Building Partnerships Grants
Up to $100,000 is available from Building Partnerships Grants to help revenue generating startups become the high-growth, job-creating businesses of tomorrow.
Background
The Building Partnerships Grants provides funding to consortia/partners to develop innovative, new-to-market solutions. The solution must use an enabling technology to address a compelling industry need or market gap. ‘Enabling Technologies’ are new technologies or new uses for existing technologies that enable new products, services, or more efficient processes (e.g. mobile, cloud, analytics, sensors, advanced materials).
Background
The Building Partnerships Grants are also part of the ‘Jobs for NSW’ program, which replaced the Regional Industries Investment Fund, and are aimed at technology-based businesses.
The grants are designed to:
- complete pilot projects with key customers, providing evidence to accelerate market adoption of the company’s products or services
- fund new marketing partnerships here in Australia or overseas to develop innovative, new-to-market solutions.
Objective
The goals of the program are to enable a startup or an existing SME with a growth plan to:
- expand or pivot an innovative product or solution
- acquire a major customer
- deliver at scale
- or build access to a new market.
Funding
Eligible businesses can receive up to 35% of approved project costs up to a maximum of $100,000.
The approved project costs may include:
- further developing a product and/or solution
- progressing early stage commercialisation i.e. product training or product testing
- acquiring and retaining talent.
Eligible Projects
Project must include three members:
- Lead Company (applicant): NSW-registered technology SME with the ability to commercialise and export the solution being developed. Research and academic organisations are not eligible to be the Lead, but can be Partners. This Lead is the ‘applicant’ and 1) holds the IP or the rights to commercialise the solution, 2) if awarded the grant, is contractually obligated to achieve the project deliverables.
- Pilot Organisation(s): Pilot Organisations do not have to be based in NSW or Australia. They agree to test the solution and provide valuable feedback during the development process. This is a business customer (end-user which is a business) or channel to market (distributor) that will potentially purchase or on-sell the solution.
- Partner(s): Partners do not have to be based in NSW or Australia and may be SMEs, multinationals, large Australian enterprises, research organisations, public or non-profit organisations. They provide additional technology or research capabilities (e.g. hardware, technology service, network access, payment fulfilment, database/content, research, etc).
Scalable Solutions: The solution must be developed for deployment to multiple customers, rather than for improvement of the applicant’s own business processes.
Developed in NSW: at least 80% of project costs must occur in NSW.
Project has not commenced: Preliminary design specifications or a prototype can be created prior to applying. Any funding awarded will be for the costs associated with the project development identified in the application; after the date the Business Partnership Grant application is submitted (no retrospective funding will be awarded).
Development period: The project must be completed and delivered within twelve (12) months of accepting the grant offer.
Supported and non-supported project costs: Only activities directly associated with development and market validation of the solution will be supported.
Additional government funding: Projects are eligible that have received previous funding, however funding will not be provided for project components already awarded through another government grant, subsidy, or fund.
Eligible Applicants
Applicants should:
- have an innovative and scalable solution that can be deployed to multiple customers and be delivered within 12 months
- demonstrate a consortium of partners who derive benefits from the proposed project
- have a NSW based ABN and be registered for GST
- hold intellectual property or rights to commercialise the product or solution
- demonstrate adequate funding (at least 65% of total project costs) has been secured for the project.
Timing
Application is on an ongoing basis.
