Partnership and Engagement Programme

The programme is focused on stimulating commercially oriented partnerships and collaborations with the University to create positive Welsh economic impact.

Developing Collaborative Partnerships

Initial early-stage activity such as scoping, feasibility and diagnostic is fully funded & explored alongside our team of experts. Following this activity, our dedicated Engagement Managers will support you to take this further by developing a pathway for further ongoing engagement. This may include:

Developing industry-university partnerships
Identifying collaborative research opportunities
Signposting to follow-on funding opportunities
Provision of contract research or consultancy
Design and delivery of commercial CPD or training
Access to USW's technical facilities

Benefit from up to £1,250 Of Funded Support

Each application is worth £1,250 which funds up to 20 hours of academic time to enable initial scoping, feasibility and early stage conversations with the external organisations.

FAQs

Our aim is to support as many businesses as possible to benefit from the Partnership and Engagement Programme. through an on-line application platform. If you'd like to discuss suitability of your proposal for the programme first, our team can be contacted here. 

The Partnership and Engagement Programme opens from 1st October 2025.

Applications can be submitted up until May 2026 (pending allocated budget availability) with all Projects having been completed and completion forms submitted to us by the end of June 2026.

The programme is open to application by any registered business or civic body looking to develop meaningful future collaborative relationships with the University of South Wales. While there is no limit on the size or location of the external partner, the project must demonstrate that it is an effective collaboration and will deliver positive Welsh economic impact. Applications from microbusinesses and recent start-ups are also welcomed.

Applications to PEP can be submitted through the following link: https://sdi.click/uswpep2

First-time users must register with an email address to create an account before submitting their application idea.

Should you have any queries about the programme, or accessing the online application please email [email protected]

Applications will be assessed by the USW Exchange team, on a rolling basis and will be checked to ensure they are complete. Compliance with eligibility requirements alone does not guarantee approval.

Whilst we will endeavour to successfully link your application with a relevant academic for work to begin, we can’t always guarantee that we will have the relevant academic expertise or capacity at the time to carry out the scoping work outlined in your proposal.

USW Exchange will begin conversations with academics to ensure expertise and resource is available and if possible, will facilitate introductions.

We anticipate high demand for this programme, and applications will be assessed competitively against the criteria below, and their potential for scientific, economic or societal impacts.

Assessment Criteria:  

Sustainability and long-term outcomes of the partnership
Articulated benefit/impact to USW
Benefit/Impact to Wales
Benefit/Impact to External Organisation
Size/Scale and residency of External Organisation

Applications which also have a link to one of USW’s 4 Accelerated Development Areas (Sustainable Environment; Crime, Security and Justice; Health & Wellbeing; Creative) will be of particular interest to assessors.

If your application is successful you will be notified by email. USW Exchange will allocate an External Engagement Manager to support the development and delivery of your intended outcomes, by facilitating the engagement between the industry partner and our internal expertise.

A schedule for initial diagnostic or scoping sessions with our staff will be mutually agreed to understand your challenge, and a timeline for any feasibility papers, skills diagnostics, scoping reports or other outcomes agreed as part of the programme activity will be confirmed on a case-by-case basis by the allocated Engagement Manager.

Once the relevant academic expertise has been identified and secured to work on your request or challenge, we will arrange for a diagnostic and scoping session to bring the academic and industry collaborators together (if not already known to one another). This session may be in-person or conducted through virtual meeting software. During this session the challenge will be discussed in detail, including steps taken to date, resource available to work on solutions and any other relevant information.

Following the diagnostic session, the linked expert will use the remainder of their funded time to consider and research potential next steps for your project resulting in a summary report regarding feasibility, insights and recommendations. This will also include suggested tangible further collaboration opportunities which will seek to move any proposed solutions forward e.g. Collaborative Research with USW, Contract Research, Commercial Consultancy, CPD or Access to USW Facilities/Equipment. The assigned Engagement Manager will discuss the outcomes of this with the external organisation including the availability of any other funding which could enable this.

Successful applications are required to submit a short post-award form after the activity has been delivered, the contents of which may be used to case-study impacts of the Partnership & Engagement Programme as well as for reporting and monitoring purposes.

All applications are considered in competition with each other, and the availability of the required expertise at the time of application. If your application is unsuccessful you will be notified and where possible, the USW Exchange team will support your challenge through alternative channels.