Grant funding to support the development and commercialisation of innovation in the West Midlands

1. Funding for Innovation Advantage Proof of Concept Fund

5. Application Process The time and effort required by an application should be commensurate with the chance of success. Four stage process that typically takes between 20 and 60 days. Step 1 30-40 minute eligibility interview 40% Proceed Step 2 Outline Application 80% Proceed Step 3 Full Application 55% Proceed Step 4 Grant Award Panel 80% Awarded

6. The Advantage Proof of Concept Fund is a competitive Fund; between 20% and 40% of all those who enquire are successful. However, the Fund is seeking to award a balanced range of grants to both pre-commercialisation entrepreneurs developing brand new innovations and established businesses with ongoing R&D. Applications, therefore, need to best position themselves to be successful. What is APoC looking for?

7. Critical Application Considerations I Innovation Projects must be innovative in the context of the whole market. They must show a differential advantage that is a step change over what is available with IP protection where applicable. They must define the concept that is being proven. Risk The more applicants can reduce the risk of a project, the easier it is for us to fund. This will not always be possible but information on the applicant’s previous successes, milestones met on the project to date, customer engagement etc is essential. Impact The Fund is seeking to support businesses that will grow rapidly and create economic impact in the West Midlands (new jobs, new businesses, safeguarded jobs etc). This is an essential part of our application process and companies should provide as much detail as possible and be prepared to defend their claims. When reviewing an application, the Fund considers the merit of that application against three critical categories.

8. Critical Application Considerations II There are some notable areas that many applications have failed on and applicants should do their utmost to address the following areas; 7. Pictures/diagrams - where appropriate, the Panel would like to see these as part of the application if it helps the assessment and understanding of the project. 6. Differentiate between proof of concept and development work. If part of a project (e.g. building a market ready web app) appears to take the project beyond proof of concept it will most likely be rejected. 5. Applicants must clearly explain what concept they are proving and how each element of the application contributes to this. 4. As opposed to Market Assessment the Grant WILL NOT FUND marketing. 3. A clear breakdown in the project plan/milestones of what individual items/services the grant will fund. 2. Either a prioritised market assessment element of the project or a clear description of the market assessment done in particular focussing on customer engagement and feedback. 1. A clear understanding of what is required to commercialised the innovation both in terms of the additional funding involved, the routes to market and some evidence of commercial engagement.

9. You will be able to lodge your enquiry at www.advantageproofofconcept.co.uk; Alternatively, you should contact the closest Advantage Proof of Concept Grant Fund office to you; Making an Application Contact Name Contact Number Staffordshire BIC 0845 074 3527 Competitiveness Centre Wolverhampton University 0845 074 3528 Malvern Hills Science Park 0845 074 3529 University of Warwick Science Park 0845 074 3320

10. Thank you