DCMS Create Growth Programme competition 2: investor partnership
UK registered creative SMEs within appointed regions, can apply for grant funding alongside private investment from selected investor partners to support growth.
- Competition opens: Thursday 26 October 2023
- Competition closes: Wednesday 10 January 2024 11:00am
This competition is now closed.
Competition sections
Description
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is to fund up to £6 million in innovation projects. This funding is from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme.
This is the second funding competition for this government programme.
The DCMS Create Growth Investor Partnership programme brings together:
- Innovate UK’s expertise in identifying innovation and using grant funding to change the risk profile of businesses in the creative industries
- Investor partners’ aligned funding and expertise in identifying opportunities and teams that can best use extra investment finance from across the twelve English Create Growth Programme Regions
This approach gives your business access to the investment it needs to develop and commercialise your innovations.
Innovate UK is working with selected investor partners. These partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in the creative industries businesses that align with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme.
DCMS has appointed six regions in England as part of the Create Growth Programme. These regions are:
- Greater Manchester
- The West of England with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
- Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
- Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire
- Kent, Essex, East and West Sussex
- The North East of England
The regions have been expanded by DCMS and are not detailed within the Create Growth Programme website.
The new expansion regions are:
- Nottingham City Council
- Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- West Midlands Combined Authority (CA)
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA)
- West of England Combined Authority (CA)
- Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
The aim of this competition is to provide creative business with targeted support for innovations and access to investment to unlock their potential for growth.
Innovate UK provides support for your investment readiness and for engaging with suitable investors with Innovate UK KTN and the DCMS Create Growth Programme Regional Teams.
Before submitting an application, you must:
- notify your local Create Growth Region of your intention to apply for this competition
- establish a relationship and level of investment traction with one of our approved partners who can be found on Innovate UK Investor Partners, before you apply for funding
- name your lead investor on the application
The investor partner must confirm with you that you are in a position to apply for grant funding, you will be asked to identify them in the application.
You must demonstrate your investment readiness and whether you are at seed, early or growth stage in terms of your ambitions and investment profile. This is in line with the Creative Industries Sector Vision.
To be successful, your project must be independently assessed by Innovate UK as fundable and receive aligned investment from the investor partner.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process.
The competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.Funding type
Investor Partnerships
Project size
Your project’s total project costs must be between £100,000 and £750,000.
Who can apply
Your project
Your project must:
- have total project costs between £100,000 and £750,000
- start by 1 June 2024
- end by 28 February 2025
- last between 6 and 8 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- have an investor named on your application
Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application.
Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.
If you have not provided information on the investor partner who is leading on your investment or we are unable to confirm the investment position with that investor partner, then your application will not be eligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.
Your organisation:
To apply your organisation must:
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME)
- be registered or operational in one of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme appointed regions
- have a demonstrable ambition for growth
- be from the creative industries and focused on one or more of the creative industries sub-sectors
- have discussed and agreed your proposal with your investor partner before submitting your application
- as part of your agreement with your investor partner, be able to raise the aligned finance needed to draw down the award through the issue of new shares or convertible debt
The six regions in England appointed by the DCMS Create Growth Programme are:
- Greater Manchester
- the West of England with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
- Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
- Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire
- Kent, Essex, East and West Sussex
- the North East of England
The newly appointed DCMS Create Growth expansion regions are:
- Nottingham City Council
- Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- West Midlands Combined Authority (CA)
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA)
- West of England Combined Authority (CA)
- Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Subcontractors:
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.
A micro, small or medium size enterprise, cannot subcontract their own directors, secretaries, or persons with significant control.
Number of applications:
You can only submit one application into this round of the competition.
Previous applications
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
We will not award you funding if you have:
- failed to exploit a previously funded project
- an overdue independent accountant’s report
- failed to comply with grant terms and conditions
You can make a maximum of 2 submissions to Innovate UK with any given proposal. If Innovate UK judges that your proposal is not materially different from your previous proposal, it will be counted towards this maximum.
If your application goes through to assessment and is unsuccessful, you can reapply with the same proposal once more.Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)
This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).
Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.
EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see our general guidance to check if these rules apply to your organisation.
Further Information
If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.
You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.
This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.
Funding
Up to £6 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Innovate UK funding will be in the form of a grant with aligned investment from or led by one of our selected investor partners.
Innovate UK will decide which projects are eligible and in scope to receive grant funding. The decision will be based on the assessment of your application by independent assessors and on a review of your expected investment following a discussion with your proposed investor partner.
If you are successful, you will:
- receive grant funding to cover a proportion of the costs of your project
- only be allowed to commence once the agreed aligned investment has been confirmed
Your business must have sufficient capital resources, including through investment from the investor partner and the grant funding, to enable you to meet all your project’s eligible costs.
All recipients must act commercially, and your funding request must not exceed the limits specified.
For industrial research projects, Innovate UK will fund:
- up to 70% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations
- up to 60% for medium sized organisations
The investment led by the investor partner must always be at least equal to the grant funding.
For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.
If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.
Your proposal
The aim of the competition is to provide creative business with targeted support for innovations and access to investment to unlock their potential for growth.
Innovation and ideas can come from anyone and anywhere. We want to see investments unlocked for the diverse and extraordinary talent in the UK. We are encouraging diverse applicants and inclusive project applications, pushing beyond the status quo.
Your project must have:
- a clear route to market
- a clear link to business growth
- evidence that you can create a team to deliver your proposal
You must demonstrate that your project will:
- have significant market impact and support the growth plan of your business
- be scalable
- be able to start rapidly
- demonstrate value for money
- be attractive to other equity investors
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across the different creative sub-sectors from each of the DCMS Create Growth appointed regions. We call this a portfolio approach. We will also take into account the impact of the grant in attracting investment and likelihood of the investment completing within a reasonable time.
Specific themes
The investor partnership programme will be focused on the creative industries. The creative industries are defined by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Your project must focus on one or more of the following sub-sectors:
- advertising and marketing
- architecture
- crafts
- design and designer fashion
- film
- television
- video
- radio
- photography
- IT, gaming, software and computer services
- publishing
- museums, galleries and libraries
- music, performing and visual art
Creative industry businesses refer to those with a high intensity of creative occupations. You can refer to the DCMS Economic Estimates for a list of the sub-sectors and their associated SIC codes, that DCMS classifies under the creative industries.
Research categories
Projects we will not fund
We are not funding projects that are:
- not working with an investor partner from the selected pool of investor partners
- not carried out by SMEs
- supporting business as usual (BAU) activities
- currently in receipt of public funding for business growth outside of the DCMS Create Growth Programme or Innovate UK Creative Catalyst
- collaborative R&D projects
- not part of a company’s growth plan
- unable to demonstrate there is potential for return on investment and growth
- without evidence the proposed innovation will lead to business growth
- not addressing how potentially negative outcomes will be considered, for example, on the environment
- not able to deliver value for money
- sitting outside of the creative industries
- without innovation, for example the creation of information-only websites
We cannot fund projects that are:
- dependent on export performance, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
- dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product
- 26 October 2023
- Competition opens
- 27 October 2023
- Webinar briefing event: register to attend
- 10 January 2024 11:00am
- Competition closes
- 22 February 2024
- Applicants notified
Before you start
You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:
- that all the information provided in the application is correct
- your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
- all sections of the application are marked as complete
You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.
What we ask you
The application is split into three sections:
- Project details.
- Application questions.
- Finances.
Accessibility and inclusion
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes providing support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.
You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the most suitable support possible.
You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
1. Project details
This section provides background for your application and is not scored.
Application team
Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the project and invite those people to help complete the application.
Application details
Give your project’s title, start date and duration.
Project summary
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Public description
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Scope
Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Describe if your project is aligned to any of the specific themes or whether it is within the broader scope of the future economy areas. Alignment to specific themes is not a requirement, but will form part of a portfolio approach in funding decisions.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
2. Application questions
The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 5. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.
You must answer all questions. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.
Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)
You must state the name and full registered or operational in address of your organisation and any subcontractors working on your project. We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.
Only businesses registered or operational in within the Create Growth Programme appointed regions are eligible to apply for this competition.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 2. Applicant Create Growth Programme Region (not scored)
You must also select your Create Growth Programme region:
- Greater Manchester
- the West of England with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
- Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
- Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire
- Kent, Essex, East and West Sussex
- the North East of England
The newly appointed DCMS Create Growth expansion regions are:
- Nottingham City Council
- Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- West Midlands Combined Authority (CA)
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA)
- West of England Combined Authority (CA)
- Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
You can check your local council with your postcode.
Question 3. Applicant registered or operational in postcode (not scored)
You must state your regional or operational in postcode in your selected region.
Your answer can be up to 10 words long.
Question 4. Specific theme (not scored)
List which Creative Industries sub-sector or sub-sectors your organisation focuses on:
- advertising and marketing
- architecture
- crafts
- design and designer fashion
- film
- tv
- video
- radio
- photography
- IT, gaming, software and computer services
- publishing
- museums, galleries and libraries
- music, performing and visual art
Your answer can be up to 10 words long
Question 5. Investor partner (not scored)
Provide the name of the investor partner who you are working with.
We will contact the investor partner to confirm how the grant funding will impact the proposed investment, and the current stage of completion.
This forms part of the decision of whether your application is successful.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 6. Need or challenge
What is the business or sector need, challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation for growth project?
Explain:
- the main motivation for the project and how this aligns with your ambition for growth
- the business need, market opportunity or challenge
- whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development
- any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one
- the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 7. Approach and innovation
What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?
Explain:
- how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified
- how will you improve on the similar innovation that you have identified
- whether the innovation will focus on shifting your existing work into new areas, the development of new approaches for existing areas or a totally disruptive approach
- the freedom you have to operate
- any competitive advantages you have, such as intellectual property
- how this project fits with your current product, service lines, audiences or offerings
- how it will make you more competitive
- the nature of the outputs you expect from the project
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 8. Team and resources
Who is in the project team and what are their roles?
Explain:
- the roles, skills, experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking and your ability to deliver the project
- the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
- the details of any subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
- any roles you will need to recruit for
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit one appendix with a short summary of the main people working on your project to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 4 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 9. Market awareness
What does the market you are targeting look like?
Describe:
- your project and business value proposition, what makes your offer compelling in the market
- the target markets for the project outcomes and any other potential markets either domestic, international or both
- the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available
- the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
- the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist
- current and near-future trends for your market
- the current UK position in targeting these markets
- the size and main features of any other markets not already listed
If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:
- what the market’s size might be
- how your project will try to explore the market’s potential
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 10. Outcomes and route to market
How are you going to grow your business and increase long term productivity as a result of the project?
Describe:
- your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
- your target customers or end users and the value to them, for example, why they would use or buy your product
- your evidence from prospective or existing customers to validate your proposal
- your route to market
- how you are going to grow as a result of the project, including increased revenues or cost reduction
- how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term
- how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model
- your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 11. Wider Impacts
What impact might this project have outside the project team?
Explain:
- why public money is necessary for your project, for example, there is a lack of private investment or market failure
- any expected impacts at a national, regional, creative industries or creative industries sub-sectoral level
- the wider impacts on society, the economy, the environment and any potential negative impacts
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 12. Project management
How will you manage your project effectively?
Explain:
- the main work packages of your project and the total cost of each one
- your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
- the management reporting lines
- your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom
Question 13. Risks
What are the main risks for this project?
Describe:
- the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, managerial and environmental risks
- how you will mitigate these risks
- any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets
- any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues, and how you will manage this
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 14. Added value
How will this public funding from Innovate UK and investment led by your investor partner, help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on your growth plan?
Explain:
- what advantages public funding would offer your project, for example, appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market
- the likely impact of the project outcomes on your organisation
- what other routes of investment you have already approached
- what your project would look like without public funding
- how this project would accelerate growth for your business
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 15. Costs and value for money
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?
In terms of your project goals, explain:
- your total project costs
- the grant you are requesting
- the expected investment led by the selected investor partner and the likely impact the overall funding will make to your business
- how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer
- how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
- any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
3. Finances
You must complete your own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application.
For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance.
Background and further information
Text update 1 December 2023: we have changed the guidance for the Creative Growth Programme regions and newly appointed DCMS Create Growth expansion regions.
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research Innovation is working with selected investor partners.
These partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in the creative industries businesses that align with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Create Growth Programme.
A full list of selected investor partners is provided at Innovate UK Investor Partners – UKRI website.
Support from your local Create Growth Region
If your application is selected, you must contact your regional support. Their contact details will be included in your grant offer letter. They can signpost you to additional support and services both local and national that form part of the wider Create Growth Programme.
Successful applications will receive a grant offer letter and must start their project on the project start date indicated.
This competition is part of the DCMS Create Growth Programme.
Contact details for the Creative Growth Programme regions:
-
Greater Manchester: https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/create-growth-programme email: BGH@growthco.uk
- The West of England with Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly: https://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/growth-hub/create-growth-programme/ email: creative@westofengland-ca.gov.uk
- Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire: www.creativeeast.co.uk email: creategrowth@uea.ac.uk
- Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire: www.llep.org.uk email: admin@llep.org.uk
- Kent, Essex and East and West Sussex: South East Create Growth Programme - Creative UK (wearecreative.uk) email: createsoutheast@wearecreative.uk
- The North East:https://www.wearecreative.uk/support/regional-growth-programmes/north-east-cgp/
The newly appointed DCMS Create Growth expansion regions are:
- Nottingham City Council: Chris.pook@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
- Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP): https://heygrowthhub.com/hey-create-growth-programme/ email: growthhub@heylep.com
- West Midlands Combined Authority (CA): CGP@wmca.org.uk
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA): create.growth@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
- West of England Combined Authority (CA) Devon : creative@westofengland-ca.gov.uk
- Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP): info@hertfordshirelep.co.uk
Data sharing
This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (each an ‘agency’).
Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.
This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to the DCMS and vice versa.
This would include, but is not restricted to:
- the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
- scoring and feedback on the application
- information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports
Innovate UK and the DCMS are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, and the DCMS will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.
Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.
The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.
Support for SMEs from Innovate UK KTN
Innovate UK KTN are helping businesses in accessing and engaging with the regional support.
Assessment
Your application will be reviewed by up to 5 independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.
You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.
Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria.
Next steps
If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.
You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your Innovation Funding Service (IFS) Set Up portal, the tool that Innovate UK uses to gather necessary information before we can allow your project to begin.
You will need to provide:
- the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
- a redacted copy of your bank details
- an exploitation plan
In order for us to process your claims, you must make sure you have a valid UK business bank account. It can take several weeks for a new account to be created if required. We recommend starting this process as early as possible to avoid any delays to your project start date.
The bank account which grant is to be paid into must:
- be a business account in the same name as the organisation listed in IFS
- be from a UK bank regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
- have a cheque and credit clearing facility
Online accounts are eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.
Innovate UK will accept most banking societies apart from:
- Viva Wallet
- Intesa Sanpaolo
- Equals Money UK Limited
If you have any doubts that your bank account will not meet Innovate UK's funding criteria, you can use the sort code checker. If you input the sort code and find a tick next to the ‘BACS Direct Credit payments can be sent to this sort code’, this will give you an indication that the bank account you hold is acceptable.
Finance checks
We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company and the investment will provide you with sufficient capital alongside the grant funding to complete the project.
You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays.
Failure to complete project setup may result in your grant offer being withdrawn.
Your Grant offer letter (GOL)
Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your GOL.
The GOL will be made available on your IFS portal. You will not be able to start your project until:
- you have signed and uploaded a copy of the GOL to your IFS portal
- your investor partner has confirmed the investment by completing and signing an additional annex to the GOL
- the GOL and additional signed annexes have been uploaded to IFS
- we have confirmed that the investment meets the requirements of the aligned investment
Once we have approved your documents, we will send you an email with permission to start your project on your confirmed start date.
You must not start your project before the date stated on your email and GOL. Any costs incurred before your agreed start date cannot be claimed as part of your grant.
If your GOL is approved on or before the fifteenth of the month it will be dated from the first of that month. If your GOL is approved after the fifteenth, it will be dated the first of the next month.
If your application is unsuccessful
If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.
Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful for any of the following reasons:
- your average score was not above the funding threshold
- your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach
- we were not convinced that the grant was making a significant difference in the investment and in all likelihood the investment would have happened anyway
- you do not have sufficient traction with the investor and we doubt that the investment will complete in a reasonable period of time
- the investment has already been secured
- the selected investor partner is not taking a significant role in leading or facilitating the investment
Contact us
Need help with this service? Contact us