ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 5

GRANT PURPOSE AND TARGET

Core Objective

The grant provides £2,500 to farming, growing, or forestry businesses in England to hire an external 'Project Facilitator'. The facilitator's role is to help the business develop and write a high-quality application for the larger 'Full ADOPT Grant' competition, which funds on-farm trials of new technologies and practices.

Funding Organization

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

Target Recipients

Active and established commercial farming, growing, or forestry businesses of any size based in England. This includes sole traders and partnerships. Non-profit or non-commercial entities like charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) are not eligible.

Sector Focus

SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Applicants must be planning a project for the Full ADOPT Grant within one of the following sectors:
* Agriculture
* Horticulture
* Agro-forestry

Geographic Scope

Applicants must be businesses based in England.

Key Filtering Criteria

• Purpose: This is a 'grant-to-get-a-grant'. Its sole purpose is to pay for support in writing an application for a different, larger grant.
• Project Type: For businesses wanting to apply for the 'Full ADOPT Grant' to conduct on-farm trials of new ideas or solutions.
• Mandatory Partner: Applicants must engage a 'Project Facilitator' from a pre-approved Innovate UK Business Connect database.
• Consortium: Single entity applications are expected; no consortium is required.

FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

Funding Range

This is a fixed-value grant. Successful applicants will be awarded £2,500.

Co-financing

No co-financing is required. The grant provides 100% funding for the single eligible cost.

Eligible Costs

The grant can only be used for one specific cost:
* The fee for engaging an external Project Facilitator from the Innovate UK Business Connect database to help prepare a Full ADOPT Grant application. This must be listed under the 'other costs' section of the application's finance part.

Ineligible Costs

• Any costs other than the £2,500 for the Project Facilitator.
• Subcontractor costs are explicitly not allowed.

Payment & Reporting

• Retrospective Payment: The £2,500 grant is paid to the applicant after the work is completed and specific evidence is provided.
• Claim Process: To receive the funds, the applicant must submit a claim within six months of their Grant Offer Letter (GOL) being approved.
• Required Evidence for Claim: The claim must be supported by:
  1. The official application number for the submitted Full ADOPT Grant application.
  2. An invoice from the Project Facilitator for the total grant amount of £2,500.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Formal Criteria

To be eligible, your organization must:
* Be an active farming, growing, or forestry business of any size.
* Be based in England.
* Be an established commercial business (including sole traders and partnerships) and be able to evidence this.
* Have a UK bank account.
* Commit to engaging an external Project Facilitator who is registered in the official Innovate UK Business Connect database.
* Use the facilitator to develop and submit an application to a 'Full ADOPT Grant' competition.

Organizational Status

• Eligible: For-profit, commercial businesses of any size, including sole traders and partnerships.
• Ineligible: Organizations that are not profit-driven or do not have a commercial focus, such as Community Interest Companies (CICs) and charities.

Technical Expertise

No specific technical expertise is required from the applicant business. The purpose of the grant is to fund access to the expertise of a Project Facilitator. The facilitator must meet specific criteria and be registered on the Innovate UK database.

Exclusion Criteria

An application will be ineligible if the applicant:
* Is not a farming, growing, or forestry business based in England.
* Is a charity, CIC, or other non-commercial entity.
* Is considered to be in financial difficulty.
* Proposes to use subcontractors (the Project Facilitator is classified as 'other costs', not a subcontractor).
* Has already received two Facilitator Support Grants in total.
* Has failed to exploit a previous Innovate UK-funded project, has an overdue independent accountant's report, or has failed to comply with previous grant terms.
* Is linked to any individual or entity subject to UK Sanctions.

The intended Full ADOPT Grant project cannot be for:
* Projects that do not benefit farmers, growers, or foresters in England.
* Funded crop variety plot trials or existing demonstration projects.
* Production of crops for medicinal or pharmaceutical use.
* Cultivated meat, equine systems, wild-caught fisheries, or certain types of aquaculture.

APPLICATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Deadlines

• Competition Opens: 16 October 2025, 10:00 AM (UK time)
• Competition Closes: 26 November 2025, 11:00 AM (UK time)
• Applicants Notified: 13 January 2026
• Project Start Date: From 1 March 2026

Required Documents

• Application Stage: The application is completed entirely online through the Innovation Funding Service. No document uploads are required at this stage; applicants fill in specific question fields.
• Post-Award Claim Stage: To claim the £2,500, you will need to provide:
  • The application number of your submitted Full ADOPT Grant.
  • An invoice from your Project Facilitator.

Application Process

1. Register/Sign in: Create an account or sign in to the Innovation Funding Service portal.
2. Complete Application: The online application is divided into three sections:
   • Project details: Basic, unscored information about your proposed Full ADOPT project.
   • Application questions: A series of scored and unscored questions about your business, your project idea, and your chosen facilitator.
   • Finances: Enter the £2,500 facilitator cost in the 'other costs' section.
3. Submit: Submit the completed application before the deadline. It can be reopened and resubmitted until the deadline.

Support

• Financial Support: A £2,500 grant.
• Application Support: The ADOPT Support Hub (run by ADAS) offers advice on scope, eligibility, and on-farm trial practicalities. They can also help find partners and expertise.
• Facilitator Directory: Innovate UK Business Connect hosts a database of registered Project Facilitators to help applicants find a suitable expert.

Post-Award Obligations

• After being notified of success, you must complete the 'project set up' process on the Innovation Funding Service portal.
• You will need to sign and return the Grant Offer Letter (GOL).
• Within six months of the GOL being approved, you must submit your Full ADOPT Grant application and then submit your claim for the £2,500 with the required evidence.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Applications are reviewed by a single independent assessor. The evaluation focuses on the quality and potential of the idea for the Full ADOPT Grant project, not the support grant itself. Questions 1-7 of the application are for background information and are not scored.

Scoring Factors

The assessment is based on the applicant's answers to three key questions:

• Question 8: What is the idea or solution you have identified to trial on-farm?

  • Assessors evaluate the clarity of the problem being addressed and its relevance to other farming businesses.
  • They look at the proposed idea or solution, how it improves upon existing methods, and the feasibility of the plan to test it on-farm.

• Question 9: How will your idea or solution benefit other farmers, what improvements will it offer?

  • This is assessed on the potential impact on productivity, resilience, and sustainability (including progression to net zero emissions).
  • The potential for the solution to be adopted by other farmers and integrated into existing systems is a key consideration.

• Question 10: Project Facilitator and Full ADOPT Grant team.

  • Assessors review the choice of the Project Facilitator, their skills, and experience.
  • The plan for the wider project team, resources, equipment, and facilities for the Full ADOPT Grant project is also evaluated.

Innovation & Impact

The core of the evaluation is on the innovativeness of the proposed on-farm trial. The project idea must focus on testing and trialling solutions that are new or not yet widely used. The impact is measured by its potential to significantly improve productivity, sustainability, and resilience within English farming, horticulture, or forestry.

Project Quality

The quality is judged by the coherence of the proposed plan for the on-farm trial and the strength of the team that will be assembled to execute it, including the chosen Project Facilitator.

Strategic Fit

Proposals are selected using a portfolio approach. This means the funder aims to support a diverse range of projects across different technologies, farming sectors, and geographical regions in England. The project idea must clearly address a challenge or opportunity in agriculture, horticulture, or agro-forestry.

Cross-cutting Themes

Sustainability is a key theme, with a specific focus on contributing to 'net zero farming'. The funder also emphasizes Accessibility and Inclusion in the application process, encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds and offering support for those with disabilities or long-term conditions.

COMPLIANCE AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Regulatory Compliance

• Subsidy Control: This grant is provided in line with the UK's Subsidy Control Act 2022. It is classified as a subsidy but does not count towards your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance. Applicants must not be in financial difficulty.
• Sanctions: Funding will not be provided to any applicant involved with individuals or entities subject to UK Sanctions.
• Animal Welfare: If the subsequent Full ADOPT project involves animals, it must comply with UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation. This is addressed in a non-scored application question.
• Permits & Licenses: Applicants must confirm in the application whether they will have the necessary permits and licenses for their proposed Full ADOPT project.

IP Policy

Intellectual Property policy is not specified for this facilitator support grant, as its scope is limited to application preparation. IP terms would be detailed in the Full ADOPT Grant for which the applicant is applying.

Unique Aspects

• Two-Tier Grant System: This is a preparatory grant designed specifically to help applicants succeed in a larger, subsequent grant competition ('Full ADOPT Grant').
• Mandatory Facilitator: Applicants must use a facilitator from a specific, pre-vetted database maintained by Innovate UK Business Connect.
• Retrospective Payment: The grant is only paid out after the applicant has proven they have completed and submitted the main grant application, making it a reimbursement for a service already rendered.

Industry-Specific Rules

• WTO Rules: Any awards from the subsequent Full ADOPT Grant given to primary agricultural producers are subject to the 'green box exemption' under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, meaning they must have minimal to no distortion of trade.
• Trusted Research & Innovation (TR&I): Applicants must declare if their proposed work relates to sensitive areas under the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act or involves dual-use technologies, and if an export control license is required.