Part 1: The What & Why of Scoping Your Project for Government Grants

Government grants are a great avenue through which funding can be secured for your projects.

Planning and scoping out those projects are the key first steps to take before looking for and applying to grants. In this series of articles, we will reveal a step-by-step process for those seeking out government funding, starting with the What and the Why.

What: Multiple product or service ideas belong in a mind map or brainstorming diagram for future business development. They DO NOT form the basis of your quest to seek funding from the government. Instead, it is first necessary to clearly define each idea – from both the business’s perspective and that of the funder. While you as a business might care about commercialising a product and achieving sales and traction across specific markets, governments care about what impact these products will have on the electorates they are responsible for.

The saying “what’s in it for me” has never been truer anywhere else than when it comes to defining your project in preparation for application for government funding. Be clear on who benefits from your project in the broader community. As an example, instead of defining your project as “Sales expansion of x health product across Australia”, the title “Health outcome improvements across remote communities in NSW” is likely to attract the attention of funding bodies.

In addition to being specific about outcomes in certain populations, by forming a project dealing with topical and priority areas for the government – health outcomes, First Nations affairs and regional development – goals of multiple funding bodies are likely to be addressed. Several funding bodies also weight innovation and “Technical Readiness Level” (TRL) quite highly, so it is imperative that your project explain the claim of being unique as well as scoping activities once your product or service reaches TRL 3 (for most commercialisation grants).

Why It may help to speak to business consultants, your network and “people on the ground” to define a project that includes your commercial aims of expanding sales, but at the same time, addresses an established or emerging environmental, social, health or other problem that governments take interest in.

Having a mission or vision statement that closely aligns with stated government aims and policies is likely to see your project reach the top of the pile with funders.

Almost all government grant applications will request information about your business planning activities, including detailed project plans, your ability to co-contribute funds to the project and evidence of support from partners. These requirements and how to compile them will be covered in later blog posts. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this early stage of planning before applying for government grants, feel free to reach out.