Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Grants of up to $250,000 to commercialise your product or service

COVID-19 has disrupted the world’s economies.

The NSW Government is seeking to identify businesses that intend to accelerate the commercialisation of research products that address the many disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this, the government is partnering with Innovation District partners in New South Wales, including Australian Catholic University, to deliver three rounds of challenges.

These guidelines outline the information businesses need in order to apply for the first challenge (Challenge One).

Innovation districts

Innovation districts are where research institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators and can network and accelerate commercialisation.

Twelve partner institutions (including Australian Catholic University) have aligned with NSW Treasury, as part of the Boosting Business Innovation Program.

Innovation district partners will identify businesses with connections within their area, either through research relationships or physical location, that are potential products or services that address the challenge statement. This will be achieved through an initial Stage 1 - Expression of Interest round with Australian Catholic University. The three finalists from this round will then progress to Stage 2 and submit a final application to NSW Treasury for the funding grants.

Funding

The total funding pool available for each Challenge is $500,000.

Grant Recipient	Funding Available
Highest ranked applicant	$250,000
Second-highest ranked applicant	$100,000
Third-highest ranked applicant	$30,000
Highest ranked applicant in each Innovation District that is not one of the state-wide overall recipients	$120,000 ($10,000 for each of the 12 innovation districts)

Key dates

Stage 1 - Expression of Interest closes: 11.59pm AEDT 1 November 2020

Stage 2 – Finalist applications due: 5pm AEDT 11 November 2020

Challenge One is now open

Challenge Statement - Health and wellbeing solutions that reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the people of NSW

Business eligibility criteria

To be eligible, businesses must have:

an ABN registered in NSW and is based in NSW
fewer than 200 employees
operated for at least 12 months, based on date of ABN registration
at least $75,000 in sales revenue within the last 12 months or previous financial year
a product or service (which may still be in development) that directly addresses the health and wellbeing impact of COVID-19 that it intends to market within 12 months
ownership that is at least 75 per cent Australian and is not more than 50 per cent owned by another business.

Eligible businesses must also provide:

an operating profit and loss statement for the last 12 months or previous financial year
brief profiles of key personnel such as CV or LinkedIn accounts
nomination of their primary innovation district partner.

Exclusions

The following will not be considered eligible for funding:

solutions that do not directly respond to the challenge statement for health and wellbeing solutions that address the impact of COVID-19
solutions designed to improve internal business processes
a Commonwealth, state or local government agency or body including government business enterprises.

How to enter

Stage 1: Expressions of interest have now closed

Each of the 12 innovation district partners will lead challenge activities in their respective innovation districts, in some cases, using an expression of interest process.

Australian Catholic University (ACU) is conducting an Expression of Interest process for eligible businesses. This will entail submitting an Expression of Interest through to ACU and conducting an eligibility check through NSW Treasury.

Should a business be ineligible, ACU may recommend other initiatives and the business may opt in to receive further information regarding the Innovation District COVID-19 R&D Challenges or other initiatives.

Stage 2: Application and assessment

ACU will nominate three finalists from the Stage 1: Expression of Interest round. These finalists will then be invited to complete the Stage Two Application form and provide the supporting material outlined below.

Finalist businesses will need to provide:

completed Stage Two Application form
budget and commercialisation plan
video presentation up to two minutes
declaration of conflicts of interest and description of any ethical or regulatory requirements to deliver the product or solution.

The 36 finalists, three from each of the 12 innovation district partners, will be competitively ranked by an independent panel against three criteria: impact, effectiveness, and delivery, tabled below. The top 15 ranked businesses of the 36 finalists will receive a grant to accelerate the commercialisation of their products.

Funding agreement

Successful applicants will be notified in writing by email and/or letter. Applicants may be required to keep the grant confidential for a period of time if an announcement will be made by the NSW Government.

Successful applicants will be required to enter a grant agreement with NSW Treasury, which will include a requirement that the applicant has and can provide a copy of all relevant insurances, such as public liability insurance or other insurance depending on the application.

As part of their obligations under the grant agreement, successful applicants will be required to submit reports at six month and 12-month intervals, which will include progress against the commercialisation plan and the intended use of funds, following receipt of the funding to NSW Treasury as outlined in the grant agreement.