Great Ideas Grants Guidance

Great Ideas is a fully funded, bespoke programme connecting businesses with guidance, funding and expertise across York and North Yorkshire.  This £2.5 million programme is part of the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire’s Business Innovation Fund and is delivered by UMi.

The programme supports businesses to develop and commercialise new or improved products and services and improve their processes.  As a result, local businesses will become more innovative, more productive and will grow at a faster rate.  Businesses outside the region will be attracted to York and North Yorkshire as a place that will support them to innovate and grow.

Access to finance is fundamental for businesses to innovate and grow, so Great Ideas provides practical guidance and expert support to identify, prepare for and secure the right finance, including grants, equity investment and debt finance.

The programme includes a £1.4m grant fund to enable participating businesses to fund essential external support to help them commercialise their ideas and accelerate their growth.  Those participating businesses with the most investment ready projects will be able to pitch for grant funding of up to £60,000 to engage consultants and other experts, commission professionals, and access innovation facilities and resources across the region.

This guidance is designed to provide information to businesses wishing to apply for a grant as part of the support they are receiving through the Great Ideas programme.  Bespoke guidance and support will be provided to each applicant by their UMi adviser.

All businesses applying for a Great Ideas grant must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Your business must be fully registered with the Great Ideas programme. Businesses may register here https://yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk/project/great-ideas/.
• You must have completed an Innovation Health Check and discussed the results with your UMi adviser.
• You must have been assessed as ready for funding by your UMi adviser and submitted your grant application via the UMi online portal.
• Your business must be entitled to receive the grant under the Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) exemption, meaning that receipt of the grant will not cause you to breach the £315,000 MFA threshold when cumulated with any other MFA or equivalent assistance received within the current and two previous financial years.

Applicants meeting the eligibility criteria listed above will be provided with support to develop their proposition and prepare their case before pitching it to the Great Ideas panel.

Applicants are not necessarily expected to have a fully developed investment pitch, longer-term financial projections or detailed investment requirements.  Assessment of grant pitches will be based on how well and to what extent applicants are able to demonstrate that they meet the criteria below (It is acknowledged that businesses may be pitching for grant funding to help achieve one or more of the criteria below). 

2.2.1 You have defined the problem:

• You can clearly explain the problem your business helps to solve.
• You can demonstrate the scale of the problem using facts and figures from credible sources.

2.2.2 You can articulate the solution:

• You can clearly explain how your product or service provides a solution to the problem.
• You can describe the features and benefits of your product or service and what makes it different from other solutions on the market.

2.2.3 You have researched and evaluated the market:

• You can describe your ideal customer and explain the size and segmentation of the target market, and back this up with relevant data from credible sources.
• You understand your potential competitors and can explain how your product or service compares.
• You can demonstrate how feedback from potential users and wider research has shaped your product or service.

2.2.4   You have developed a credible business model:

• You have a scalable business model that makes sense when explained to others.
• You can explain how your business creates value and generates revenue.
• You have identified the assumptions in your business model and can show how you have confirmed that these are valid.

2.2.5 Your business has sufficient market traction:

• You have compelling evidence of demand for your product or service.
• You have a sales strategy, you understand your current performance against potential sales, and you have considered next steps to achieve your sales forecast.
• You have obtained actionable customer feedback.

2.2.6   You have, or can acquire, the necessary skills:

• You can demonstrate the skills and expertise of your team working in key areas including technical operations, sales and finance, and you can explain how you plan to fill any skills gaps.

2.2.7   The grant-funded activity is aligned with your plans for the business:

• You can explain how the activity to be funded by the grant aligns with your plans for the business and describe how it will help you to achieve tangible objectives.
• You can explain how the activity to be funded by the grant will help to commercialise your new product or service and accelerate the achievement of your business goals.

Great Ideas grants are awarded to enable you to engage suppliers to undertake activities that will advance the innovation you are doing and help to accelerate its commercialisation and grow your business.  Such activities may include any of the following listed below (this list is not exhaustive).

• Testing new products and services with customers.
• Carrying out research and development, such as building prototypes.
• Accessing specialist expertise, equipment or other resources such as testing equipment.
• Obtaining legal advice on protecting intellectual property or other innovation-related matters.

The activity to be funded by the grant must fulfill the following criteria:

2.3.1 It must be new activity: Grants cannot support ongoing or ‘business as usual’ activities or activities which have already started or for which a cost has already been incurred or a payment made.  Applications may include extending or expanding the scope of activities undertaken previously, provided the grant-funded activity takes place after the Grant Offer Letter date.

2.3.2 It must be delivered by an external supplier or suppliers unconnected with your business: Grants can only be used for activities or services provided by third party suppliers; internal costs such as salaries and other costs, whether or not related to the innovation, must be funded by the business.  Any suitable external supplier may be used provided they are not connected with your business.  If you need help with identifying suppliers, your UMi adviser can provide guidance on using the Great Ideas Innovation Directory.

2.3.3 It must be good value for money and properly procured: Suppliers must be procured in accordance with the Great Ideas Procurement Process.  Written quotations/proposals are required for all grant applications: a single quotation is required for activities costing less than £10,000 excluding VAT; three quotations from separate suppliers are required for activities costing £10,000 or more excluding VAT unless there is only one supplier capable of providing the required services due to technical, artistic or copyright reasons.  In such cases, a single tender justification may be made.  To ensure value for money, we reserve the right to cap the amount of grant for particular activities on a case-by-case basis.  Procurement evidence must be supplied with your grant claim.

2.3.4 It must be designed to achieve a tangible objective in relation to  commercialisation of your new product or service and accelerating the achievement of your business goals.

2.3.5 It must be completed within the programme timeframe: You must provide a realistic estimate of the time required to complete the activity.  The Grant Offer Letter will specify the date by which your grant claim must be submitted.  In all cases, activities must be paid for and claimed in sufficient time to enable the grant to be paid to you by 30 November 2027.

The following activities and costs are not eligible for grant support (this list may not be exhaustive):
• Any payment to a supplier not procured in accordance with the Great Ideas procurement process.• Any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source or any sanctioned person, country or entity.

• Any activity which has started or cost which has been incurred prior to the Grant Offer Letter date.

• Any activity for which other public funding has been received or awarded.

• Regular business running costs, staff costs, materials, overheads, or maintenance.

• Routine activities, including those fulfilling a statutory or regulatory requirement e.g. preparation of routine financial accounts, audit fees, routine HR services etc.

• Bank and other finance charges, and debt interest.

• Reclaimable VAT.

• Contingencies.

• Depreciation.

• Any activity which may bring the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire or the Combined Authority or UMi into disrepute.

Before applying for a grant, your business must be registered with the Great Ideas programme, and you must complete an Innovation Health Check and be assessed as ready for funding by your UMi adviser.

Ready for funding means that you have identified an activity or activities that will advance the innovation you are undertaking and help to accelerate the growth of your business.  The activity must meet the criteria set out in section 3.3 and your business must also meet the eligibility and assessment criteria set out in sections 3.1 and 3.2.

You may apply for a grant to cover the full cost of the activity or activities up to £60,000 excluding recoverable VAT.  You may only make one grant application during the programme lifetime, but the application may include more than one activity.

Typically, businesses will have several meetings with their UMi adviser before they are ready for funding, and your adviser may suggest that you complete certain tasks and request certain information from you before you submit your grant application.

Once you have been assessed as ready for funding, you will be sent a link to the grant application form on UMi’s online grant management portal.  Your UMi adviser will agree a deadline with you for submitting your application based on the date of the next scheduled panel meeting.

On receipt, your application will be reviewed by your UMi adviser, who may contact you to request clarification or further information as required.

After reviewing your grant application and supporting information, your UMi adviser will provide help to prepare your pitch to the panel as required and ensure that all the eligibility, assessment and grant activity criteria have been met before arranging for you to pitch to the panel.

The panel normally meets every two months, and panel meetings are held in person at venues in York and North Yorkshire.

The purpose of the panel is not only to make decisions on the use of the programme grant funds, but also to provide a supportive environment in which business leaders may practice their investment pitches and receive constructive feedback on their ideas and commercialisation plans.

It is therefore in your interest to provide as much information as you can to get the most useful feedback from the panel.  You may be assured that panel members have agreed to treat all the information they receive as strictly confidential.  There is no appeal process for unsuccessful applicants, but feedback and further support will be offered to all applicants regardless of the outcome of their grant application.

The panel is made up of senior people from businesses and academic institutions in York and North Yorkshire selected for their experience and skills in innovation and commercialisation.  The panel is chaired by a director of UMi.

UMi is committed to inclusion and works to ensure that the panel has diverse representation, which is reflective of the local business and academic community, including gender, ethnicity, geographical spread, business size, protected characteristics and sector experience.  Panel members act in their individual capacity and not as representatives of their respective organisations or employers.

Panel members are appointed from the date of their appointment until the programme end date of 31 December 2027 unless they resign before that date.  Panel members receive no remuneration in relation to their role as panel members.

On appointment, panel members are required to sign a declaration affirming their understanding of these terms of reference and their commitment to the panel members’ code of conduct set out below.

Decisions on the use of programme grant funds will be made by consensus wherever possible.  Where a consensus is not achieved, a decision will be carried by a majority of votes of the panel members present at the meeting excluding the Chair, who has no vote.

All panel meetings will be held in person at venues in York and North Yorkshire.  Meetings will usually take place every two months.

Before each meeting, panel members will be sent information on the businesses that are due to pitch at the meeting including a brief description of their idea and a summary of their grant application.

Panel members will be invited to declare any interests in advance of each meeting and may choose to absent themselves from the meeting if they have a conflict of interest.  Declarations of interest will be noted in the minutes of each meeting, and any panel members present at a meeting with conflicts of interest will not take part in decision making.

Meetings of the panel will be quorate when the Chair and at least 3 business members and 2 academic members are present.  In addition to the Chair, other UMi or YNYCA employees may attend panel meetings from time to time to observe or undertake administrative roles.  Such attendees are not panel members, and they do not take part in decision making.

UMi has adopted the general principles set out in the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority Members Code of Conduct and has adapted them for the Great Ideas Panel.  These principles are as follows.

In accordance with the trust placed in them, panel members will:

1. Act with integrity and honesty.
2. Act lawfully.
3. Treat all persons fairly and with respect.
4. Act in a way that secures confidence in the role of panel member.
5. Have regard for the interests of York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority and UMi.

In undertaking their role, panel members:

1. Exercise their responsibilities impartially in the interests of the businesses participating in the programme.
2. Do not improperly seek to confer an advantage, or disadvantage, on any person or business.
3. Avoid conflicts of interest.
4. Do not accept gifts or hospitality which could give rise to a reasonable suspicion of influence on their part to show favour from persons seeking funding from the programme.
5. Exercise reasonable care and diligence.
6. Ensure that programme grant funds are used prudently in accordance with aims and objectives of the programme.

With regard to confidentiality and access to information, panel members do not disclose information which is:

1. Given to them in confidence by anyone.
2. Acquired by them which they believe, or ought reasonably to be aware, is of a confidential nature, unless:
   1. they have received the consent of a person authorised to give it; or
   2. they are required by law to do so.

For the avoidance of doubt, the names of the businesses participating in the programme and all information and Personal Data relating to them which UMi shares with panel members is confidential and is not used for any other purpose or disclosed to any third party without the express consent of the business or Data Subject to which the information belongs.  All such information and Personal Data received by panel members is retained only for such time as is necessary for discharging their role and is then destroyed or permanently deleted from any electronic device.

Panel members do not improperly use knowledge gained solely as a result of their role as a panel member for the advancement of themself, their friends, their family members, their employer or their business interests.