Healthy soils and water for a sustainable environment 

Healthy soils and water for a sustainable environment (HSWSE) is a new £28 million collaborative R&D fund open from 19 November 2026 to 28 January 2027. It’s aimed at supporting innovation in soil, water and environmental management and is open to those with project costs of between £1 million and £5 million. 

Our experienced team can support with all aspects of the HSWSE application process. Whether you have a discreet query on eligibility or require full application support, we can assist. We draw on our expertise in supporting clients throughout the innovation life cycle to ensure that your application is robust and well positioned for review. 

What does HSWSE aim to achieve? 

HSWSE is intended to benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England developing technology for agriculture, soil/water management, fertilisers/nutrients, circular bioeconomy, climate resilience or decision support tools/monitoring. Funding will be delivered through Innovate UK as part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme. 

Projects will be considered across different technologies, markets, technological maturities and research categories and should focus on increasing agricultural productivity, sustainability and resilience. 

Which projects are eligible? 

Projects that address multiple scope areas and adopt a systems-based approach are particularly encouraged. They support integrated, whole farm solutions, delivering greatest impact. 

There are also several other key criteria that the project must meet: 

• costs between £1 million and £5 million; 

• last up to 36 months; 

• start by 1 August 2027; and 

• end by 31 July 2030. 

Applicants must also evidence how the solution will benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England.  

Which organisations are eligible? 

To lead a project, an organisation can be any size and must: 

• be a UK-registered business;  

• collaborate with at least one other UK organisation. 

Collaborators can be a business of any size, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit, public sector organisation or a research and technology organisation. They can also include non-funded partners and subcontractors. 

How to apply 

The competition overview contains detailed information on how to apply, with the application split into three sections: 

• project details. 

• application questions. 

• finances. 

Applications must be submitted by 28 January 2027 and will be reviewed by independent assessors. Successful applicants will be invited to an interview in May 2027 and will receive the outcome up to one week later. If you require support to meet the deadline, ForrestBrown can help. 

How ForrestBrown can support you 

ForrestBrown has over a decade’s experience helping innovative businesses to unlock reliefs, incentives and non-dilutive funding across a range of sectors. 

We offer support for all stages of the grant application process, from initial scoping and eligibility assessment to stakeholder management, feasibility studies and application processing and submission. 

If you are preparing your application in-house, but would welcome a second pair of eyes, we can provide an objective review, as well as additional capacity at peak times.