Universities and research organisations get 100% of their costs funded through R&D grants, so in effect they are a free resource to your business if you can get them onboard as a project partner.
Think about end-users (customers) as a potential partner, can you persuade a key customer to be involved in the testing and feedback phase of your R&D grant project? In many R&D grant applications, having an academic and/or industry partner will improve your chances of winning the funding.
