BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 1 of 10 B usiness Productivity & Digitisation Grant Application Guidance BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 2 of 10 Part 1: Background 1.1 Introduction The Business Productivity and Digitisation Grant Project is a £ 9.3m project which is delivered across South Yorkshire and is supported and part funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and has attracted £5.2m of investment through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information , visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk - shared - prosperity - fund - prospectus The project brings together the four South Yorkshire Local Authorities and the South Yor kshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) who will work in collaboration to support Small to Medium Sized businesses (SMEs) to identify and address their business productivity challenges. 1.2 The A im of the P roject To support businesses in South Yorkshire to improve their productivity and digital innovation through the provision of capital or revenue grant, and to improve how they measure and report productivity gains. The project will provide up to 50% grant funding for investments The maximum amount of UKSPF grant that can be awarded per business is £12,499. 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 W ill the P roject W ork? A Key Account Manager / Specialist 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 of betwee n £2,500 to £12,499 to support capital or revenue investment projects that will lead to clearly evidenced productivity improvements. Businesses must have been trading for more than 12 months to apply for grants over £5 , 000. 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 P rojects Productivity and digitisation 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. BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 3 of 10 Productivity P rojects • 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 p artnership 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 improv e 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 e nvironment, 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 P rojects • A manufacturing business investing in a new digital printer to rapidly bar code all manufactured items, which will allow it to update its online inventory and improve efficiency in the production process. • A business investing in a 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 lin ks 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 SMEs that will provide significant business bene fit 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 vid eo 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? BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 4 of 10 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 fund ing 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, insura nce, 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 • Licenses or subscriptions for services which would extend beyond the end of the project (currently March 2025) • Marketing costs • Any items where the applicant already has, or intends to get nati onal funding • Extension to premises ( replacing fronts, installing a new roof, window or, doors, rendering, stone/brick cleaning etc) 1. 5 How D o I A pply ? To apply, you must contact the relevant Local Authority. This is defined by where you pay your busine ss 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 BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 5 of 10 Part 2 : Completing the A pplication F orm Your Key Account Manager or Business Advisor will provide a copy of the application form. Your grant application must be made on form BPD - C - 11 2 .1 Stage 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. Please enter Yes or No in the boxes provided (Stage 1 - Page 1 of the Application form). Q1 The funding is for the benefit of businesses in South Yorkshire therefore your business must pay business rates to either Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham or Sheffield. The main activity of the projec t must also be based in South Yorkshire. Q2 The focus of the funding is to support Small and Medium sized Enterprises, not large organisations. For the definition of a Small and Medium sized Enterprise please use this link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo - small - to - medium - sized - enterprise - sme - action - plan/small - to - medium - sized - enterprise - sme - action - plan#:~:text=An%20SME%20is%20any%20organisation,is%20in%20the%20below%20table Q3 The project can provide up to 50% of grant towards the total project cost. To ensure the project can proceed you have to confirm whether you have private finance available, either your own from a bank or other commercial finance. Your project must be paid in full to your supplier before you can claim the grant amount from us. Q4 The purpose of UKSPF is to provide added value and ensure there is true need for the grant therefore within the application form you will need to evidence viability of the project and the need for grant support. Q 5 Financial support provided to your com pany 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 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 f inancial year. Q 6 To avoid issues concerning local displacement you will need to confirm if your business generates most of its turnover from trading outside of South Yorkshire. If not your application will need to demonstrate how the grant supported project will lead to t his. Q 7 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? Q 8 (Barnsley Businesses Only) As part of Barnsley Metropolit an 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 size of organisations to offer what they can t o 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 BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 6 of 10 speak to the Employment and Skills team to discuss how you can participate. Q 9 For grants over £5000 , your business needs to have been trading for over 12 months so that you can provide a baseline to measure productivity. 2 2 Stage 2 - Completing the A pplication F orm Please use the information in this section to answer each question in the application fo rm as fully as possible. Applicant Details 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. All sections of the application should be completed. Project Details Please provide full details of the project that will be funded with the grant. If the address where the project will be undertaken is different to your registered/trading address, plea se confirm the project location. This grant will only fund projects that are located in South Yorkshire. Please provide anticipated start and finish dates for the investment being supported by the grant. It would normally be expected that this would be less than three months from receipt of your Grant offer Letter and that you will enter into a contract with your supplier within 2 months of receipt of the grant offer letter. Please state the total project cost and the amount of funding being requested. Please provide a brief project description (200 words max). This should include an explanation of the challenge your business is facing and provide an overview on what the grant will be funding. Projects can either be capital, revenue or a mixture of both The grant investment must attempt to make clearly evidenced productivity improvements. Attach a copy of the quotation from your preferred supplier to the application form. The quotation must include both the content of the Project Description and the Total Project Cost. 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. Once you have completed the application form, email it to your Key Account Manager / Business Advisor together with the necessary documents. Applications that pass stage 1 will be assessed competitively based on the information provided in the application form. You will be notified of the outcome by your Key Account Manager or Business Advisor. BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 7 of 10 QUESTIONS Please note that any projects up to £24,999 will only need to answer Questions 1 - 3 of the application form For any projects £25,000 and over , questions 1 - 5 of the application form need to be answered. Q1 What is your current Productivity or Digitisation Challenge? In this section you need to: • outline the need for the grant and how the inves tment is aligned to the companies overarching growth strategy and/or productivity plan • explain what you will purchase with the grant and why grant funding is needed, with reference to the viability of the project with or without grant funding. Examples of the types of challenges you have may include: • A requirement to introduction 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 shorted 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. Grant is only payable for costs incurred after the application is formally approved. Grant is only payable to the applicant b usiness and upon production of evidence that costs have been incurred by the same business (not another business in a group structure for example). Grants will not be paid to applicants who are linked enterprises of the supplier(s). 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. Q2 How do you currently measure productivity in your business? T his section is about mea suring 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 p roductivity gains you first need to calculate a baseline. The inf ormation requested in t he table should be available from your accounts but please contact your relevant Local Authority / Growth Hub business advisor if you are unsure. This information will be requested again 12 months after completion of your project to see if the grant has had made a positive impact on your GVA. You will need to provide details of current approaches you take to measuring productivity in as simplistic 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. BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 8 of 10 If possible, please provide details of reporting frequency, methodology and rationale. The p roject must be plausible and propose realistic results. Examples could includ e: • Replace an inefficient process of production technique • Improve quality (reduce waste) and limit non - conformant issues and promote more accuracy with regards to usage and stock control. Q3 What are the main outcomes the applicant is looking to achieve ? You will need detail the growth outputs/ outcomes resulting from the proposed investment(s). The answer must clearly show how the activity will improve productivity of the business and how this will be measured. Please summarise the outcomes in the table. The forecast will be monitored and contribute to a wider evaluation of the Business Productivity and Digitisation Project. Examples of the thematic types of productivity measures that could take place may include the followin g: • Labour productivity is the ratio output per person. Labour productivity measures the efficiency of the 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. • Material productivity is the ratio of output to the input of materials (also known as natural resources). Questions 4 and 5 only apply if your total investment is £25 ,000 and over Q4 Provide a summary of the company financials and forecasts (3 financial years including current and following year forecast) Please provide the period of your accounting year i.e. 1 st April to the 31 st March. For the current year to date , we only require data up to the current point in your accounting period when you submit your grant application. Q5 Provide a summary of 3 different suppliers and attach a copy of each of the quotes to your application. As the total project investment is £25,000 or over, you are required to follow the Public Procurement Regulations in line with the threshold value of your total project cost. You must provide details of any conflict of interest with the suppliers you have chosen. You need to attach a copy of the quotation(s) from your preferred supplier(s) to the application form. The quotation must include both the content of the Project Description and the Total Project Cost. 2.3 Timescales Your allocated Business Advisor will work in conjunction w ith the relevant Local Authority Project Lead and BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 9 of 10 review your application form. Your Business Advisor will reply to you directly to let you know if you have been successful or not. It is estimated to take up to 2 weeks to for the project panel to assess an application. It is essential that you provide all necessary information and that you fully explain the reason for the grant and what it will be used for. Any missing information can delay your application. If your application is successful you will rece ive a formal grant offer letter. This will inform you how to proceed and what documents you need to keep to claim the grant. It is estimated to take up to 10 days to process a grant offer letter after the panel decision. 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 an invoice and bank statements. 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 grant. You must not place an order with your chosen provider, commission or purchase any goods/services prior to receiving the offer letter, as grant payments cannot be made retrospectively against activity that has already occurred. Projects approved in the financial year 2023/24 must complete by December 2023 and claims submitted by the end of January 2024. Projects approved in the financial year 202 4 /2 5 must complete by December 2024 and claims submitted by the end of January 2025. 2.4 Procurement Guidance The basis of procurement with regard to products or services supported by grant award from this programme is one of ‘b usiness choice’. This means that you as the business decides who your preferred supplier is. If your total project value is below £24,999, you will only be required to provide a copy of 1 quotation per goods/services to be purchased, for your grant reques t to be considered. However, as a matter of good business practice we would suggest that you may want to seek alternative quotations to ensure you are going to get best value. If your total project value is over £24,999 you are required to obtain addition al quotations per goods/services to be purchased, in line with the Public Procurement Regulations 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 quotation(s) of the preferred supplier(s) must be adequate ly 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 not es 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. For successful grant applicants, there is a requirement for them as part of the grant claim process to BPD - C - 12 - BPD Application Guidance Version 1 - 05/07/2023 Page 10 of 10 demonstrate full payment before making their claim. This means that any form of lease or hire purchase agreement will not be acceptable. 2.5 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 and to retain originals which must be made available for inspection by an auditor. You must retain the original documentation about the grant as per the document retention requirements. Records must be kept until 2033. In the event that your business ceases trading within this period, the documentation must be passed to the Programme Management Team to retain 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. 2.6 Complaints Whilst we endeavour to run a transparent and fair project we appreciate that there will be applicants who may not be happy with the result of their submission. 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 f or the project will then review and raise your complaint at the Business Productivity and Digitisation Board. The Chair of the Board will have the final say on any complaint received.