Tehla Bower Senior Consultant Funding & Strategy RDA ILLAWARRA GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS (JULY 2015)

Transcription

1 Tehla Bower Senior Consultant Funding & Strategy RDA ILLAWARRA GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS (JULY 2015)

2 Introduction/background Who am I Grants/funding experience spans 12 years Specialist since 2009 Approx $15m for projects valued at well over $50m (exclusive of advice and coaching that has led to funding success) Illawarra based Independent of funding bodies

3 Who are you? Great cross-section of the Illawarra community NFPs, business, council, tourism, arts, charities Industry representatives

4 When you think about grants.. Do you feel like this? Or maybe this?

5 When you think about grants.. Or in extreme cases!

6 When you think about grants.. This will hopefully be you by the end of this workshop!

7 Session Overview Industry overview Australia/NSW Navigating the grants landscape planning vs scattergun (grants research tips) Eligibility a common oversight Policy and Political influence Funding proposal planning for success Funding agreements & post-reporting Q & A

8 Grants & Funding in Australia Currently approx $50bn available (market size) Over 900 grants (conservative) Government grants, tenders, community foundations, philanthropic trusts Others such as crowdfunding, venture capital, angel investors (not a focus of this session)

9 Grants & Funding in Australia

10 The Grant seeker market pie Government policy & politics Grant seekers Funding Program managers Grant makers Project investors Support agencies (eg RDA) Project supporters 2015 Waples Marketing

11 Grants & Funding in Australia Hundreds of grants are announced each day Some recent examples: NSW Community Building Partnership program $6.4m for nurses to deliver health care (rural and remote communities) Dept of Health $6.3m Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund (battery storage) $100m for pest and weed management (Dept of agriculture) $200m biosecurity funding NSW Footy Facilities Fund

12 Where to start? Grants/funding landscape can be a daunting and overwhelming place So many opportunities how to find the right one/ensure we don t miss out?! Importance of researching, planning, understanding your project

13 Where to start (internal process)? Know very clearly and precisely what you want funding for and how much $$ you want/need to deliver your projects objectives

14 Where to start (program ID)? you then need to find the grant (we will provide some tips for this in a moment) make sure you are eligible and review formal guidelines and any other published material (eg media releases, info/fact sheets, FAQs, past successful applicants lists)

15 Where to start? AWARENESS & knowing where to look is one of the most important keys to effective grantsmanship Lets have a look at some examples..

16 Government s GrantFinder ( Grants & Assistance ) Australian Government s official grant search database User-friendly

17 Government s GrantFinder

18 NSW Govt - Innovate NSW Connecting technology development SMEs, researchers, major corporations and business end users

19 Our Community Australia's Centre for Excellence for the nation's 600,000 not-for-profits & schools, providing advice, tools, resources and training The Funding Centre great resource

20 Our Community

21 Our Community A foundation grant isn't merely a grant; it's an invitation to share a mission. The Funding Centre

22 GRANTassist SA Govt A great tool as provides free search database for community/individual as well as business/industry Targets SA organisations but can be seen as benchmark for other databases

23 GrantReady (non-govt) GrantGuru resource Free to a certain level then fee for service

24 GrantReady (non-govt)

25 Other resource examples Ministry for the Arts (Arts & Culture) Destination NSW (Tourism) Entrepreneurs Infrastructure Program (Industry) iaccelerate (technology startups) Dept of Health IRT Foundation (Research/Community) NSW Footy Facilities Fund

26 A word of caution Beware cold callers offering free money and claiming to be the Australian Government Government search databases are free, use them as a first reference tool Customised databases and grants calendars can be helpful

27 A word of caution ACCC t payfor free grants information Sept 2014

28 What to do once you identify a suitable grant Funding readiness Eligibility!!! Might sound obvious but you would be surprised Consult the publicly available information first (eg media releases, guidelines, application form, policy documentation) Contact the funding body (even if only an has been provided) to discuss your project

29 Are you funding ready?

30 Are you funding ready? Simple Assessment do you have: Strategic Plan/Business Plan? Project Plan and Budget? Organisational capacity to undertake the project? Sustainability post grant? Capacity to at least match funding received? Appropriate legal structure for eligibility requirements (eg incorporation, ABN, DGR registration etc)?

31 Funding readiness for NSRF

32 Funding readiness for NSRF Evidence of Incorporation Project Management Plan Business Case Risk Management Plan Procurement Management Plan Written confirmation of all partner funding (cash & in-kind) Asset Management Plan Audited Financial Statements Evidence demonstrating applicant experience

33 Also referred to as....having all your ducks in a row!

34 Are you an eligible applicant? One of the most obvious but important questions to ask before considering making an application Seen many cases where both application and project strong and worthy BUT disqualified before key internal personnel got chance to read about it Ie Worth taking the time to clarify with funding body!

35 NSRF Eligibility - recap Legal entity with ABN AND either A Local Government body including ACT Govt, or A Not-for-profit organisation, either in own right or on behalf of consortium (that is not owned by state or territory govt)

36 NSRF Ineligibility - recap NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS & NT governments State and territory government-owned entities State and territory government-owned NFPs Universities, technical colleges, schools and hospitals RDA committees For-profit organisations

37 Seems pretty straightforward?

38 Of the applications received from LGAs.26% were ineligible

39 Of the applications received from NFPs.46% were ineligible! So it is obviously still an area that needs attention!

40 Session summary so far.. Check against eligibility criteria Know the guidelines inside out Review all publicly available information Do you have a genuine project lined up? Are you prepared/can you wait for funds? In addition do you have the TIME and RESOURCES to complete the application??

41 Lets talk about Funding Proposals

42 Lets talk about Funding Proposals 1. Basic Housekeeping first: Know the deadline and PLAN your submission! Get your team involved early (particularly anyone who will be involved in implementation) Complete the application in its entirety (may seem obvious but evidence shows otherwise) No gaping holes (ie just because you don t like numbers doesn t mean you leave out the budget!) MANDATORY means precisely that Apply an Evidenced Based Mantra

43 Some must-tick boxes for success 1. Showing experience in the area that the grant covers 2. Link this back to the grant s objectives 3. Demonstrate your capabilities including resources and staff and your methodologies 4. Show that you are already part of the community in which the funds from the grant (show you understand the issues)

44 Questions to ask of yourself 1. Am I writing more about my project or my organisation? (very important) 2. Am I being specific about the features of my project and the outcomes my project will generate? 3. Am I answering each question completely? (treat it like a uni assignment and break it into chunks)

45 Importance of evidence 1. Spoke briefly about evidence earlier 2. Some examples of evidence? Economic data (such as employment, unemployment, population, LGA characteristics) Qualitative/Quantitative research (internal or external) Statistics/data to back up your project objectives Academic evidence/published credible sources that reinforce the value of your project

46 Economic benefit of your project NSRF example Economic benefit relates to those benefits generated by new or improved infrastructure, and can be described in terms of the ability to generate additional income through more efficient use of resources and improved trade opportunities (NSRF Guidelines pg13)

47 REMPLAN online tool REMPLAN provides access to detailed demographic data for 1991 to 2011 Census years, economic data and maps for up to 114 industry sectors as well as population and employment forecasts

48 REMPLAN online tool

49 Wollongong employment data (REMPLAN)

50 For the tourism sector Sites such as can be useful

51 For the tourism sector Sites such as can be useful

52 Project Budget considerations Requirements can vary dependent on submission size and complexity Important to clearly outline the amount of funding requested for each activity (ie salaries, travel, construction, rent, insurances, equipment, labour, technology etc) Don t forget about matching funds if applicable MOST IMPORTANT cross check all project expenditure against the ELIGIBLE COSTS listing in the program guidelines!

53 Project Budget example (simple)

54 Project Budget (complex)

55 Collaboration what does it mean and how can you use it to enhance your proposal?

56 the action of working with someone to produce something Oxford dictionary

57 Program example Collaborative Solutions The purpose of the program is to foster collaboration between industry partners toward delivering a compelling, new-to-market solution. This consortia model of Lead Company, Pilot Organisation, and Partner is specifically designed to build relationships that deliver a solution with a strong opportunity for commercial success. Collaborative Solutions funding program (Innovate NSW)

58 Policy vs Politics Two quite different but interrelated factors that can have a huge impact on your funding proposal and both out of the control of the applicant

59 Another important consideration 5 month timeframe Are you prepared/can you afford to wait for the funds????

60 What does a successful project look like??

61 NSRF Round 1 - sample

62 Accelerating Commercialisation

63 Wise words.. It s important to view grants from a business perspective. If you think about it in terms of helping to solve a problem for government, that will change the way you apply for funding Extract from Company Director article June 2015

64 Session summary take 2.. Funding Proposal components Importance of evidence based information, finding data and stats Budget considerations Importance of policy & politics What does a successful project look like? In addition do you have the TIME and RESOURCES to complete the application??

65 You are successful in obtaining the grant! - the next steps

66 You are successful in obtaining the grant! - the next steps 1. Formal Acceptance of grant offer

67 You are successful in obtaining the grant! - the next steps 2. Signing funding agreement & terms (can involve some back and forth between agency and applicant)

68 You are successful in obtaining the grant! - the next steps 3. Receiving grant monies (oftentimes in instalments across life of grant following project milestones being reached)

69 You are successful in obtaining the grant! - the next steps 4. Completing project reporting documentation (quarterly is common)

70 Questions??

71 Further questions Tehla Bower Senior Consultant Funding & Strategy Waples Marketing Group Ph: (02) M: E: