Open & upcoming calls

This topic seeks to develop and demo a modular, open-architecture AUVs for rapid payload swapping, collaborative fleet deployment, and resilient undersea navigation. | See Topic

This topic seeks to develop and demo a robust framework and tool suite building on automated algorithm discovery tools that will enable the seamless integration of discovered algorithms with the scientific and engineering workflow. | See Topic

We are soliciting innovative proposals for the development of a multifunctional, target-agnostic platform for precise, programmable editing of endogenous proteins. | See Program

This topic seeks to mature and commercialize revolutionary Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) subsystem designs capable of breaking the 4:1 payload-to-weight ratio. | See Topic

DSO is “shopping” the ERIS Marketplace for game-changing, foundational mechanisms capable of fundamentally disrupting legacy thermodynamic limits across diverse DoW application spaces. | See ERIS

The IMR program aims to develop repair methods to protect essential economic sectors against devastating attacks that exploit the public interfaces of modern markets. | See Program

The primary intent of this RFI is to inform industry of a potential new DARPA program and to encourage innovative contractor/subcontractor teaming arrangements prior to formal solicitation. | See Office

IPTO is sponsoring a Proposers Day on Oct. 1, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia, with unclassified and classified sessions for Intrinsic Market Resilience (IMR), a possible future program. | See Event

DSO is issuing a Disruption Opportunity (DO), inviting submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of accelerated materials testing and prediction for concrete. | See Program

Funding opportunities Calls for Expressions of Interest European Cybersecurity Competence Centre and Network The Competence Centre’s and Network’s mission is to assist the European Union in:

UK businesses and research organisations can apply for a share of up to £3 million from DFID and Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) for projects with partners in eligible African countries. Your project must be collaborative and include all of the following: a business at least one partner from the UK one partner from an eligible African country The technical project work can be led by a partner from the UK, an eligible African country or another country. The administrative work must be led by a partner from the UK.

Loans up to £1.6m available. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to commercialise your defence solution The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch Defence Innovation Loans which has £10 million to lend for innovative defence solutions. Accessible to SMEs, and with a below market interest rate of 7.4% per annum, the Defence Innovation Loan provides an excellent opportunity to apply for affordable funds to help you commercialise your defence solutions. Defence Innovation Loans: An introduction Defence Innovation Loans: An introduction How to apply? Check out the full document and submit your idea . Defence Innovation Loans Webinar On Thursday 9th September, DASA and Innovate UK hosted a live webinar to answer all of your questions about Defence Innovation Loans, where viewers spoke to our panel of experts about how to submit a successful application. Defence Innovation Loans: Webinar Watch our previous webinar We received some great questions during our last Defence Innovation Loans webinar. Catch up on what you missed here . For more Defence Innovation Loans content, check out our video playlist How much is available for a Defence Innovation Loan? The total of £10 million is available for the Defence Innovation Loan competition this year, of which comprises £5M from the Defence Innovation Fund and £5M from Army. You can apply for a loan between £250,000 and £1.6 million with a below market interest rate of 7.4% per annum. This loan can cover up to 100% of eligible project costs to aid the commercialisation of the solution and overall term of the loan must not exceed 7 years. Please note, Innovate UK will carry out the Defence Innovation Loan credit evaluation and you will enter into a loan agreement and security agreement with Innovate UK Loans Ltd. Read the full DASA competition document for more information on Defence Innovation Loans . Who can apply for a Defence Innovation Loan? To apply for a Defence Innovation Loan you must: be a UK registered SME intend to exploit the results in the UK or overseas to make a significant and positive impact on the UK economy and/or productivity give evidence that your business is suitable to take on a loan Please note, individuals, academic institutions, research organisations and large companies are not eligible for innovation loans. What kind of innovation will be considered for a loan? Defence Innovation Loans are open to innovative ideas to improve the defence of the UK. Your innovation must be mature at TRL 6 or above, to ensure the solution can be commercialised within the time scale of the Innovation Loan. There also must clearly be evidence of a defence need for the innovative solution. Two tracks of funding The Defence Innovation Loan has two tracks of funding, covering general Defence solutions and more specific solutions for the Army. Track 1: Defence Innovation Fund (£5M) Track 1 is open to innovative ideas to improve the Defence of the UK. Track 2: Army Innovation Fund (£5M) Track 2 is open to innovations which align with any of the priority areas below and targets an Army end user. Priority areas include: Army industrial engagement framework decision-support directed energy weapons human performance enhancement information advantage robotics and autonomous systems and more… Ready to apply? Read the full DASA competition document here . For more on Defence Innovation Loans, watch the video below: Defence Innovation Loans: Everything you need to know Defence Innovation Loans: Everything you need to know

Businesses can apply for a share of £5.5 million, including VAT, to develop demonstrators to enhance resilience, freight operations and the environment. To lead a project, you can be an organisation of any size and must: carry out your project in the UK involve an owner of railway assets (such as stations, rolling stock or infrastructure), an experienced railway organisation and a railway organisation that has the potential to become a customer (this can be the same organisation or 3 separate organisations) include a potential integration partner as a subcontractor Partners can only be involved on a subcontract basis. This competition closes at midday 12pm UK time on the deadline. Please read the full competition scope before you apply.

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million to develop innovative proposals with Singapore and other EUREKA countries. To be eligible for funding from Innovate UK your collaboration: must include at least one UK based micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) must include an eligible Singapore lead partner can include other UK businesses of any size or UK based research organisations must follow the full process correctly Please read the full competition scope before you start your application.

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £968,000, plus VAT, for innovations that demonstrate security surveillance analytics in Network Rail stations. Your organisation: can be any size must be from the UK, EU or EEA must carry out your project in the UK Partners can only be involved as subcontractors. Please read the full competition scope before you apply.

Businesses from the UK, EU or EEA can apply for a share of up to £9.4 million, including VAT, to develop demonstrators for sustainability, customer experience, operations or maintenance. To lead a project, you can: be an organisation of any size be based in the UK, EU, or EEA work alone or with others as subcontractors You must: involve a railway asset owner (stations, rolling stock, infrastructure), an experienced railway organisation and a railway organisation that has the potential to become a customer (these can all be the same organisation) include a potential integration partner Please read the full competition scope before you apply.

Highways England is funding 2 parallel competitions for solutions and ideas for the design and use of UK roads. This competition is for proven feasibility projects at development stage (higher TRL). To lead a project, you can: be an organisation of any size work alone or with others as subcontractors Your idea must be suitable for trial on the strategic road network in England . Please read the full competition scope before you apply.

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million to develop AI and quantum technology or quantum sensing technologies together with organisations from EUREKA countries. To be eligible for funding from Innovate UK your collaboration: must be led by at least one UK business of any size must include at least one eligible partner from one of the EUREKA network countries must follow the full process correctly Read the full competition scope before you make your application.

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £5 million to work with Chinese partners to develop new integrated precision farming technology and help achieve net-zero emissions. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Your consortium must include at least: a UK registered business of any size a UK academic institution or research and technology organisation a Chinese business of any size a Chinese academic institution or research organisation The UK partners must: carry out their project work in the UK, and in China where reasonable intend to exploit the results from or in the UK Please read the full competition scope before you apply.

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £8 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund for capital projects to improve medicines manufacturing. To lead a project you must: be a UK-based business of any size work alone or in collaboration with one or more businesses Please read the full competition scope before you make your application.