UK-South Africa Water Innovation Lead Customer ProgrammeCopy Link

Innovate UK, through the Global Alliance Africa project, in partnership with the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) are investing up to £500 000 for UK participants and ZAR 5millon for SA participants in innovation projects towards improvement of water security in South Africa and/or the UK. The aim of this competition is to accelerate innovations needed to create new or improved water access technologies for the sector through UK-South African partnerships.  

Your project must focus on one or more of the following: 

1.    Digitalisation linked to one or more of the following areas:

• Water Resource Management: Digital technologies to provide real-time monitoring and data analytics, enabling better management of water resources.
• Leak Detection and Reduction: Digital sensors and smart meters to identify and locate leaks in water distribution networks promptly.  
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Digitalisation for the collection, integration, and analysis of vast amounts of data related to water supply, demand, and quality.
• Improved Water Quality Monitoring: Digital sensors and remote monitoring systems to continuously assess water quality parameters.  
• Enhanced Water Treatment Processes: Digital technologies to optimise water treatment processes, making them more efficient and cost-effective.  
• Enhanced Water Distribution and Access: Digital mapping and geospatial tools can optimise water distribution networks, ensuring more equitable access to water resources across different regions.  
• Water Billing and Revenue Management: Digital billing and payment systems to streamline water billing processes, improving revenue collection for water service providers, and supporting infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.  
• Remote Monitoring of Rural Water Infrastructure: In remote areas with limited access to water infrastructure, digital monitoring systems can help track the functionality and maintenance needs of water sources, ensuring their reliability.

2.    Effective Waste Management Systems linked to one or more of the following areas:

• Wastewater Treatment Efficiency: Innovations in wastewater treatment technologies that can enhance the efficiency of treatment processes, ensuring that contaminants and pollutants are effectively removed before discharge or reuse.
• Water Reuse and Recycling: Technologies that can enable the safe and efficient reuse of treated wastewater for non-potable purposes to reduce the demand on freshwater resources.  
• Energy Recovery: Innovations to recover energy from wastewater treatment processes, reducing operational costs and promoting sustainable energy practices.  
• Nutrient Recovery: Advanced technologies to facilitate the extraction of valuable nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from wastewater, transforming them into valuable resources for use in other industries.  

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR APPLICATION INCLUDES THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: COMPLETED APPLICATION TEMPLATE, PROJECT PLAN & FINANCES TEMPLATE, AND LETTER OF SUPPORT

Innovate UK and Global Alliance Africa

Innovate UK exists to connect innovators with new partners and new opportunities beyond their existing thinking – accelerating ambitious ideas into real world solutions. Innovate UK is delivering the 6-year (2019 - 2025) UK International Development funded, Global Alliance Africa project, which aims to build new and stronger UK-African partnerships to maximise the creation of inclusive market access, funding, and investment opportunities through innovation knowledge transfer between the UK, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

The project aligns with the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) objectives by building stronger local innovation ecosystems and enhanced UK-Africa collaborations that lead to self-sustaining economic growth in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa by the potential of innovation to meet current and future socio-economic challenges. The project is focused around three key pillars, one of which focuses on ‘Connected Innovation’ where Innovation Networks will be forged to facilitate UK, African and International networks to deliver collaborative research, innovation and funding solutions that address key global innovation challenges.

In South Africa, one of the key sectors identified has been Water and Wastewater due to the economic case for management of water resources. Investing in water security is crucial given that without water, there will be no food security, energy security will be compromised, and poverty reduction and economic growth will not be sustainable. South Africa is considered a water scarce country and Global Alliance Africa, with its objective in aligning with the country's innovation needs, has identified the opportunity to fund in innovation aimed at enabling water security.

Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)

The South African Technology and Innovation Agency (TIA) was established as a schedule 3A public entity under the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) (Act 1 of 1999, as amended by Act 29 of 1999). Its mandate is derived from the provisions of the Technology Innovation Agency Act (No 26 of 2008), which establishes TIA as an agency to promote the development and exploitation, in the public interest, of discoveries, inventions, innovations and improvements. TIA’s objective is to support the state in stimulating and intensifying technological innovation to improve economic growth and the quality of life of all South Africans by supporting technological innovations. TIA’s strategic programmes are aligned to the following national, continental, and global imperatives.

The Natural Resources sub-programme supports national Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) efforts in water security, the circular economy and the mining industry. The sub-programme focuses on future-orientated water and sanitation solutions, embedding the water sector in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and ensuring water security by using advanced technologies to sustainably improve efficiencies.

UK-South Africa Water Innovation Lead Customer Programme Background

Water security is a critical issue for many countries around the world, including those in Africa and the United Kingdom. While these regions have different water resource availability and management challenges, the overall goal is the same: to ensure a stable and sustainable supply of clean and safe water for their populations.

Digitalisation and effective waste management systems are essential priority areas in the water sector. These areas of innovation contribute to responsible consumption, efficiency, and resilience, making them fundamental pillars for modern water security and effective water management.

Overall, ensuring water security is a vital global challenge that requires collective action and innovative solutions. Addressing these challenges require collaborative effort between governments, civil society, the private sector, as well as sustained investment. 

The UK-South Africa Lead Customer Programme aims to address these challenges in both countries through a partnership model, thus accelerating innovations needed to create new or improved water access technologies for the sector and contributing towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. 

Funding Type and Project Size:

The funding for the programme is split into two funding streams as depicted below, with the UK organisations funded through Innovate UK as grants and conditional grants funded by TIA for South African organisations.

• Technology Testing & Validation, 6-9 month project: Grant funding of up to £25,000 for the UK registered organisation(s) and up to ZAR 500,000 for the South African registered organisation(s) per project (subject to T&C).
• Technology Demonstration & Scale-up, 9-12 month project: Grant funding of up to £100,000 for the UK registered organisation(s) and up to ZAR 1,000,000 for the South African registered organisation(s) (subject to T&C).
• Access to international collaboration and innovation  through UK-South Africa partnership.
• Support in facilitating industry engagement to seize future commercialisation opportunities and enhance market access.
• Sector expertise support from Innovate UK and TIA.

Before you start 

You must download the application template and project plan and finances template. This can be found using the links below:

Application Template 

Project Plan and Finances Template 

Register on the application portal by clicking the Apply Now button below. 

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure: 

• that all the information provided in the application is correct; 
• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria; 
• all sections of the application are marked as complete; and 
• that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs). 

You can reopen your application once registered, up until you submit the application. You must submit the application before the competition deadline on GMT 23:00 Friday 22nd December 2023.  

Your submission must include the following attachments: 

• Completed Application Template 
• Completed Project Plan and Finances Template 
• Formal Letter of commitment/support from at least one top tier supplier or utility company in the water sector 

What we ask you 

The application is split into five sections: 

• SA Applicant details. 
• UK Applicant details. 
• Details of top tier customer. 
• Project Details. 
• Project Plan and Finances 

Accessibility and inclusion 

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes providing support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.  

You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the most suitable support possible. 

You can contact us by emailing marisa.naidoo@iuk.ktn-global.org 

Finance

Up to £500 000 and R5 000 000 has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant for UK participants and a conditional grant for SA organisations.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

For UK organisations you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation  
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For South African organisations, your eligible project costs will be 100% funded through TIA, contingent upon the satisfactory fulfilment of predetermined criteria and conditions including possible royalty payment obligations, which will be agreed to before funding is awarded.

Application Submission

Please ensure that you click the [Stage Complete] button at each stage of your application.

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR APPLICATION INCLUDES THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: COMPLETED APPLICATION TEMPLATE, PROJECT PLAN & FINANCES TEMPLATE, AND LETTER OF SUPPORT

The aim of this competition is to create new or improved water access technologies for the sector through UK-South African partnerships.  

Your application must:

• Focus on the improvement of water security in South Africa and/or the UK, within the thematic areas of: 
   a) Digitalisation (data and technology for water management), or 
   b) Effective waste management systems 
• Be a collaboration with at least one UK partner and one South African partner.
• Propose an innovative technology solution or business model that is feasible, reliable and with tested proof of concept.
• Present demonstrable deployment route(s) with support/commitment from a South Africa and/or UK water utility company or top tier future customer. 

UKRI is committed to ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TRI) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TRI Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As funded projects will involve working with international partners, you are encouraged to read these principles and familiarise yourself with the resources referenced.

UKRI may request additional information regarding your plan to ensure safe international collaboration if your application is considered to be relevant to this policy.”

• 13 Nov 2023 - Competition Launch
• 29 Nov 2023 – Information session and Brokerage opportunity
• 26 Jan 2024 (GMT 23:00) - Deadline for applications
• Feb 2024 - Selection and due diligence of finalists
• Mar 2024 – Notification of funded finalists

We are not funding projects that:  

• are below Technology Readiness Level 4 
• are applications with no interests from a water industry sponsor or top tier future customer.
• do not have at least one UK participant and one SA participant.
• are dependent on export performance, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country. 
• are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product. 

Your project must meet the following requirements: 

Your project must be a partnership between a registered South African or UK registered business of any size or a research and technology organisation.

Your application must involve at least one participating organisation per country.

Your application must include an endorsement letter from a UK or SA water industry sponsor/top tier future customer (non-grant recipient), indicating the challenges your proposed project may solve and possibility of commercial route.

All project work to be carried out either in the UK or in South Africa.

Projects must always start on the first day of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.  

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. 

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.

Lead organisation 

To lead a project your organisation must: 

• be one of the collaboration partners that is a UK registered organisation or a South African registered organisation.
• register to apply on the application platform.
• manage the project execution plan and its deliverables.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.   

Project team 

Your consortium must include:

• at least one technology lead from both the UK and South Africa.
• at least one small or medium sized enterprise (SME) from the UK or South Africa

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK or South Africa registered: 

• business of any size
• research and technology organisation (RTO) 

Non-funded partners 

Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK or non-SA businesses. Their costs will count towards the total project costs. 

Subcontractors 

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK or SA and you must select them through your usual procurement process.  

You can use subcontractors from other countries but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK or SA.  

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors or SA contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use another country as a supplier subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.  

Number of applications  

A business or research and technology organisation (RTO) can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications. 

If an RTO is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications. 

A water industry sponsor can collaborate on any number of applications.

Subsidy Control 

All funding supplied by Innovate UK is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk) 
Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage. 

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see our general guidance to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK and the South African Technology Innovation Agency (TIA).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to TIA and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:  

• the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants  
• scoring and feedback on the application 
• information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports 

Innovate UK and TIA are directly accountable to you for holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, and TIA will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application. Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy is accessible here.

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of GDPR, and is committed to upholding the data protection principles, and protecting your information. The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

This funding competition is a co-investment by Innovate UK, TIA and UK International Development.

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR APPLICATION INCLUDES THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: COMPLETED APPLICATION TEMPLATE, PROJECT PLAN & FINANCES TEMPLATE, AND LETTER OF SUPPORT