Contracts for Innovation FOAK26

Contracts for Innovation FOAK26 (First of a Kind 2026) is an Innovate UK transport-innovation funding strand offering £4.3m in total, with applications closing on 24 June 2026. It is part of Innovate UK's £93m combined competition opening confirmed in May 2026. The programme funds proof-of-concept trials for novel transport technologies at the point where private capital has not yet entered — the 'first of a kind' deployment phase.

Contracts for Innovation is Innovate UK's procurement-innovation model, distinct from grants: participating companies receive public-sector contracts to deliver novel solutions to government challenges, rather than grant awards. FOAK programmes have been used in rail, autonomous vehicles, and clean transport. The FOAK26 strand targets transport innovations where a first deployment contract can de-risk subsequent private investment.