BP4 Application Guidance Page 1 of 10 BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Business Productivity Grant Application Guidance BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 2 of 10 Part 1: Background 1.1 Introduction The Business Productivity Grant Project is managed by the Enterprising Barnsley team within Barnsley Council and delivered across South Yorkshire in partnership with Rotherham Council, City of Doncaster Council and Sheffield City Council. It is supported and part funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and the Local Growth Fund. 1.2 The Aim of the Project To support businesses in South Yorkshire to improve their productivity and digital innovation through the provision of capital or revenue grants, and to improve how they measure and report productivity gains. The project will provide grant funding towards the total project investment and the grant intervention rate will be determined by the Local Authority grant panel. The balance of the investment must be provided by you, the applicant. Whilst the project is initially looking to safeguard businesses and jobs, priority will be given to those applicants that can best demonstrate how the investments will have a positive impact on productivity and the creation of potential new employment opportunities in South Yorkshire. 1.3 How Will the Project Work? A Key Account Manager (KAM)/Business Advisor from one of the participating Local Authorities will work with you to review your business needs and support you in applying for the grant. The project will run as a competition with an Open Call inviting businesses to apply for grants to support capital or revenue investment projects that will lead to clearly evidenced productivity improvements. Grants are available towards both revenue (specialist business support) or capital investment (machinery, equipment and the fit-out of premises). The call will remain open until the funding has been allocated. 1.4 Examples of Projects Projects will differ from sector to sector and business to business. Below are several examples of the types of projects that could be supported. If you are unsure if your project would be suitable for this project, please contact your relevant local authority who will be able to provide clarification. Productivity Projects • An engineering company accessing specialist Productivity and Industrial Engineering consultancy support to increase production and the growth in demand of a finished and packaged product. Working in partnership with management and operators, a team of consultants will identify a number of ‘quick wins’ which would increase production, reduce downtime and lost capacity. • A manufacturing business that has undertaken a quality management programme to improve product quality, to meet new supply chain standards. The programme highlighted a need to invest in new production equipment to improve product quality and to reduce waste. • A business and professional services business creating an open and communicative environment, by centrally locating the performance appraisal information within a formal online framework, managers can more easily communicate business strategy and create measurable goals for their employees that will support overall company objectives. Digitisation Projects • A manufacturing business investing in a new digital printer to rapidly bar code all manufactured items, which will allow BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 3 of 10 it to update its online inventory and improve efficiency in the production process. • A business investing in new smart technology for its vehicles, which provides real time intelligence on the location of delivery vehicles for clients and more accurate information about delivery timescales. • A business investing in a new fully e-commerce enabled website, which links through to its stock control/inventory system, allowing the firm to increase its customer base and offer a seamless user experience. Eligible Expenditure Grants will be offered to help fund solutions for businesses that will provide significant business benefit and growth. This may include, but is not limited to: • Client Relationship Management systems • Cloud solutions • New software development • Remote monitoring and working solutions • Collaboration technologies • Large data transfer solutions • Live high-quality video streaming • Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) • New laptops, desktops or tablet computers and other peripheral devices, e.g. printers. • Development of apps • E-commerce solutions • Integration and consultancy costs • Manufacturing/production equipment and or tooling (machinery, sensors, robotics) • Fit out of premises - mezzanine floors, ventilation, ducting, specialist racking, etc. • Moulds, final designs, testing for final products ahead of mass manufacturing. Ineligible Expenditure Below is a list of excluded costs, this isn’t an exhaustive list and the Programme Management Team have the discretion to omit costs if they deem them ineligible and/or not within the scope of the project. • Any retrospective costs incurred prior to the issuing of a grant funding agreement • Reimbursement of goods/services already purchased prior to the date of a grant offer letter • Repayment of existing loans or debts • Recurring revenue costs (salaries, pensions, stock, rent, utility charges, service charges subscriptions, insurance, tax, recruitment fees, website hosting, equipment hire, etc.) • Line rental and on-going maintenance costs associated with implementing a broadband product • Repairs and maintenance to existing technology, manufacturing equipment or premises • Like-for-like replacement of existing items • Accredited training • Marketing costs • Any items where the applicant already has or intends to get national funding • Extension to premises (replacing fronts, installing a new roof, window or doors, rendering, stone/brick cleaning etc.) Below are a few practical examples of the types of projects that would be welcomed, but because of the nature of innovation, it would be too restrictive to provide a list of specific projects that would be eligible for a Digitisation Grant. To address this, eligible costs will be those where satisfactory evidence can be provided to show the following: • The problem/issue faced by the business that could be improved through an ICT innovation, including information about the area of the business that will benefit. • Demonstrate how the project will make the business more productive. • Demonstrate a step change that will help the business grow. • Satisfy that the proposals are viable, offer value for money, and are realistic and deliverable. Please note that Funding can only be issued to achieve ‘Additionality’ i.e. to add value. It cannot be used to merely replace BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 4 of 10 old equipment or infrastructure, where no value is added to a firm’s current performance or capacity. 1.5 How Do I Apply? To apply, you must contact the relevant Local Authority. This is defined by where you pay your business rates. The contact details are: • Enterprising Barnsley - Tel 01226 773003 - Email investment@barnsley.gov.uk • Business Doncaster - Tel 01302 735555 • Rotherham Investment and Development Office - Tel 01709 331133 • Business Sheffield - Tel 0114 2245000 Part 2: Application Form Your KAM/Business Advisor will provide a copy of the BP4-C-09 Application Form for completion to apply for this grant. 2.1 SECTION 1 - ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA You must demonstrate that your business/project meets all the eligibility criteria. Any projects that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not progress to Stage 2 - Application. You must declare that the business is eligible when you sign the declaration at the end of the application. Q1 The funding is for the benefit of businesses in South Yorkshire. Therefore, your business must be located in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham or Sheffield. Virtual offices will not be accepted. Q2 You are applying for a grant towards the total project cost but be aware that you need to pay for the full project before you can claim the grant. You will need to submit a grant claim evidencing the payments made and the grant will be paid to you once the claim has been approved. Q3 Financial support provided to your company through the project is considered Subsidy Allowance as part of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/23/enacted). It is your responsibility to declare compliance with the Subsidy Control Act. Under the scheme rules your company at group level may not receive more than £315,000 during the elapsed part of the current financial year and the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year. Q4 The project you are seeking to fund has not yet commenced and you have not made any purchases. Q5 Your business should not be in financial difficulty. If you are, you will need to speak further with your KAM/Business Advisor as we are unable to award a grant to businesses in financial difficulty. Q6 A Bank Account is set up in the Applicant Business Name. Following a successful claim, we will pay the grant amount into your Business Bank Account. In order to do this, your business will be set up on the finance system as a vendor. We require bank statement evidence dated within the past 3 months and a blank business letterhead document to be able to make the request to finance. There must additionally be no outstanding actions showing on Companies House. Limited companies need to be operating from a business bank account in the same name as the applicant business name. Sole traders can operate from a personal bank account but it needs to be in the name of the business owner applying for the grant. Q7 If you are using asset finance for your purchase(s), please make your KAM/Business Advisor aware before you start your application. Asset Finance may be accepted provided the following is met: • We will need to see a copy of your asset finance agreement once it is in place. This must confirm that the asset BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 5 of 10 ownership will transfer to the business at the end of the term (i.e. it contains an obligation to purchase at the end of the term, there is no ‘lease finance’ option). • The grant value must be defrayed by the applicant business before the project completion deadline. This can be via a combination of deposit and monthly repayments, and bank statement evidence is required for the deposit and each repayment to cover the value of the grant when a claim is submitted. The project end-date stated on the application form should align with this repayment milestone. Please make sure your KAM/Business Advisor is aware that you intend to use Asset Finance so that the grant panel can take it into consideration and ensure the value of the grant can be defrayed within the project term. Q8 For property related ‘fit out’ costs on leased premises, you need to confirm you have the approval of the landlord and your lease doesn’t expire before the completion of your project. Q9 Planning consent - If the grant project requires planning to be approved before you can go ahead with the purchase, you must ensure that approval is already in place and that it fits with the timescales for this grant, as all projects are to complete by December 2026. Q10 (Barnsley Businesses Only) As part of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council's Inclusive Economy Approach they have introduced an 'Employee Promise' to help local businesses play a key role in growing the local economy. The Employer Promise encourages all types and sizes of organisations to offer what they can to actively help young people and adults, from improving the health and wellbeing of your workforce to employing local graduates. As part of receiving the grant you will be asked to speak to the Employment and Skills team to discuss how you can participate. 2.2 Section 2 - DATA CAPTURE AND APPLICATION FORM Please use the information in this section to answer each question in the application form as fully as possible. Please provide details of your business, including details of the primary contact for the project. This should be the person the Project Administrators will contact with any questions regarding the application. The application must be signed by a Director of the business, and the Grant Offer Letter must also be sent out to and signed by one of the Directors. If your business is part of a larger group of companies, you will need to provide details of the larger group so that we can check SME status. All sections of the application should be fully completed. Company Financials & Forecasts Please provide a summary of your company financials and forecasts covering a 3-year period, this will include the previous financial year, current financial year and next financial year forecast (this figure is without the grant). We also ask that you provide a next financial year forecast with the grant. This should only be completed if you are applying for a grant over £5,000.00. If you are unable to provide this information please discuss with your KAM/Business Advisor. Subsidy Allowance The UKSPF Business Productivity Grant project is part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Council considers that financial and non-financial support given to your company (at company group level) as part of this project will be a subsidy for the purposes of section 2 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (“the Act”). Under the Minimal Financial Assistance (“MFA”) rules contained in section 36 of the Act, the Council and other public authorities are allowed to award low value subsidies without needing to comply with the majority of the subsidy control requirements. MFA has a financial threshold so no organisation can receive more than £315,000 over the applicable period. The applicable period is: • The elapsed part of the current financial year (i.e. from 1 April 2026), and BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 6 of 10 • the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year. The £315,000 limit over this time period includes all MFA awards under the Act, but also: i. any previous subsidy your organisation has received which was provided under the 325,000 Special Drawing Rights allowance set out in Article 364 of Chapter 3 of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA”) ii. any previous de minimis State aid your organisation received under any of the EU Regulations listed in section 42(8)(c) of the Act iii. any SPEI financial assistance awards under section 38 of the Act within the applicable period above. You must combine all of the above support together (at company group level) when assessing your organisation’s eligibility to receive MFA support. Project Details Please provide a brief overview of your business and an overview of the project and what the grant will be used for. This only needs to be brief and just a summary of your business and the project. If the address where the project will be undertaken is different to your registered/trading address, please confirm the project location. This grant will only fund projects that are located in South Yorkshire. Please provide anticipated start date and duration for the investment being supported by the grant. It would normally be expected that this would be within 2 months of submitting your application to your LA for the panel. The latest completion date we can accept is December 2026. Please state the total project cost and the amount of grant funding being requested. Projects can either be capital, revenue or a mixture of both. The grant investment must attempt to make clearly evidenced productivity improvements. Supplier Details In this section, please give details of your preferred supplier/s for your project and their costs. You must attach a copy of each of the quotes to your application. Please use a maximum of 5 suppliers, with a minimum spend of £100 per item. The basis of procurement with regard to products or services supported by grant award from this programme is one of ‘business choice’. This means that you as the business decides who your preferred supplier is. You will be required to submit one quote for your goods or services you wish to purchase as part of the project, however if your spend with one supplier is £25,000 or over, you must obtain quotes from 3 suppliers as a matter of good business practice to ensure you are going to get the best value. It is both the business and Programme Management team’s responsibility to ensure that best value is being obtained from public funds and the team do reserve the right to seek further information from you to confirm your decision. The quotations of the preferred suppliers must be adequately detailed and fully align with the information on your Grant Application form. It is not permissible for any arrangement to be made between yourselves and the provider organisation which may be seen as any form of ‘payment offset’ for example credit notes or related financial transactions which in any way reduces the Gross Cost of the products or services, or in any way reduces the net contribution you are making to these costs. Conflict of Interest with Supplier/s BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 7 of 10 You must provide details of any conflict of interest with the suppliers you have chosen. Please note that relatives/relationships/links between the applicant and supplier are checked and grants will not be paid to applicants who are linked enterprises of the supplier(s). SECTION 3 - APPLICATION QUESTIONS Projects up to £24,999 - answer questions 1-3. Projects with products/services over £25,000 with the same supplier - answer questions 1-4. Example: if the project cost is £40k but you are buying from multiple suppliers and each item is £10k per supplier, you would only need 1 quote per item. If you are buying multiple items at £10k but 3 of those were with the same supplier, that would be £30k with 1 supplier and it is recommended to get 3 different suppliers to quote to ensure value for money. Q1 About the Project In this section you need to: • 1a - Detail the productivity challenge the project is trying to overcome. • 1b - Outline the reason for the grant; how the grant will add value to the business and why grant funding is needed, with reference to the viability of the project with or without grant funding. • 1c - Explain how the investment is aligned to the companies overarching growth strategy and/or productivity plan. Examples of the types of challenges you have may include: • A requirement to introduce new products / processes / services to access new markets. • Constraints with existing premises that require either new or expansion of existing operational space. • A requirement to invest in new machinery to increase capacity and / or bring new capability. Within the application you will need to explain why grant funding is needed, with reference to the viability of the project with or without grant funding. Support will only be provided to projects that demonstrate: • the project will not proceed without grant support; or, • grant support will allow a project to proceed within a shortened timescale; or • the project will not proceed in South Yorkshire without grant support; or, • grant support will enable a project to proceed on a larger scale, at a higher level of quality and/or with greater impact. Grants £5,000 and under - maximum 500 words each for 1a and 1b. Grants over £5,000 - maximum 2000 words each for 1a, 1b and 1c. A larger word count is given for larger projects. Q2 Measuring Productivity This section is about measuring productivity in your business. The whole purpose of the project is to improve the productivity of your business. 2a - You will need to provide details of current approaches you take to measuring productivity in as simplistic a way as possible. The measurements must relate to the particular process(es) which are relevant to this application and the improvement your business is trying to create. Examples of the thematic types of productivity measures that could take place may include the following: • Labour productivity is the ratio output per person. Labour productivity measures the efficiency of labour in the transformation of something into a product of higher value. • Capital productivity is the ratio of output (goods or services) to the input of physical capital. Improving physical capital typically yields an increase in output. BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 8 of 10 • Material productivity is the ratio of output to the input of materials (also known as natural resources). If possible, please provide details of reporting frequency, methodology and rationale. 2b - You will need to identify relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that will be aligned to the project, the metrics used with an appropriate rationale. The project must be plausible and propose realistic results. It must clearly show how the activity will improve the productivity of the business and how this will be measured. Examples are provided within the answer section for this question. 2c - This section is about measuring productivity in your business. The whole purpose of the project is to improve the productivity of your business, therefore to be able to measure if the grant has helped contribute to productivity gains you first need to calculate a baseline. The information requested in the table should summarise your related KPIs that align with your chosen productivity and or digitisation investment. Please include the improvement your investment will deliver and timeframe. Grants £5,000 and under - maximum 500 words each for 2a and 2b. Grants over £5,000 - maximum 2000 words each for 2a and 2b. 2c - please complete the table (all grant values) A larger word count is given for larger projects. Q3 Outcomes & Impacts 3a & 3b - please provide details of how the project will impact employment opportunities. For those jobs being created or safeguarded by the investment please provide job titles, salaries and when the roles are expected to be created/safeguarded. For clarification, the definition of a job created / safeguarded is as follows: • Jobs Created (FTE) - The number of new, permanent, paid FTE jobs created following support. This includes both part-time and full-time jobs, which should be recorded relative to full-time equivalent (FTE). New means it should not have existed before intervention. • Jobs Safeguarded (FTE) - A safeguarded job is a permanent and paid job that was at risk prior to support being provided, and which the support helped the business to retain. 3c - This section measures additional benefits that may be achieved as a result of the investment. Examples of indicators that could be included are turnover, profit, employee costs, (product) output, unit cost etc. If the investment will deliver additional outputs/impacts please detail them here. Examples of some types of outputs / impacts are below, please note that this isn’t an exhaustive list and is a guide. • Improvement of operational efficiencies • Reduction in operating costs • Increased production capacity and capabilities • Higher quality products/services • Strengthening competitive advantage • Business growth and increased market share • Improved customer service • Increased employee morale and motivation • Enhanced safety and security measures • Reduced environmental impact. • Improved cash flow management. 3d - Please give details of h ow you expect the grant intervention will support you to deliver the outcomes listed. 3e - If you are adopting new process or new to the firm technology, please tick the appropriate box and provide an BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 9 of 10 explanation how the investment will make this possible. A technology or process is new to the firm if it did not use a technology or process with the same functionality before, or the production technology or process is fundamentally different from those already used. This may be tangible or intangible. Q4 Previous Grants If you have previously received a Business Productivity Grant since 2023, please tell us what this was for and how this new project differs. Please give details on whether your project achieved the desired outcomes and impacts listed in your grant application form? And if not, why not? Part 3: Relevant Information 3.1 Application Form Submission Once you have completed the application form, email it to your KAM/Business Advisor together with the necessary documents. The application form must be signed by the Director/Owner/Chief Executive and an email address for that person must be provided as the offer letter is sent via Adobe for electronic signature and must be received by the person who has the authority to sign on behalf of the company. You will be notified of the outcome by your KAM or Business Advisor. You must not place an order with your chosen provider, commission or purchase any goods/services until you receive a grant offer letter (if your application is successful), as grant payments cannot be made retrospectively against activity that has already occurred. 3.2 Grant Claim Once you have purchased the goods/services in line with your grant offer letter, you will submit a grant claim to evidence the purchase including invoice(s) and bank statement(s). It can take up to 1 month to process your claim and pay the grant to you, and any missing information can delay the payment of the grant. The grant is only payable for costs incurred after the date of the grant offer letter. The grant is only payable to the applicant business and upon production of evidence that costs have been incurred by the same business (not another business in a group structure, or personal credit cards, for example). Any costs which have not been incurred by the applicant business will be ineligible. Any expenditure which is deemed ineligible will not be paid, and any offer of grant will be withdrawn. Vendor Setup - As part of your grant claim we require a copy of a recent bank statement (dated within the last 3 months) and a blank business letterhead document. The bank statement must be for a bank account that matches the grant applicant details. This process can take around 10 working days to complete. 3.3 Timescales Your allocated KAM/Business Advisor will work in conjunction with the relevant Local Authority Project Lead and review your application form. Your KAM/Business Advisor will reply to you directly to let you know if you have been successful or not. The date of the grant panel that is reviewing your application can be obtained from your KAM/Business Advisor. If your application is successful, you will receive a formal grant offer letter. This will inform you how to proceed and claim the grant. It is estimated to take up to 10 working days to process a grant offer letter once the Programme Management Team receives the results of the grant panel and associated paperwork. BP4 Application Guidance BP4-C-10 - Version 1 - April 2026 Page 10 of 10 Projects must complete by December 2026 and claims must be submitted by the end of January 2027. Failure to comply is likely to result in your grant being withdrawn. 3.4 Document Retention You will be required to retain documentary evidence of the support received, and to provide copies of this evidence to the Programme Management Team to claim the grant. You must retain the original documentation until December 2034. The evidence to be retained includes: • The grant offer letter. • Any agreement between yourself and the service provider detailing the type of support being provided, the timescale for delivery and the total cost, including VAT. • The original invoice from the service provider. • The bank statement(s) showing payment of the total cost of the service to the provider. • Procurement evidence. 3.5 Complaints Whilst we endeavour to run a transparent and fair project, we appreciate that there may be applicants who may not be happy with the result of their grant application decision. Therefore, if you feel that you have been treated unfairly, you must first contact your local authority contact to discuss your issue. If you still cannot resolve your complaint, please email investment@barnsley.gov.uk. The Programme Manager for the project will then review and raise your complaint at the Business Productivity Board. The Chair of the Board will have the final say on any complaint received.