Contracts for Innovation: FOAK26 (DFT Rail Innovation, 2026-27)
Historical reference for Innovate UK and Department for Transport’s closed FOAK26 Contracts for Innovation competition, which offered up to £4.3 million across eight rail challenges for high-maturity prototypes, field testing, and demonstrations.
Contracts for Innovation: FOAK26 (DFT Rail Innovation, 2026-27)
Historical reference: FOAK26 is closed. The official UKRI page records a closing time of 11:00am UK time on 24 June 2026. No later FOAK cycle is announced on the official FOAK26 or Innovation Funding Service pages, so this entry does not invent a replacement deadline.
Official status and key facts
Contracts for Innovation: FOAK26 was a Department for Transport (DfT)-funded competition run by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Its purpose was to help innovative suppliers develop, test, and demonstrate high-maturity solutions for specific railway challenges. The UKRI opportunity page now labels the opportunity Closed, and the Innovation Funding Service says that the competition is no longer accepting new applications.
The competition opened on 11 May 2026 and closed on 24 June 2026 at 11:00am UK time. It offered a maximum programme budget of £4.3 million, inclusive of VAT, across eight rail themes. Individual contracts could cover total eligible project costs up to £210,000, also inclusive of VAT. Innovate UK expected to award no more than 22 contracts, subject to the quality of applications, the available portfolio, and the funders’ right to adjust allocations. The funding was delivered as a Contracts for Innovation procurement of R&D services, even though the UKRI summary labels the funding type as a grant.
This distinction matters for anyone using the page as a model for a future application. A successful applicant would have received a contract to deliver the proposed R&D activity, not an unrestricted award to spend on a general business plan. The competition did not purchase a finished solution or guarantee later railway adoption. Any later adoption or implementation would have required a separate procurement exercise.
What FOAK26 covered
The FOAK Programme uses industry-defined challenges to move mature innovations toward practical railway use. FOAK26 focused on solutions that could be demonstrated in an operational or construction railway environment and that could make a credible case for commercial adoption. The official competition material required proposals to align with one or more of the named challenges and warned that an out-of-scope submission would not be assessed.
The eight themes were:
- Safe Concurrent High-Speed Rail Installation in Constrained Environments, with HS2 as stakeholder.
- UK Dark Skies - Drone Operations BVLOS, with Network Rail as stakeholder.
- Improving Customer Experience in Isolated Spaces, with Transport for London, DLR, and Rail North Partnership as stakeholders.
- Digital Hazard Log, with Network Rail and Southern Renewals Enterprise as stakeholders.
- Scour Risks to Structures, with Network Rail as stakeholder.
- Structures: Rapid Behaviour Verification to Support Assessment and Intervention Decisions, with Network Rail as stakeholder.
- Green Engineering Solutions for Earthworks Resilience and Biodiversity Net Gain, with Network Rail, Transport for London, and Southern Renewals Enterprise as stakeholders.
- Enhancing Rail Adhesion Through Intelligent Vegetation Management and Biodiversity-Positive Interventions, with Transport for London and Network Rail as stakeholders.
The challenge list was not an invitation to submit a general rail technology pitch. An applicant needed to select the challenge or challenges that best matched the work, explain the railway problem in concrete terms, and show how the proposed activity would result in a representative demonstration. The application service also stated that applications could not be transferred between themes and that proposals found out of scope would not be assessed.
Eligibility for the closed cycle
FOAK26 allowed organisations of any size to lead a project, including organisations based in the European Union, European Economic Area, or internationally. A lead applicant could work alone or use subcontractors for specialist skills and expertise from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations, or the third sector. The contract itself would be awarded to one legal entity; the competition was not structured for several organisations to receive separate awards within one application.
The majority of project work and key deliverables had to be completed by the lead applicant in the UK. That requirement did not prohibit all international involvement, but it did mean that an applicant needed to explain where the work would happen and why the lead organisation had the capacity to deliver it. The application also asked for the registered address of the lead organisation and the full registered address of any potential or confirmed subcontractors.
The proposed solution needed to be high maturity, at Rail Industry Readiness Level 5 or above. The applicant had to provide evidence of that readiness rather than treating the competition as an early research exercise. The project also needed a route toward a marketable product, process, or service, a representative demonstration and trial, an evaluation plan, and a way to collect information for cost or benefit analysis.
Project timing was fixed. Projects had to start on 1 September 2026, run for between three and seven months, and finish by 31 March 2027. Total eligible costs could not exceed £210,000 inclusive of VAT. Work could not begin before Innovate UK approved the contract, and costs incurred before the agreed start date could not be claimed.
Funding and cost rules
The £4.3 million allocation was inclusive of VAT and was subject to the receipt of enough high-quality applications. A proposal could request a contract of up to £210,000 inclusive of VAT. Innovate UK required at least 50% of the contract value to be attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services. Eligible R&D could include solution exploration and design, prototyping, and field testing. Normal quantity production, supply intended to establish commercial viability or recover R&D costs, integration, customisation, and incremental improvement of an existing product or process were excluded from that R&D definition.
VAT had to be handled inside the Innovation Funding Service. VAT-registered applicants were expected to enter eligible costs exclusive of VAT, after which the service calculated and added VAT. Applicants who were not VAT registered also entered costs exclusive of VAT, but could not later increase the total to cover VAT if their status changed. The total cost still had to remain within the £210,000 inclusive-of-VAT ceiling. The official guidance specifically warned about double-counting VAT, which could make an otherwise suitable application ineligible.
The competition did not provide advance payments. Applicants had to plan around agreed milestones, monthly monitoring, and payment in arrears. Invoices for completed milestones were due within 30 days of the end of each monthly monitoring period. This made cash-flow planning part of the delivery case, particularly where a project relied on subcontractors or needed to arrange access to a railway environment.
How applicants applied
Applications were submitted through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). A lead applicant started by creating an account or signing in as a representative of the organisation. The service allowed colleagues from the organisation to contribute, but the lead applicant remained responsible for collecting the information, representing the organisation, and confirming that the submission met the competition’s scope and eligibility rules.
The application had four sections:
- Project details, including the project title, start date, duration, organisation details, short project summary, public description, and applicant location.
- Application questions, covering the selected challenge, animal testing, permits and licences, international collaboration, export controls, trusted research and innovation, previous applications, state of the art and intellectual property, project plan and methodology, technical team, costs and value for money, and commercial potential.
- Finances, including the cost breakdown, VAT status, milestones, and the R&D share of the contract value.
- Project Impact, which applicants had to complete before submission.
The project plan and methodology required a clear account of the work, its sequencing, and the evidence that would be produced. A strong historic application would have connected each milestone to a practical demonstration, an evaluation method, and a decision that a railway stakeholder could use. The technical team section needed to show the experience required to deliver at the stated readiness level. The commercial potential question needed to identify potential railway customers, explain the benefits, and set out a credible route to adoption rather than assuming that a successful demonstration automatically created a sale.
Applicants had to read the general IFS competition guidance, complete every section, check that the information was correct, and submit before the closing time. A submitted application could be reopened and resubmitted up to the deadline. The service instructed applicants not to include website addresses or links in their application answers because those URLs would not be viewed or opened by assessors.
Assessment and what happened after submission
FOAK26 was a single-phase competitive process. Three independent assessors reviewed applications, with support from the relevant challenge holders. All application scores contributed to the funding decision unless the applicant was told otherwise. Innovate UK used a portfolio approach, so a proposal could receive positive feedback and still not receive a contract if it did not fit the final funded portfolio or the budget was exhausted.
The published timetable said applicants would be notified on 17 July 2026, contracts would be awarded on 31 August 2026, and projects would start on 1 September 2026. Those dates describe the completed FOAK26 cycle and should not be read as an open invitation to apply now.
Successful applicants were to receive a unique link to the IFS project-setup portal. They had 30 days, including weekends and bank holidays, to complete setup and provide the project location, responses to financial or milestone questions, and any requested supporting documents. A valid business bank account in the same name as the IFS organisation was required for milestone payments. Innovate UK would then issue the contract in IFS; the successful organisation had to sign and upload it, wait for approval, and start only on the confirmed date.
Unsuccessful applicants could view assessor feedback in the IFS portal after notification. The guidance also made clear that a strong score was not a guarantee of funding because the portfolio decision and the available budget still applied.
Use this page responsibly
FOAK26 is retained here as a historical reference for the programme structure, the rail challenges, the funding limits, and the type of evidence the competition required. It is not currently accepting applications, and this entry does not claim that a FOAK27 or other replacement round has been announced. Anyone looking for a live opportunity should verify the latest Contracts for Innovation listings directly with Innovate UK and UKRI before preparing a submission.
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