Deadline Date: June 03, 2026
The Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT) – Call 1 offers funding opportunities for UK organisations to develop near-term, testable solutions that enhance secure, resilient, and sustainable network capabilities.
This grant focuses on advancing the UK’s Secure and Resilient Networks and Sustainable Networks Grand Challenges by supporting the development of deployable prototypes or demonstrators on UK testbeds and real-world environments, ensuring measurable improvements in network performance such as reliability, availability, recovery time, security, energy use, spectrum efficiency, and lifecycle carbon, while also demonstrating a clear path to adoption by network operators, vendors, or public sector users.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is delivering this competition with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Up to £15 million, inclusive of VAT, will be invested through this Contracts for Innovation initiative, subject to business case approval and the availability of high-quality applications. The programme is part of the broader ACT R&D Programme announced under the UK’s Industrial Strategy, aiming to strengthen the UK’s position in global connectivity technologies.
The ACT R&D Programme is designed to support the UK’s leading academic research base, accelerate early-stage innovations toward commercial viability, address real-world connectivity challenges through industry collaboration, and enable UK SMEs to scale and attract private investment. This particular competition emphasises challenge-led solution development, encouraging practical and deployable innovations.
Projects funded under this call must begin by 1 September 2026 and conclude by 31 August 2027, with durations ranging from 3 to 12 months. Eligible project costs must fall between £200,000 and £2 million, inclusive of VAT. Projects must be led by UK-registered organisations that will carry out the work within the UK and aim to exploit the results domestically. Applicants may work independently or collaborate through subcontracting with businesses, research organisations, or third-sector entities, including international partners where justified.
The competition encourages the use of national research facilities such as the Catapult Network, EPSRC-funded Future Connectivity Hubs, and the JOINER testbed to strengthen project delivery. While up to 20 contracts are expected to be awarded, funding decisions will consider application quality, strategic portfolio balance, and applicant track record, including any prior conduct with Innovate UK or UKRI.
Participation in this competition does not guarantee procurement or adoption of developed solutions, as any future implementation would be subject to separate processes. There is also potential for future funding opportunities, although these would require separate applications and are not yet confirmed.
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
