A partnership between Cardiff Council, Monmouthshire Council, the Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund, Welsh Government Innovation and the SBRI Centre of Excellence. Key points This £2.6 million SBRI Challenge is now open for applications. You are invited to register your interest on the SimplyDo platform. In total, the three phases of the Challenge will last until at least March 2025. Background The COVID-19 pandemic, the UK’s departure from the European Union, increased energy prices combined with the Russia-Ukraine war has and will continue to present challenges to our food systems.  These events have highlighted how heavily dependent the UK is on imported foods. Cardiff Council and Monmouthshire Council recognise that the way we produce, supply and consume food in the future will play a major part in determining how successful we are in living up to the unprecedented challenges that face us in terms of the climate change emergency, biodiversity loss and diet-related illness.  Shifting our food and farming system to capitalise on our local assets presents enormous opportunities for the health of our economy, people and the planet. The Challenge Cardiff Council, in collaboration with Monmouthshire Council and our wider partnership, are seeking to identify and support projects to develop innovative solutions which can significantly improve the sustainable production and supply of food. The Challenge looks for applicants to harness the potential of land, technology and people to increase the sustainable production and supply of locally grown food in the Cardiff Capital Region. The Challenge requires applicants to clearly demonstrate: Problem 1: how they will increase the sustainable production of food in the region and generate positive economic, social and environmental impacts. Problem 2: how they will supply nutritious, locally grown food whilst ensuring a fair price for producers and the wellbeing of future generations. Applicants can request to solve one or both problems within the Challenge. However, we would strongly recommend and encourage partnerships between applicants so that both problems can be addressed in tandem. We are interested in sustainable food production and supply chain solutions which can be applied to the public sector, private and third sector to maximise commercial opportunities. Funding Allocation and Project Details The competition will run in three phases (subject to viable solutions coming from earlier phases): Phase 1 is intended to show the feasibility of the proposed concept. Development contracts will be for a duration of 3 months and up to £50,000 (inc. VAT) per project. The number of projects awarded will be dependent on the quality of the submissions. Phase 2 contracts are intended to develop and evaluate prototypes of demonstration proposals from the more promising solutions identified in Phase 1, and it is anticipated that projects will run for 12 months. Approximately £800,000 (inc. VAT) of funding has been assigned to this phase and can be awarded to one or more Only those projects that have completed Phase 1 successfully will be eligible to apply for Phase 2. Phase 3 contracts are intended to provide organisations with an opportunity to scale up their innovative solutions, and it is anticipated that projects will run for a maximum of 12 months. Approximately £1,000,000 (inc. VAT) of funding has been assigned to this phase and can be awarded to one or more Only those projects that have completed Phase 2 successfully will be eligible to apply for Phase 3. Register your interest