Prime Minister SPARK & ELEVATE Program 2026: اہلیت، گرانٹس اور درخواست دینے کا طریقہ

Quick Answer

The Prime Minister’s SPARK and ELEVATE Program is Ignite–National Technology Fund’s research and innovation grant. SPARK funds early-stage idea-to-prototype research up to Rs. 100 million; ELEVATE funds prototype-to-market commercialization up to Rs. 200 million. Projects run up to 18 months. Applications close 26 October 2026 on the SEGMS portal.

اردو میں مختصر جواب: وزیراعظم کا SPARK اور ELEVATE پروگرام Ignite (نیشنل ٹیکنالوجی فنڈ) کی تحقیق اور جدت کے لیے گرانٹ ہے۔ SPARK آئیڈیا سے پروٹوٹائپ تک کی ابتدائی تحقیق کے لیے 10 کروڑ روپے تک، اور ELEVATE پروٹوٹائپ سے مارکیٹ تک کے مرحلے کے لیے 20 کروڑ روپے تک فنڈنگ دیتا ہے۔ درخواستیں صرف SEGMS پورٹل پر 26 اکتوبر 2026 تک جمع کرائی جا سکتی ہیں۔

Deadline alert: The last date for both programs is 26 October 2026. Ignite advises applicants to submit no later than two days before the deadline, so treat 24 October as your real cut-off.

If you run a research lab, a startup or a technology company in Pakistan, you have probably heard about this program. What is harder to find is a plain answer to the questions that decide whether you apply: which grant is mine, am I eligible, what must I upload, and how much time is left?

This guide answers those in order. It draws on the program’s own guidelines, FAQs and portal, and it explains the jargon as it goes. It is written for researchers, faculty, founders and SME teams, and it points you to the official Ignite SPARK & ELEVATE page wherever the official wording matters.

SPARK and ELEVATE at a Glance

What Is the Prime Minister’s SPARK and ELEVATE Program?

یہ ایک فلیگ شپ ریسرچ اور انوویشن گرانٹ اسٹریم ہے جسے Ignite-National Technology Fund کے ذریعے چلایا جاتا ہے۔ اسے ترمیم شدہ ریسرچ اینڈ ڈویلپمنٹ رولز، 2006 (ایس آر او 94(I)/2026 کے طور پر مطلع کیا گیا) کے تحت شروع کیا گیا تھا۔ Ignite کا اپنا صفحہ دو ٹریکس کو PM SPARK اور PM ELEVATE کہتے ہیں۔

ان کو سمجھنے کا سب سے آسان طریقہ ایک سڑک پر دو قدم ہے۔ SPARK آپ کو یہ ثابت کرنے میں مدد کرتا ہے کہ آئیڈیا کام کرتا ہے۔ ELEVATE آپ کو کسی ایسی چیز کو تبدیل کرنے میں مدد کرتا ہے جو پہلے سے کام کرتی ہے اس پروڈکٹ میں جو لوگ خرید سکتے ہیں۔

What SPARK funds

SPARK stands for Strategic Program for Advanced Research and Knowledge. It pays for collaborative, often interdisciplinary research that takes an idea to a functional prototype.

“Functional” has a specific meaning here. By the end of the project you need a measurable, verifiable result, such as a successful pilot, validation in a real-world environment, or early industry interest like a letter of intent, a paid trial or a first commercial commitment. Outcomes should also include proper protection of the intellectual property you create, and they may include publications.

What ELEVATE funds

ELEVATE stands for Empowering Late-stage Engineering, Validation, and Accelerated Technology. It is for technology that has already been validated at proof-of-concept level and now needs to become a market-ready product.

In practice that means refining the product, pilot testing, meeting regulatory or quality requirements, getting ready to manufacture or deploy, and preparing to go to market. ELEVATE is industry-led, so a company must drive it.

The nine priority themes

The program is open to any sector, but Ignite lists these themes as guidance. They are a guide, not a limit.

• Digital Industry & Advanced Manufacturing
• ICT-enabled Agriculture & Water Systems
• Energy Systems & Efficiency
• Health Systems & Digital Healthcare
• Smart Cities & Urban Systems
• Connectivity & Digital Infrastructure
• Safety, Security & Trust Systems
• Education & Human Capital Systems
• Transport & Smart Mobility

SPARK vs ELEVATE: Which Grant Fits Your Project?

Start with your Technology Readiness Level, or TRL. It is a 1-to-9 scale for how mature a technology is: level 1 is basic principles, and level 9 is a proven product working in real operation. Ignite places SPARK at TRL 1–5 and ELEVATE at TRL 6–8. Its page is clear that readiness decides your program, not just the kind of organization you are.

A quick test. If you are still establishing whether the idea works technically and have no functional prototype, apply to SPARK. If you already have a functional prototype or advanced model and your next job is productization, certification, pilot deployment and market entry, apply to ELEVATE.

Ignite recommends that you do not submit the same proposal to both programs.

Three illustrative cases

These are hypothetical examples to show how the logic works, not real applicants.

1. A university lab with a promising model. A research group has trained an AI model to detect crop disease from leaf images. It works on test data, but there is no working device or field trial. That is SPARK territory: the aim is a validated, functional prototype.
2. A software company with a working product. An SME has a fleet-tracking system that runs well internally. It now needs certification, a pilot with a first customer and a go-to-market plan. That is ELEVATE, led by the company.
3. A final-year engineer with a great idea. Without a registered organization behind them, they cannot apply alone. The practical route is to partner with a registered university or company that can act as the lead.

How Much Funding Do You Get?

SPARK گرانٹس روپے تک جاتی ہیں۔ 100 ملین اور ELEVATE گرانٹس روپے تک۔ 200 ملین، ہر ایک زیادہ سے زیادہ 18 ماہ سے زیادہ۔ یہ چھتیں ہیں، لہذا آپ کے بجٹ کو لائن بہ لائن درست کرنا ہوگا۔

پیسہ لیڈ آرگنائزیشن (PIO یا PDO) کو جاتا ہے، افراد کو نہیں۔ پہلی قسط صرف گرانٹ کے معاہدے پر دستخط ہونے کے بعد جاری کی جاتی ہے، قانونی طریقہ کار مکمل ہو جاتا ہے اور ایک منظور شدہ ورک پلان جمع کرایا جاتا ہے۔ بعد کی قسطیں سنگ میل سے منسلک ہوتی ہیں اور صرف اس وقت جاری کی جاتی ہیں جب پچھلے سنگ میل کو تسلی بخش سمجھا جاتا ہے۔

اسپارک کے لیے جاننے کے لیے ایک اضافی شرط ہے۔ گرانٹ کا کچھ حصہ صرف پروٹو ٹائپ مرحلے سے آگے کی پیشرفت کے ثبوت کے خلاف جاری کیا جاتا ہے، مثال کے طور پر دستخط شدہ پائلٹ معاہدہ، ارادے کا خط یا کسی صنعتی پارٹنر سے پہلی خریداری کا عہد۔ اگرچہ صنعت کی پشت پناہی درخواست کے وقت اختیاری ہے، یہ جلد مدد کرتا ہے۔

Co-financing. Cash or in-kind contributions from industry partners are encouraged and viewed favorably in evaluation. There is no fixed minimum. If you offer it, declare it and back it with a letter of support.

Who Can Apply? Eligibility Criteria

The core rule is simple: applications must come from a legally registered entity based in Pakistan. Individuals without a registered entity cannot apply to either program.

SPARK eligibility

• The applicant is a Pakistan-based registered entity (the PIO), such as a university, research organization, startup or SME.
• The application is submitted by a Principal Investigator (PI) nominated by that organization.
• A consortium of universities, industry partners or other research bodies is allowed but not mandatory. Industry or public-sector involvement counts in your favor.

ELEVATE eligibility

• The lead is a Pakistan-based registered startup, SME or large enterprise (the PDO), acting as industry lead.
• A Project Director (PD) submits the application, and a Commercial Lead from within the PDO is responsible for commercialization and market entry.
• You must give details of the pilot site or first customer where the product will be tested.
• Universities and researchers are welcome as partners, but the industry lead must drive the project.

Consortia and international partners

Local and international partners are welcome where they add something real, such as technology maturity, market access or scaling ability. The condition is that a Pakistan-based registered entity submits the proposal and administers the grant.

List every member and their role, and attach a signed letter of support or consortium agreement for each. Some ELEVATE themes make a named partner compulsory.

Who cannot apply

• Individuals without a registered entity.
• Proposals involving Ignite employees, directors or their immediate family.

How many proposals can you submit?

One PI can submit up to two different SPARK proposals, and one PD can submit one ELEVATE proposal. The same person can be PI on a SPARK proposal and PD on a separate ELEVATE one. Just don’t send the same proposal to both.

SPARK and ELEVATE Last Date 2026 and Timeline

The SEGMS portal shows 26 October 2026 as the last date to submit for both programs. Applications are accepted only against an open call and only through the portal. Email, post, hand delivery, rolling and unsolicited submissions are not accepted.

A 14-day plan to the deadline

This schedule is our suggestion, not Ignite’s. It leaves a buffer because Ignite does not guarantee fixing technical problems raised in the final 24 hours.

Warning: The guidelines are only a guide. If anything conflicts, the Call Announcement and the Grant Agreement prevail. Read the full Call Announcement before you apply.

How to Apply on the SEGMS Portal, Step by Step

Everything happens on Ignite’s SEGMS portal.

1. Register. Choose “Get started” and enter your name, a valid email, a phone number and a password. The password needs at least nine characters, with upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Accept the Terms & Conditions, then click the activation link sent to your email. Keep one account per applicant, and use “Forgot Password” instead of making a new account.
2. Pick your program. After login, your home page offers “Apply to SPARK” and “Apply to ELEVATE.”
3. Submit Stage 1, the Project Concept. This is a short, six-step form that Ignite screens for fit, eligibility and quality. You can save drafts and return later, but once you submit it cannot be edited or withdrawn.
4. Watch your status. The dashboard shows Submitted, Under review, Approved or Not Shortlisted. You also get a system email on submission.
5. Submit Stage 2, the Full Proposal. The form opens only if Stage 1 is approved. It covers the full technical proposal, budget and annexures. One revision may be allowed if evaluators recommend it.

Portal trouble? Email the support address listed on the SEGMS FAQs page with your account email, CNIC, screenshots and a description of the problem, or call 051-9107441-4.

Required Documents: Stage 1 vs Stage 2

Most guides lump everything together. Keep the stages separate and you avoid last-minute scrambling.

Stage 1 checklist

SPARK

• CV of the Principal Investigator (PDF)
• Letter of intent from the PIO

ELEVATE

• CV of the Project Director
• CV of the Industry Lead
• CV of the Commercial Lead
• Letters of intent from the Industry Lead and other collaborators

If you need to build or tidy a CV, our Free CV Maker gives you a clean PDF.

Stage 2 checklist (both programs)

• Signed letters of support or consortium agreements from every participating organization
• CVs of the PI, Co-PIs, PD, Industry Lead, Commercial Lead and key personnel
• Detailed budget on the official template
• Project schedule or milestone chart with deliverables and payment schedule
• AI Use Disclosure Statement (mandatory, maximum 150 words)
• Signed Declaration of Originality from the PI and every listed team member
• Conflict-of-interest declaration
• Proof that your VC, Rector or CEO is the authorized signatory
• Co-financing commitment letter, if you offer co-financing

Ignite may ask for more documents later, so keep your files organized.

Originality, Plagiarism and AI: The Rules You Must Not Break

This is where well-meaning applicants get into trouble, so read it twice.

Plagiarism checks. Proposals may be screened with a tool such as iThenticate. The limits are:

• Overall similarity no higher than 19% (excluding references, standard terminology and properly attributed quotations)
• Similarity to any single source no higher than 3%
• No more than 15 consecutive words copied from a source without quotation marks and a citation

Breaching a limit gets your proposal returned without evaluation. Reusing your own earlier work without credit counts as self-plagiarism. If your project extends earlier work, say so: the form asks you to declare it as New, a Modification or an Extension.

Generative AI. Proposals substantially developed by AI are not accepted. Your problem statement, novelty, methodology, technical approach, work plan, commercialization or impact strategy and team description must be your own work. AI is allowed only for support tasks: language editing, translation of your own text, formatting, reference management and literature search, and you must verify every source yourself.

Every proposal needs an AI Use Disclosure Statement of up to 150 words, even if you used AI only for grammar. Undisclosed use is itself a breach. Ignite may also run AI-detection checks, which lead to closer human review rather than automatic rejection.

Consequences. Penalties for integrity violations range from return without evaluation to debarment from applying for one to three years, revocation of an award and recovery of funds.

Pro Tip: Keep a simple log as you write: where each idea came from, and exactly what AI help you used. It makes the disclosure and the originality declaration quick and honest.

What the Grant Pays For (and What It Doesn’t)

Funds can be used only for the approved budget. The main heads are project personnel, equipment and consumables, institutional overhead, contingency, travel and other relevant costs, such as an audit by an A-rated firm. Ignite may adjust these heads within the approved total.

People are billed on a time-cost basis: gross salary multiplied by the share of time committed, not as honoraria. Only technical staff are billable. Administrative and secretarial staff, including the project coordinator, are covered by overhead.

Not financed: flat honoraria, and administrative salaries, TA/DA, bonuses or stipends paid from overhead. Equipment must be itemized, and your institution must certify it has no existing access to it.

ELEVATE extras: patent filing, legal and financial advisory, branding and marketing, investor roadshows, and commercialization, QA and regulatory staff.

If PhD or MS students will be on your team, our PhD scholarships page may also help them plan their funding.

How Proposals Are Evaluated

Selection is meant to be open, competitive and merit-based, using the Project Evaluation Ranking Matrix (PERM). In outline:

1. Screening of the Project Concept (Stage 1)
2. Full proposal submitted on invitation
3. Desk evaluation by Ignite
4. Review by independent external experts (the official pages say three, in one place two or three)
5. Ranking, then monitoring and financial review
6. Approval by Ignite’s Board

Evaluators look at the strength of the background analysis, clear and measurable objectives, a sound method and risk analysis, a credible verifiable outcome, the IP and commercialization plan, team capability and a realistic budget. They cannot see your personal details, and you must never contact them. All communication goes through Ignite.

Registration and submission create no entitlement to funding, and Ignite does not reimburse application costs. With up to 60 grants a year, strong, specific proposals matter.

After You Win: Milestones, IP and Audit

• Grant Agreement. It includes a milestone schedule. Payments follow the phased plan.
• Missed milestones. If a milestone slips by more than 60 days without an approved extension, Ignite sends a formal notice. You then have 30 days to submit a remediation plan. A rejected plan, or a second missed milestone, can lead to suspended payments.
• Intellectual property. Under the amended R&D Rules, IP vests with the PI or PIO (SPARK) or the PD or PDO (ELEVATE), subject to the Grant Agreement. You are responsible for filing patents in Pakistan or through PCT, and filing costs can be funded. Evidence of filing is needed well before the project closes.
• Audit. Project accounts must be audited by an A-rated audit firm.
• Changes. Replacing the PI or PD needs Ignite’s approval, and budget changes must stay within the approved total.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying as an individual with no registered entity behind you.
• Choosing SPARK when you already have a working product, or ELEVATE when you are still proving feasibility.
• Submitting Stage 1 in a hurry. You cannot edit or withdraw it.
• Waiting until the last 24 hours, when Ignite does not guarantee technical help.
• Letting AI write the core of the proposal, or skipping the disclosure statement.
• Reusing your own earlier text without declaring it.
• Missing signed support letters from consortium partners.
• Budgeting administrative staff or honoraria as project personnel.
• Contacting evaluators.

Pro Tips

• Make the outcome verifiable. Say exactly what you will show at the end: a pilot, a field validation, a signed letter of intent.
• Line up industry interest early, even for SPARK. Co-financing and support letters count in your favor, and SPARK releases part of its grant against industry evidence.
• Ask for institutional paperwork now. Letters of intent and proof of your authorized signatory can take days.
• Write the Stage 1 concept as if it were final, since you get one shot.
• Check the real Call Announcement for dates, themes and any ELEVATE theme that requires a named partner.

Is This Program Right for You?

It suits you if you work inside a registered Pakistani university, research body, startup, SME or company; you have a clear technical question or a working prototype; and you can commit team time over up to 18 months.

Think twice if you have no registered entity, your technology is already selling widely, you need quick money (grants here are milestone-based and paced), or you can’t meet the originality and AI rules.

If you are an individual looking for business finance rather than a research grant, our PM Youth Loan 2026 guide covers a different government scheme. You can also browse other government schemes and research and innovation grants.

Official Links and Contact

• Ignite SPARK & ELEVATE program page
• SEGMS application portal
• Applicant Guidelines
• SEGMS FAQs
• Terms & Conditions
• About Ignite · Contact Ignite
• Phone: 051-9107441-4 · Address: 3rd Floor, Telecom Foundation Complex, Mauve Area G-9/4, Islamabad

Ignite also runs 1–2 hour awareness sessions at universities and research institutions. You can ask for one through the contact details on the program page.

Key Takeaways

• The deadline for both programs is 26 October 2026. Aim to submit by 24 October.
• Choose by technology readiness: SPARK for TRL 1–5, ELEVATE for TRL 6–8.
• Only registered Pakistani entities can apply, and everything goes through SEGMS.
• Stage 1 can’t be edited after submission.
• Core proposal content must be original, and AI use must be disclosed.
• Funds are released in milestone-linked tranches.

Conclusion

The SPARK and ELEVATE program is a rare chance to fund serious research or a real product at scale, but it rewards people who read the rules carefully and start early. Decide your track, confirm your lead organization and write your concept in your own words.

To keep track of this and other closing dates, check our Deadline Calendar or subscribe to our weekly newsletter. CareersOz is not affiliated with Ignite, so always confirm final details on the official portal before you apply.