23 January 2015 - The Department for Transport (DfT) is offering to fund short, sharp, potentially ambitious projects that use science, engineering and technology to help facilitate a more efficient transport system in the UK. The Transport Technology Research Innovations Grant (T-TRIG) competition is open to all transport challenges aligned with the Department’s priorities and policies, with a premium placed on innovation.

The entry deadline is by midnight on Monday 26 January 2015.

The DfT has received a number of queries, a compendium of which it thought would be helpful for those intending to apply for a grant.

When will payment be made?

There has been some confusion with the wording of the Grant Specification and Evaluation Criteria document. To clarify, the majority of the project work will need to be completed before the end of March when a brief outline of the work carried should be provided to DfT. However, some work can continue into April or May with the final report due by the end of May 2015. Payment from DfT will be made on receipt and approval of the final report, i.e. May 2015.

What is the position on IP?

With regards to the ownership of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), the successful applicant will be expected to agree that DfT may disseminate any information, know-how, system or process learned from or created as part of the project among persons or bodies who have responsibility for similar projects. It will be expected to agree that such persons may share and use freely all such information, know-how, system or process for their own purposes.  The funding agreement will also require the successful applicant to grant a licence to DfT under section 91(3) of the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988 in relation to the future copyright in works funded in whole or in part by the grant.  The licence will be non-exclusive and granted without provision for the payment of royalties for the full period protected by copyright in the works.  This will allow DfT to copy, issue or adapt any such works for its own purposes. 

Are there any pre-registration requirements for the scheme?

No. Applicants are required to simply email their grant application form and pricing table to the email address: research.grants@dft.gsi.gov.uk by the deadline.

How much funding is available?

The Department plans to award up to £25K to six to eight projects depending on the quality of the applications.

Is this competition a one-off?

This year, the T-TRIG has been set-up as a pilot, to test the market and quality of applications. We intend to run this scheme again next year, however, this depends on the number and quality of applications.

Will the scheme next year, follow the same format?

Broadly speaking, yes. There will be some changes to improve it, in light of what we learn during this pilot. It is envisaged that this will be an open call and there will be two cut off dates next year. Applications which fail to make one cut-off date could still apply in time for the next cut-off date.

Could you tell me whether a company applying for grant support under this programme has to have a trading history, or would a start-up company be eligible?

The simple answer is yes, a start-up company is eligible to apply. The main conditions of this scheme are that the project must be innovative and focused on science, engineering or technology related to improving transport.

How/where do we list sub-contracted work on the form?

Although we do not have a line for subcontractor cost, applicants can add an additional line to indicate these costs, noting that the maximum for this grant award is £25k in total.

Should overheads be included in the salary rates or shown separately?

Salary costs should include the overhead costs as this is not something that would be funded separately.

T-TRIG Application process Webinar

Application forms - Department for Transport T-TRIG scheme offering 100% funding to support technology-based solutions for transport challenges.