Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore are sharing up to £3 million with UK businesses running research and development projects alongside a Singapore partner.
UK-Singapore CRD 2026 funds industrial research that pairs a UK business with a business in Singapore. You apply to Innovate UK for your share of the money. Your Singapore partner applies to Enterprise Singapore for theirs. Both funders have to pick your project before it goes ahead.
Below, I have explained the key things you need to know about this competition before you apply: who is eligible, how much funding is on the table, and what the application process looks like.
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Who is Eligible?
Your Organisation
To lead a project, you must be a UK registered business of any size, including a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise.
You can't apply on your own. Every application needs at least one Singapore registered business working with you, and that business applies separately to Enterprise Singapore. Your Singapore partner has to be a separate legal entity that isn't linked to any of the UK partners.
Other UK organisations can join as collaborators:
- Academic institutions
- Businesses
- Research and technology organisations (RTOs)
You can lead one application and take part in up to two more as a collaborator.
Your Project
Your project must:
- End by 30 April 2030
- Last between 24 and 36 months
- Request total grant funding of between £100,000 and £900,000
- Start no earlier than 1 May 2027
The majority of the project work must be carried out in the UK and Singapore, and you must intend to exploit the project results from or within the UK.
Your project must also:
- Be an industrial research project
- Keep any one country or partner below 70% of the total project cost
- Keep subcontracting below 20% of your total eligible UK costs
- Show a balanced technical contribution from both countries
Your project also has to focus on one of four sectors.
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Clean Energy
- Digital and Technologies, covering semiconductors, quantum, artificial intelligence, cyber security, advanced connectivity technologies and engineering biology
- Life Sciences
Innovate UK won't fund projects that:
- Ask for a grant below £100,000 or above £900,000
- Depend on export performance, or on using a set percentage of UK components
- Don't have an eligible Singapore partner
- Pose a risk to the UK's national security, economic security or strategic interests
How Much Funding Can I Apply For?
The amount you can claim depends on your organisation's type and size and the sort of research your project involves.
Individual grants range from £100,000 to £900,000.
Applying as a Company
| Project Type | Micro and Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Costs Covered* | 70% | 60% | 50% |
*Industrial research refers to planned research aimed at acquiring new knowledge for developing new products, processes, or services.
Funding Example
A small company with eligible project costs of £700,000 can claim 70% of those costs, which comes to a grant of £490,000. You will need to fund the remaining £210,000 from other sources, like R&D Tax Relief, investment or loans.
Applying as a Non-Commercial Organisation
Non-economic organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs and are funded at higher rates:
- Up to 100% of eligible costs if you are a research organisation or RTO
- Up to 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you're a Je-S-registered institution, like a university
How Do I Apply?
The deadline for applications is 16 December 2026.
Applications are submitted via Innovate UK's Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal.
The application is split into four sections:
Project Details
This section is not scored. It covers:
- Application details
- Project summary
- Public description
- Scope
Most answers in this section are limited to 400 words.
Application Questions
There are 17 questions in total:
- Seven unscored administrative questions covering topics like animal testing, permits and licences, international collaboration, export licensing and trusted research
- Ten scored questions covering your business need, technical approach, team, market awareness, route to market, wider impacts, project management, risks, added value, and value for money
Finances
Every UK partner completes its own finance section, and the costs have to line up with the work packages you describe elsewhere in the application.
Project Impact
This section is not scored, and it captures the wider economic, social and environmental outcomes you expect the project to deliver.
Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors. Their individual scores will be combined to determine your final result. Your project also has to be picked by both Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore to be awarded funding.
If you're successful, you'll be notified by 26 February 2027.
Like with most competitions, Innovate UK takes a 'portfolio approach' by funding projects across different technologies, markets and technological maturities. This means that a strong score won't necessarily guarantee that your application will be successful.
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