SAIC prepares for funding call after building pipeline of proposals
Scotland's Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster (SAIC) has announced that it is preparing to open its full funding call for collaborative R&D and innovation projects in the last week of August 2026.
The move follows a successful Expression of Interest (EOI) call in May-June, which aimed to build a pipeline of high‑quality proposals ahead of the full funding call.
The full call will be an open funding competition, designed to support projects that address key challenges and opportunities across Scottish aquaculture. Full guidance, eligibility criteria and application documentation will be published when the call launches, with applications expected to close in early October 2026.
The opportunity is open to both industry and academic partners, with support available for projects aligned with SAIC’s strategic priorities, including finfish health and welfare, shellfish, seaweed and other species, environmental sustainability, sector and production capacity, climate resilience, and the transition to net‑zero. Projects must involve at least two partners and begin at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or above.
For the first time, both higher education institutions (HIEs) and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are eligible for SAIC funding.
Collaborative projects
Projects must be collaborative and include at least two partners. An academic partner is not mandatory, provided the consortium can clearly show it has access to the necessary technical or scientific expertise.
It was announced in March that SAIC was receive a new £7 million funding package from Crown Estate Scotland (CES), the Scottish Government quango which rents out the seabed sites used by Scotland’s fish, shellfish, and seaweed farmers.
The five-year deal, developed in partnership with the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate, included a change of SAIC’s status from an organisation hosted by the University of Stirling to a fully independent legal entity with a distinct governance and delivery model.
Under the new agreement, CES is providing SAIC with £1.4m per annum to deliver and enhance its core operations and to provide seed funding for R&D projects.
Established in 2014 as the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, SAIC has retained its initials through two name changes and continues its mission of supporting the resilience, innovation, capacity and long‑term prosperity of the Scottish finfish, shellfish, and seaweed sectors.
