RTO-Catapult Growth Support Account - Guidance Pack- July 2021.pdf - Graham Coultas

Please enable JavaScript to view the full PDF

RTO/catapult Growth Support Account Guidance Pack Overview As part of Innovate UK’s Covid-19 Fast Response Funding, grant assistance is being made available for businesses to benefit from the facilities and services provided by Research & Technology Organisations (RTOs) and the Catapult network. Innovate UK Edge clients can apply for grants for sector specific advice, testing and/or development work provided by RTOs/Catapults and which form a necessary element of an Action Plan agreed with an EDGE Innovation Growth Specialist. This is an additional offer for your clients, and it is expected that about 300 grants up to a maximum of £15,000 (excluding recoverable VAT) will be available to eligible & suitable businesses. The actual grants process is being managed on behalf of Innovate UK by EDGE partners Exemplas and RTC North whilst the account management of the client journey stays firmly with the EDGE Innovation Growth Specialist. One system is being used for the management of all grants with RTC North managing grants for businesses based in the north of UK and Exemplas for businesses based in south of UK. The RTO/Catapult Growth Account is only available for this financial year, with all expenditure having to be defrayed and claimed before end March 2022. Service Summary • Grant funding is targeted at ambitious businesses looking to grow & scale through innovation. • Client needs to be working with an Innovate UK EDGE Innovation & Growth Specialist (IGS) on a COVID action plan who will account manage their journey. • Services provided by the RTO/Catapult should form part of the action plan agreed with the client and not duplicate expertise that can be delivered by EDGE or other related services. • Eligibility for the service will be subject to Subsidy Control rules*. • Client will apply for funding with the support of their Innovation Growth Specialist. The Growth Support Account will reimburse the client after confirmation that the work has been satisfactorily completed and evidence that the client has paid the RTO/catapult (defrayal). • The grant will pay 100% of eligible project costs up to a maximum of £15,000 (exclusive of VAT if the beneficiary business is VAT registered, irrecoverable VAT can be included in project costs) • Resulting outcomes and impact should be key factors in considering the suitability of businesses for the Growth Support Account grant. * EU State Aid rules still apply in Northern Ireland. 1 RTO/Catapult Growth Account – Guidance Pack July2021 Target Customers Businesses that comply with the UK subsidy control rules are eligible for the service. • The business is UK registered and the company number relates to the same business name. • The business is a trading company and not a holding company or a dormant company. • The business has less than 500 employees (less than 250 in Northern Ireland, a turnover of less than €50million, or a balance sheet total of less than €43million) • The business has filed their accounts on time, the latest accounts have not been qualified and it is considered to be an on-going concern. • None of the Directors have been disqualified. • The business has no more than two County Court Judgements (CCJs) or CCJs with a value of greater than£10K • The support to be provided to the business will not exceed their rolling 3-year allowance of £344,600 (or €200,000 for Northern Ireland). Businesses that are suitable for the service and the appropriate use of the grant funding include: - • Businesses that need to explore and test new product ideas. • Provision of technical expertise and sector knowledge • Advice on regulatory and government processes along with access to networks of customers, services and funders. • Identifying opportunities for R&D, collaboration and partnership building • Sector specific expert advice and support with market analysis, cost modelling, business‐case support, creation of industry‐relevant R&D project plans • Businesses that need sector specific advice and support to commercialise their innovation, including improving efficiency, making their business operations more sustainable, or investigating market gaps. RTO/Catapult Offer Catapults are physical centres with cutting-edge R&D infrastructures including hubs, laboratories, testbeds, factories and offices, as well as technical experts that can support businesses to prove and adopt breakthrough products, processes, services and technologies. An initial list of RTOs and catapults participating in the service is attached to this guidance. Each catapult has produced a video and a slide deck detailing the range of services that they can provide to businesses. Links to the videos are below. Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult Video Composite Semiconductor Applications Catapult Video 2 RTO/Catapult Growth Account – Guidance Pack July2021 Connected Places Catapult Video Energy Systems Catapult Video High Value Manufacturing Catapult Video Medicines Discovery Catapult Video Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Video Satellite Applications Catapult Video Grant Management Process Overview A schematic of the grant management process is below. Exemplas/RTC North are responsible for the approval of grants, contracting with and paying participating businesses, reporting on take up and progress of the service, together with reporting on outcomes and impact to Innovate UK. Applications from businesses located in the following regions will be managed by RTC North West Midlands, Yorkshire, North East, North West, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland Contact: Sarah Hart 3 RTO/Catapult Growth Account – Guidance Pack July2021 E: sarah.hart@innovateukedge.ukri.org T: 07973 340629 Applications from businesses located in the following regions will be managed by Exemplas East Midlands, East of England, South East, London, South West Contact: Ingunn Vallumroed Grantsadmin.CatapultRTO@innovateukedge.ukri.org Ingunn.vallumroed@innovateukedge.ukri.org T: 07775 502825 All forms, correspondence or questions should be referred to the contacts detailed above. Innovation Growth Specialists (IGS) are responsible for agreeing an action plan with client businesses and supporting the business to engage with and agree a programme of work with the appropriate RTO/Catapult. The account management of the client journey stays firmly with the EDGE Innovation Growth Specialist. Stage one-Application There is a two-stage process for businesses applying for the grant. Expression of Interest (EOI) – To provide brief details about the client and their proposed project to enable eligibility/suitability to be confirmed. Application - Once passed compliance approval, the client business will be invited to complete a full application and send it to the grant managers. Stage two - Appraisal Applications received will be scored and appraised by the grant managers. They will contact the client business if further clarification is required and will issue a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) once grant funding is approved. Stage three - Contracting The GFA will be made between the grant managers and the client business. The GFA should be signed by the business and returned to the grant managers before the project work is started. 4 RTO/Catapult Growth Account – Guidance Pack July2021 Stage four - Monitoring At the end of the project the client will be asked to complete a short project progress report summarising the project activities, outcomes, anticipated impacts and to confirm project costs. The form should be signed by the client and confirmed by the Innovation Growth Specialist. Stage five – Claim and payment Client business will be able to claim for re-imbursement of project costs at the end of the project. Due to the short time frames involved, no stage payments are able to be made. A claim form backed up by evidence of defrayal (Invoices, bank statement) and Final Project Progress Report form should be sent to the grant managers who will check details and arrange for payment of approved costs. Stage six – Impact Impact will be measured by the Innovation Growth Specialist. Questions/Updates If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate grant administrators. Updates on progress will be made via partner meetings and any changes to the process or the guidance will be communicated through the usual channels. Exemplas RTC North 5 RTO/Catapult Growth Account – Guidance Pack July2021