications through the MVA Social Impact Gateway (SIG). The fund supports innovative projects that improve health…
📅 Closes 31 Aug 2026📍 UK Wide
Closing SoonArts / Culture
EU-Africa Union – food safety
European Commission / Horizon Europe
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, and in support of the food safety systems of the African Union and the EU, the successful proposal will contribute to the first priority of the AU-EU High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Science, Technology and Innovation on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture. Regional integration, including through greater trade in goods and services, is one of the key aspirations of the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063. The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to significantly accelerate growth and sustainable development, doubling intra-African trade and food trade in particular. While strong local food systems are a backbone of food security, trade contributes to resilient food systems by balancing between markets. The promotion of trade needs to take a start from the local, national and regional level to integrate food safety practices into all aspects of food production, distribution, marketing and consumption. Food safety is a pre-condition for food trade. It aligns with the recent AU decision to establish the Africa Food Safety Agency to ensure the coordination of food safety at the continental level [1] Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Improved African food safety systems, Building blocks for improved food safety in Africa, improving climate, environment and food systems, reducing losses by mycotoxins, enhancing local transformation, local markets and regional trade, while reducing impacts on environment, biodiversity, health and society. Scope: Proposals are expected to address the following: Contribute to a better understanding of food safety in the informal sector by generating data and evidence on trade actors in the informal sector. Improve the understanding of informal trade operations and ways to improve food safety for better access to nutritious food for urban and rural populations. Assess and recommend ways to maintain the informal sector`s participation towards possible integration into the formal food system. Explore ways for its access to infrastructure such as labs to be able to respond and manage the food safety risks along the chain.” Address regulatory aspects, including the risk of over regulation. Develop solutions towards a quality culture from the SME level going forward, including opportunities of better organization of SME in view of lower cost for certification and conformity assessment. Pilot training systems to help the informal sector towards compliance with food safety and quality schemes. Improve tools to improve risk assessment of health risks, including long term risks of mycotoxins. Risk assessment and other evidence should inform the regulatory systems. Contribute towards the development of a food safety strategy for Africa, including monitoring and an early warning system. Contribute to a better understanding how fermentation can reduce mycotoxin levels in food products. Identify solutions and business cases to improve microbiome based approaches such as traditional and new food fermenting, drying and coating processes for reducing food waste and promoting longer shelve lives. Develop approaches for scale-up. Adapting to climate change: reducing increased risks to food safety Implement the multi-actor approach by involving a wide range of food system actors and conducting trans- and inter-disciplinary research including an effective contribution of SSH disciplines. Innovation: Proposals should foresee a space for mentoring and accelerating innovative business concepts, including social innovation and upscaling in view of African or European food business entrepreneurs and start-ups with special consideration of women and the diaspora using cascading funding opportunities. Proposals may involve financial support to third parties e.g. to academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors, to, for instance, develop, test or validate developed assessment approaches or collect or prepare data sets or provide other contributions to achieve the project objectives... Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support will be granted. Maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this purpose. [1] https://www.fao.org/food-coalition/take-action/detail/en/c/1321182/
£4.29 million📅 Closes 31 Aug 2026📍 UK-wide (associated country)
Closing SoonSustainability / Environment
Global Incubator Programme - Clean Energy, Singapore
IUK Business Connect
About the GIP
In order to be eligible for the Global Incubator Programme, you must be a small or medium sized company based in the UK. We are looking for businesses with the ambition and commitment to scale globally. The programme best suits businesses that already have some traction and sales in the UK that are now looking to innovate their products and services through building global partnerships and collaborations to accelerate their growth and scaling journey. A senior person from the company needs to commit to being involved in all stages of the programme.
The three stages of the programme are as follows:
You will be allocated an Innovate UK Business Growth Specialist or Scale Up Director to work with in the UK who will work with you on your strategic action plan for the programme. You will receive an overview of the innovation and sector landscape of the country’s market, a full briefing on the programme and working with the incubator, and support to better present your business and the value proposition.
This 4-6 month stage of the programme is about working with the incubator. A typical programme will see a visit to the market at the beginning, providing the opportunity to consider technology and market fit, preliminary customer validation and an introduction to ecosystem players. This will be followed by regular (weekly or fortnightly) virtual sessions with the incubator team, mentors, and experts, to do a deep dive into understanding what it takes to be successful in accessing the market. The final part is a second visit to the market, including a demo day to showcase the achievements of the cohort, continuing to raise the profile and make connections for the businesses involved.
You will work with your Innovate UK Business Growth Specialist or Scale Up Director to continue to exploit the programme with the necessary understanding and networks to accelerate your global growth and scaling journey. The team will also be here to support you to build on all the connections, knowledge, and expertise gained. At the end of the programme, an alumni event will be held to celebrate successes and further develop your progress.
Why clean energy and Singapore?
Singapore is a leading clean energy and sustainability hub, offering UK SMEs a gateway to Southeast Asia. Through the Singapore Green Plan 2030 , the country is investing in renewable energy, hydrogen, energy storage, smart grids, low-carbon transport and sustainable infrastructure, creating strong opportunities for innovative clean energy businesses.
With a business-friendly environment, strong IP protection, English-speaking market and significant public investment in innovation, Singapore is an ideal location for UK companies seeking partnerships, pilots and commercial growth across Asia.
In both the UK and Singapore, innovation and investment in clean energy technologies are becoming increasingly important as nations seek to strengthen energy security, enhance industrial competitiv
£2,000📅 Closes 31 Aug 2026📍 UK-wide