New Anglia LEP Investment Appraisal Committee
10 September 2019
8:30am-10am
Telephone meeting
Dial: 033 3443 3443
Room Number: 83889320 #
PIN: 3227 #
Agenda
Committee Members
Lindsey Rix
Aviva
Cllr David Ellesmere
Ipswich Borough Council
Andrew Proctor
Norfolk County Council
Sandy Ruddock
Scarlett and Mustard
Alan Waters
Norwich City Council
Tim Whitley
BT
Dominic Keen
High Growth Robotics
Martin Williams
Santander
Exec Members
Rosanne Wijnberg
New Anglia LEP
Chris Dashper
New Anglia LEP
Iain Dunnett
New Anglia LEP
Tanya Nelson
New Anglia LEP
No.
Item
1.
Welcome
2.
Apologies
3.
Declarations of Interest
4.
Minutes of previous meeting held on 23 July 2018.
5.
Horizon Paper - (Confidential)
Reporting - Growing Business Fund
6
Growing Business Fund Performance Report
6.1
Growing Business Fund approvals
6.2
Small Grant Scheme approvals
1
Reporting- Innovative Projects Fund
7
Innovative Projects Fund Performance Report
Items for discussion
8
IPF Programme Proposal
8.1
IPF Terms of Reference
9
Growing Places Fund: The Nest (Confidential)
9.1
The Nest Business Plan (Confidential)
9.2
The Nest July IAC Paper (for reference) (Confidential)
Growing Places Fund: MSF Loan update inc financial appendix
10
(Confidential)
Other
11.
Any Other Business
Date and time of next IAC meeting: Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 9am-9:45am
Venue: The Carnegie, Cage Lane, Thetford, IP24 2EA
2
New Anglia Investment Appraisal Committee
CONFIDENTIAL
Meeting Minutes (Unconfirmed)
23rd July 2019
Present:
Committee Members
Lindsey Rix (LR)
Aviva
Martin Williams (MW)
Santander
Alan Waters (AW)
Norwich City Council
David Ellesmere (DE)
Ipswich Borough Council
Tim Whitley (TW)
BT
Sandy Ruddock (SR)
Scarlett and Mustard
In Attendance
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)
New Anglia LEP
Chris Dashper (CD)
New Anglia LEP
Iain Dunnett (ID)
New Anglia LEP
Apologies
Dominic Keen (DK)
High Growth Robotics
Andrew Proctor
Norfolk County Council
ACTIONS
• Review of Innovation Fund draft terms of reference.
• Chris Dashper (CD) to engage with loan recipient and report back to next committee meeting.
• Chris Dashper (CD) to liaise with large company on conditions of investment.
• Iain Dunnett (ID) to liaise with grant applicant on provision of further financial information required
by the committee.
• Iain Dunnett (ID) to continue liaising with future grant applicant on provision of financial
information.
1
Welcome from the Chair
Lindsey Rix as Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2
Apologies
Dominic Keen and Andrew Proctor
3
Declarations of Interest
None
4
Minutes of previous meeting (25 June 2019)
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved by the committee.
5
Growing Places Fund Horizon Paper (Confidential)
Iain Dunnett (ID) reviewed the GPF Horizon Paper and stated no points for discussion.
6
Growing Business Fund Programme Performance Report (Confidential)
6.1
Growing Business Fund Approvals
6.2
Small Grants Scheme Approvals
Page 1 of 2
The monthly GBF report and accompanying appendices were reviewed by Chris Dashper (CD) and
stated no points for discussion.
7
Innovative Projects Fund Revised Arrangements
Alan Waters (AW) stated that the proposal for inclusion of Pooled Business Rate contributions into the
fund were still to be agreed by Suffolk and Norfolk Leaders Groups. Alan Waters (AW) and David
Ellesmere (DE) both expressed need for clear expression of; local authority areas in an inclusive manner
with a clear allocation of £500k each to Norfolk and Suffolk; the LEP £500k being allocated where most
appropriate; a balanced allocation between rural and urban needs; that a draft terms of reference
required for comment; discussion on sign off between local authorities and LEP and agreement that
Investment Committee representation will be the local authority members on the funds panel; Investment
Committee step in needs to be possible re allocation of LEP funds.
Sandy Ruddock (SR) questioned the need for a £60k management fee.
The IAC agreed to review a draft term of reference at their next meeting in September.
8
Loan Update (Confidential)
The IAC agreed to review the project at the next meeting of the IAC. LEP Executive to continue to provide
updates on a regular basis.
9
Growing Places Fund Large Company Grant Request (Confidential)
The committee agreed a grant of £379,318, subject to approval of the capital grant programme by the
board, provision of a suitable State Aid statement by the applicant and evidence of confirmation by the
parent company that the applicant would continue to be located in the region.
10
GPF Grant Application (Confidential)
The committee agreed to review the project again at the next meeting.
11
Any Other Business
Lindsey Rix (LR) asked when other grant applications would be presented to committee. Iain Dunnett (ID)
explained that the figures were being prepared and would be presented to the committee in September.
Date and time of next IAC meeting:
Teleconference, Tuesday 10 September 2019, commencing 08:30
Dial: 033 3443 3443
Room Number: 83889320 #
PIN: 3227 #
Page 2 of 2
Agenda item 6: Growing Business Fund Performance Report
Programme Overview - What is the Growing Business Fund?
Launched in April 2013, the Growing Business Fund provides grants for businesses to enable growth, an increase productivity and job creation.
Capital grants between £25,000 and £500,000 are provided at up to 20% of project costs for SMEs, with an enhanced rate for small businesses located in an Assisted Area (until 2021)
Funding for the Growing Business Fund is provided on an annual basis by the LEP's Growth Deal.
The fund is accessed through the New Anglia Growth Hub with Due Diligence undertaken by Finance East.
What is the overall Programme Status?
Amber
Finance
£1m of additional funding has been put into the fund, however, a slowing of applications means that it is unlikely that we will spend all the allocation.
Green
Outputs
Based on recent grant applications, spend and pipeline, the scheme will probably over perform against the targets for the year 2019/20.
Green
Delivery
The pipeline of applications coming forward has slowed, however, existing approvals will ensure that the fund performs well.
What are our key updates?
Membership of the Approval Panel was widened at the end of 2018, to ensure the panel has the knowledge required to operate effectively.
Whilst a high number of enquiries continues the number of actual applications coming forward is slightly lower and tending to be smaller in scale and requiring less grant aid.
Participant SMEs of the Scale Up New Anglia programme are being offered a range of support including applications to GBF (where appropriate)
What is our financial position?
Financials (£ million)
Year
2013 to 2016
2016/2017
2017/2018
2018/2019
2019/2020
2020/2021
2021/22
Total
Profile Spend (£m)
£12.000
£3.536
£3.050
£5.096
£4.121
£2.790
£0.000
£30.593
Actual Spend (£m)
£11.999
£3.001
£3.049
£4.764
£1.163
£23.976
Remaining Spend (£m)
£0.001
£0.535
£0.001
£0.331
£2.958
£2.790
£0.000
£6.616
2019/2020 Expenditure Profile
2
1
0
Q1-18/19
Q2-18/19
Q3-18/19
Q4-18/19
Quarterly Forecast
£1.030
£1.030
£1.030
£1.030
Quarterly Spend
£0.963
£0.200
£0.000
£0.000
Variance
£0.067
£0.830
£1.030
£1.030
What is our contribution to the Economic Strategy?
Actual to end of
Monthly
Outputs April 2019 to March 2020
Target
Shortfall
Notes
June 2019
Change
Value of grants approved
£4,121,000
£555,635
£178,869
£3,565,365
Value of private sector match approved
£16,484,000
£2,413,615
£895,703
£14,070,385
Number of New Jobs to be Created
206
41
15
165
Value of grants claimed
£4,121,000
£1,163,280
£200,486
£2,957,720
Private sector match funding drawn down
£16,484,000
£4,656,084
£1,414,944
£11,827,916
Number of New Jobs Created
206
45
16
161
What is the project status?
The following table shows grants approved by sector since the start of the programme in 2013/14
Number of
Projects
Grants
Private
Total Project
Jobs to be
Sector
Approved
Approved
Match
Costs
Created
A - Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
3
£
235,899
£
1,018,543
£
1,254,442
58.0
B - Mining and Quarrying
1
£
100,000
£
1,654,600
£
1,754,600
10.0
C - Manufacturing
124
£
13,944,398
£
90,669,109
£
104,613,507
1536.5
E - Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
5
£
295,594
£
1,260,379
£
1,555,973
28.0
F - Construction
15
£
1,086,486
£
5,231,673
£
6,318,159
142.0
G - Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
26
£
2,829,816
£
52,354,642
£
55,212,708
386.0
H - Transportation and Storage
8
£
666,992
£
3,275,957
£
3,942,949
90.0
I - Accommodation and Food Service Activities
5
£
372,000
£
2,342,138
£
2,714,138
45.5
J - Information and Communication
10
£
717,700
£
3,537,616
£
4,255,316
74.0
K - Financial and Insurance Activities
1
£
30,000
£
79,425
£
109,425
3.0
L - Real Estate Activities
1
£
100,000
£
232,500
£
345,000
10.0
M - Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities
20
£
2,264,241
£
14,596,363
£
16,860,604
259.6
N - Administrative and Support Service Activities
21
£
2,088,771
£
11,212,136
£
13,300,907
248.0
P - Education
1
£
20,000
£
102,191
£
122,191
4.0
Q - Human Health and Social Work Activities
1
£
31,580
£
126,320
£
157,900
3.5
R - Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
8
£
502,921
£
3,159,776
£
3,662,697
55.5
S - Other Service Activities
2
£
320,000
£
4,737,413
£
5,057,413
32.0
Total
252
£
25,606,398
£
195,590,781
£
221,237,929
2985.6
What are the next steps?
The LEP is working with delivery partners, to ensure that the scheme has a greater focus on business growth and productivity.
As part of the marketing Action Plan a number of case studies have been commissioned and the growth hub website revamped, literature and banners are being redesigned and relaunched
10
Agenda item 6.1 New Anglia LEP
Growing Business Fund
Grant Approvals 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020
Total
Date
Jobs to be
Business Name
Grant Awarded
Private Match
Project
Description of Support Given
Approved
Created
Cost
Apr-19
Anglian Plant Ltd
£170,000
£681,915
£851,915
8 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Portable Space Ltd (2)
£78,378
£313,513
£391,891
5 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Goldwell Manufacturing Services Ltd
£40,000
£96,200
£136,200
2 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Belle Coachworks Ltd (4)
£36,000
£85,151
£121,151
5 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
HBD Europe Ltd (2)
£52,388
£341,133
£393,521
6 Capital grant to support business growth
Jul-19
Bendart Limited
£42,500
£99,495
£141,995
4 Capital grant to support business growth
Jul-19
(2) t/as Fathom
£40,000
£162,821
£202,821
4 Capital grant to support business growth
Jul-19
Hugh Crane Cleaning Equioment Ltd
£56,369
£507,327
£563,696
5 Capital grant to support business growth
Jul-19
Anglia Indoor Karting (Ipswich) Ltd
£40,000
£126,060
£166,060
2 Capital grant to support business growth
£0
£0
£0
£0
£555,635
£2,413,615
£2,969,250
41
11
Agenda item 6.2: Small Grant Scheme Approvals (April 2019 - March 2020)
Total
Jobs to
Date
Grant
Private
Business Name
Project
be
Description of Support Given
Approved
Awarded
Match
Cost
Created
Apr-19
DXB Pumps & Power Ltd.
£16,845
£67,385
£84,230
1.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
Bradleys (Stowmarket) Ltd. (2)
£17,919
£71,679
£89,598
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
Praxis42 Ltd.
£6,362
£25,449
£31,811
4.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
Edmondson Hall
£25,000
£371,148
£396,148
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
The Penny Bun Bakehouse Ltd.
£7,203
£16,807
£24,010
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
Criterion Ices Ltd.
£19,515
£78,064
£97,579
2.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
Fruitful Media Ltd.
£8,805
£35,222
£44,027
7.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Apr-19
Tosier Chocolate Ltd.
£2,724
£10,900
£13,624
1.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Apex Print & Promotion Ltd.
£9,930
£39,720
£49,650
2.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Pastonacre Ltd
£4,305
£17,224
£21,529
1.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Donald Utting & Sons Ltd (2)
£24,973
£99,892
£124,865
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Safety Devices International Ltd
£5,600
£22,400
£28,000
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
A J Laminated Beams Ltd
£5,500
£22,000
£27,500
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
P J Lee Hire & Sales Ltd
£6,600
£26,400
£33,000
2.0 Capital grant to support business growth
May-19
Newton Automotive Ltd (2)
£16,160
£64,640
£80,800
1.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
Timberwolf Ltd
£18,275
£73,100
£91,375
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
CapTrac Ltd
£25,000
£101,844
£126,844
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
Yum Yum Tree Fudge Ltd
£10,905
£43,620
£54,525
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
N-Ergise Ltd
£25,000
£64,285
£89,285
1.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
Emkay Plastics Ltd
£14,453
£57,814
£72,267
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
Vinyl Installation Ltd
£7,200
£16,800
£24,000
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jun-19
C.S. (Computer Services) Ltd.
£1,749
£6,996
£8,745
0.0 Capital grant to support business growth
Jul-19
The Space Burston
£9,313
£52,775
£62,088
2.0 Capital investment to support business growth
Jul-19
Clenshaw Minns Ltd
£21,740
£86,963
£108,703
1.0 Capital investment to support business growth
Jul-19
Able Cleaning & Hygiene Supplies
£1,113
£4,455
£5,568
0.0 Capital investment to support business growth
Jul-19
Sabrefix (UK) Limited
£4,260
£17,040
£21,300
3.0 Capital investment to support business growth
Jul-19
E Rand & Sons Limited
£4,247
£16,991
£21,238
0.0 Capital & Revenue investment to support business growth
£320,696
£1,511,613
£1,832,309
28.0
SGS Grants Approv2d Apr19-Mar201
Agenda Item 7: Innovative Projects Fund - 2018 Projects Call
Programme Overview - What is the Innovative Projects Fund
The Innovative Projects Fund is a revenue grant programme that provides funding towards innovative projects to support the delivery of the themes and
activities identified in the Economic and Industrial Strategies. The first call of the Innovative Projects Fund was made in October 2018 with a remit to facilitate
innovative projects supporting economic growth and the delivery of the Economic Strategy utilising revenue from the Enterprise Zone Pot C.
What is the Overall Programme Status?
Overall:
Green
Delivery:
Green
5/5 projects are now in the delivery phase.
Spend:
Amber
5/5 projects have had delays in starting their projects on 1st April 2019 resulting in a delay in expenditure.
Outputs:
Green
5/5 Projects are not expected to deliver outputs in quarters one and two.
What are our Key Updates?
•Successful applicants under the Innovative Projects Fund were notified after the 27 March 2019 IAC meeting.
•Offer Letters were issued to five of the eight successful applicants between April and May 2019.
•Two projects, Fit 4 Nuclear and Connecting Creative Capital, have not yet met the conditions of the offers made by the IAC.
•The Start East 2 Project has declined its award as it was unable to attract match funding from ERDF.
•The total amount allocated to the five projects under the 2018 IPF Call is £330,268.
•The total amount remaining committed to Fit 4 Nuclear and Connecting Creative Capital is £218,000 (subject to meeting offer conditions).
•The total amount allocated and committed to projects is £548,268.
•Signed offer letters were received back from all five successful projects by end of June 2019.
•Building Supply Chains & The Ipswich Cornhill Projects can make claims for Quarter 1, the Programmes Case Worker is still awaiting one of those claims.
•The 3 further projects will be making their first claims from Quarter 2.
•Claims made under Quarter 1 so far total £6,580
What is our Financial Position?
Financials (£ million)
Forecast
Forecast
Financial Year
2019/20
2020/21
Brought Forward
0.000
0.056
LEP Allocation
0.500
0.000
Spend [Act/Fcst]
0.274
0.056
Committed
0.218
0.000
Carried forward
0.056
0.000
2019/20 Allocation Vs Remaining Expenditure
2019/20 - IPF Forecast Vs Actual Spend
£350,000.00
120,000.00
£300,000.00
100,000.00
£250,000.00
80,000.00
£200,000.00
60,000.00
40,000.00
£150,000.00
20,000.00
£100,000.00
-
£50,000.00
Q1-19/20
Q2-19/20
Q3-19/20
Q4-19/20
20/21
£0.00
Qtrly Forecast
Qtrly Claims
Amount allocated
Remaining spend
What is our contribution to the Economic Strategy?
Quarter/ year:
1 (Apr-Jun) 2019
Outputs - cumulative from April 1st to 30th June 2019 (Quarter 1)
Actual to date
Forecast to 2021
Number of Direct Full-Time Jobs Created
0
65
High Value Jobs created
0
59
Number of Jobs Safeguarded
0
60
Number of businesses created
0
12
Number of Businesses Supported
0
94
Number of Learners
0
49
Number of businesses created
0
41
What is the Project Delivery Status?
Building Supply Chains - NCC: This project has started delivery and will make a claim for Quarter 1 2019. Vattenfall in partnership with NCC and the
Chambers of Commerce have held initial events for local business.
The Ipswich Cornhill - Ipswich Central: The project has started delivery and has made a claim of £6,580 for Quarter 1. A claim of £33,000 is forecast for
Quarter 2.
Growing the Year-Round Economy - Visit East of England: This project was delayed in starting as the website database of tourism assets in the region had
not been handed over complete. The Project Manager was then tasked with ensuring the database was complete prior to starting the IPF project. The project is
now in delivery and a first claim will incorporate quarters one and two.
The Catapult - The Catapult Network: The project was delayed whilst accommodation for the project was confirmed between all partners. This was required
before the post could be advertised. Accommodation has now been secured at OrbisEnergy and the Offer Letter has been signed.
Norfolk & Suffolk Offshore Wind Competitiveness Positioning Programme - GYBC: The Offer Letter has been signed and the project has started.
What are the Next Steps?
A 2019/20 Call of an enlarged IPF Programme is awaiting approval from the NALEP Board on 25.09.19
The Programmes Case Worker for the IPF Programme is working with Project Leaders to ensure claims and associated monitoring reports are received for
quarter 2.
13
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
Investment Appraisal Committee.
Tuesday 10th September 2019
Agenda Item 8
Innovative Projects Fund
Author: Tanya Nelson
Summary
The proposal to combine LEP, SCC and NCC revenue funds for the purpose of a larger
Innovative Projects Fund was approved by Norfolk and Suffolk leaders at their meetings on July
25th 2019 and the 26th July 2019 respectively.
At its meeting on 23rd July 2019 the IAC approved in principle the establishment of the larger £1.5
Million Innovative Projects Fund jointly with local authorities from Norfolk and Suffolk - with final
sign off at the September LEP board meeting. At the same meeting, the IAC requested a Terms
of Reference for the Panel overseeing the decision making for the new larger programme.
A Terms of Reference is provided as appendix A to this paper for consideration by the IAC.
As part of the approval process for the Terms of Reference the IAC is asked to nominate three
private sector members of the IAC to sit on the Innovative Projects Fund ‘decision making’ Panel.
Only two private sector members will be required to attend meetings to ensure that the meetings
are quorate. The panel members will have a delegated responsibility from the LEP Board for
financial decisions up to a limit of £500,000 in respect of the Innovative Projects Fund.
A draft of the application form and guidance document for the 2019/20 Innovative Projects Fund
is provided as an appendix B for approval.
Recommendation
The Investment Appraisal Committee is asked to:
Approve the Innovative Projects Fund ‘Terms of Reference’;
Nominate 3 private sector members to sit of the IPF Panel (only 2 required to attend at
any panel meeting) delegating decision making power up to £500,000;
Approve the 2019/20 Innovative Projects Fund application and guidance forms;
Background
The Innovative Projects Fund is a revenue grant programme that provides funding towards
innovative projects to support the delivery of the themes and activities identified in the Economic
and Industrial Strategies. The first call of the Innovative Projects Fund was made in 2018 and
14
led solely by New Anglia LEP with a remit to facilitate innovative projects supporting economic
growth and the delivery of the Economic Strategy utilising revenue from the Enterprise Zone Pot
C. Following the outcome of the first call of the Innovative Projects Fund, Councils in Suffolk
and Norfolk agreed to match New Anglia LEP’s future 2019 allocation of the Innovative Projects
Fund through their respective pooled business rates. In doing so, a £1.5 million pot has been
made available to prospective projects under a 2019/20 call.
At its meeting on 23rd July 2019 the IAC approved in principle the establishment of the larger
Innovative Projects Fund jointly with local authorities from Norfolk and Suffolk - with final sign off
at the September LEP board meeting.
The proposal to combine LEP, SCC and NCC revenue funds for the purpose of a larger
Innovative Projects Fund was approved by Norfolk and Suffolk leaders at their meetings on July
25th 2019 and the 26th July 2019 respectively.
A Terms of Reference is provided as appendix A to this paper for consideration by the IAC.
The Terms of Reference outlines the responsibility of the Innovative Projects Fund Panel. It
covers remit, membership, frequency of meetings, quorum of the panel, declarations of interest
and how the panel will undertake decision making.
As part of the approval process for the Terms of Reference, the IAC is asked to nominate three
private sector members of the IAC to sit on the Innovative Projects Fund ‘decision making’ Panel.
Only two private sector members will be required to attend meetings to ensure that the meetings
are quorate. The panel members will have delegated responsibility from the LEP Board for
financial decisions up to a limit of
£500,000 in respect of the Innovative Projects Fund.
Membership of the Innovative Projects Fund Panel will be reviewed annually.
In preparation for a
2019/20 call application and guidance forms have been drafted for
consideration and included with this paper as appendix B. The new guidance includes the
merged criteria, combining the LEP’s criteria and that of the respective county’s pooled business
rates fund. Preference is that projects bidding for funds from the Innovative Projects Fund are
regional in nature. However, this would not preclude countywide or locality-based projects from
being supported. Following feedback from public and private partners, it is agreed that the
Innovative Projects Fund call for 2019 should further encourage projects that support our
competitive strengths and the high growth sectors (clean energy, agri-food and ICT/digital)
thereby supporting the Strategic Opportunities of the emerging Local Industrial Strategy. A
concerted effort will be made to publicise the funding (and make clear any funding constraints)
through the various sector groups and the business organisations in the region in a bid to attract
more applications from the business community.
The Innovative Projects Fund would again look favourably on cross-sector collaborations, where
specialist skills in one sector can drive innovation and growth in another. Revenue projects that
aim to increase innovation and those that demonstrate they are innovative in scope will be
considered for funding. Furthermore, proposals for revenue funding to add value to LEP or
council led capital schemes will also be considered.
Timetable
A suggested timetable for the 2019/20 call is as follows:
Programme Call Launch - October 2019
Programme Call Closes - December 2019
Projects review and appraisal: January- February 2020
Funding Decisions: March 2020
15
Recommendation
The Investment Appraisal Committee is asked to:
Approve the Innovative Projects Fund ‘Terms of Reference’;
Nominate 3 private sector members to sit of the IPF Panel (only 2 required to attend at
any panel meeting) delegating decision making power up to £500,000;
Approve the 2019/20 Innovative Projects Fund application and guidance forms;
16
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
Innovative Projects Fund Panel
Agenda item 8.1
Draft Terms of Reference for Innovative Projects Fund Panel
Author: Tanya Nelson
1
Background
The Innovative Projects Fund is a revenue grant programme that provides funding towards
innovative projects to support the delivery of the themes and activities identified in the
Economic and Industrial Strategies. The first call of the Innovative Projects Fund was
made in 2018 and led solely by New Anglia LEP with a remit to facilitate innovative projects
supporting economic growth and the delivery of the Economic Strategy utilising revenue
from the Enterprise Zone Pot C. Following the outcome of the first call of the Innovative
Projects Fund, Councils in Suffolk and Norfolk agreed to match New Anglia LEP’s future
2019 allocation of the Innovative Projects Fund through their respective pooled business
rates. In doing so, a £1.5 million pot has been made available to prospective projects
under a 2019/20 call. It is likely that two funding calls will be required to allocate the
funding.
2
Remit
The remit of the Innovative Projects Fund Panel is to ensure an allocation of funding is
made through the Innovative Projects Fund, and that this allocation supports the
development of projects that deliver the aims and objectives of:
The Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy,
The Industrial Strategy (where applicable)
The respective economic strategies of the local authority from where the project
originates (where applicable).
Allocations of funding will be achieved through the following process:
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-
The panel will be provided with a strategic assessment of projects by independent
consultants and these projects will be ranked in order of score.
-
The panel will make decisions on which projects should be approved for funding on
each application it considers.
-
The panel will have a delegated responsibility from the LEP Board for financial
decisions up to a limit of £500,000.
-
The panel will be required to approve material changes to funding agreements as
invariably further developments of a funding agreement will occur after initial approval
by the panel.
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Membership
The panel will be formed of six members which will be appointed by the LEP
Investment Appraisal Committee, Suffolk Leaders Board and Norfolk Leaders
Board, two will be private sector members of the IAC and four will be from the Local
Authorities. All six members will commit to attending meetings (either in person or
by telephone) and, unless they are required to declare an interest in an item, vote
on all items brought to the meeting.
Three private sector members of the Investment Appraisal Committee will be
appointed to the Innovative Projects Fund Panel but only two shall attend at only
one meeting.
The membership of the Innovative Projects Fund Panel will be reviewed annually.
No delegations shall be permitted.
A Chair of the Panel shall be appointed.
A Deputy Chair shall be appointed to chair the Panel in the Chair’s absence or if
he/she elects to delegate the chair.
Officers from the LEP Executive will attend meetings and present reports and
recommendations but will not be entitled to vote. Project applicants will not be
entitled to attend meetings unless it is deemed necessary.
Meetings of the Innovative Projects Fund will not be open to observers or other
attendees.
The terms of reference will be reviewed on an Annual basis.
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Quorum
A quorum of four members will be required, of which at least two shall be private
sector representatives.
In the event of a vote, a decision is approved if it receives a majority of the votes
cast.
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Meetings
The panel will meet twice a year to discuss and make a decision on approval of
applications under the Innovative Projects Fund.
An offer of funding will be limited to a period of 6 months within which the applicant
must accept the offer and terms. If an acceptance is not forthcoming within the 6
month period then a new application must be submitted.
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Further quarterly meetings will be scheduled (either in person or by telephone) to
discuss the progress and performance of the programme and cancelled if there is
no business to conduct.
Where there is urgent business which cannot wait for the next meeting, with the
agreement of the Panel’s Chair, a written procedures process will operate as
follows:
- Panel Members will be circulated with details of the proposal and will be given five
working days to consider the proposal.
- A telephone conference will require a quorum where a majority approval or disapproval
is reached on a decision.
- Any Panel Member with an interest to declare must abstain from voting.
- Decisions made by written procedures and telephone conference will be noted at the
next meeting of the Panel.
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Declarations of Interest
All Members of the Panel are expected to declare an interest in any projects in
which they have a pecuniary interest outside their role in the New Anglia LEP.
The maxim is “if in doubt declare”.
Contributions of fact from the individual may aid the group in reaching its decision;
however the Chair will exercise discretion in allowing contributions.
Members who have declared a pecuniary interest will not be allowed to vote, if a
vote becomes necessary.
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Information to be provided
A secretariat function provided by the LEP will provide administrative support to
the Innovative Projects Fund Panel, coordinating the preparation for meetings and
following up on decisions made.
For each item on the agenda, the Panel will be provided with a report containing
the information necessary to enable them to reach a decision and including a
recommendation from the executive officer at the LEP responsible for supporting
the applicant towards submission of the project. Where necessary, Panel
Members can request and receive additional information to help them reach their
decision.
Officers from the LEP Exec will attend meetings to provide project summaries and
recommendations.
The process for the 2019 call is outlined in the organogram in Appendix A.
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Appendix A: Organogram.
Applications received by NALEP Programmes Caseworker.
Summary of all applications shared with the partnership
Applications are initially reviewed NALEP
Applications are rejected as ineligible or passed to Independent body
for appraisal.
Rejected applications are justified to partners.
Applications Appraised by Independent consultants.
Appraisal Reports received by the panel.
The panel will be provided with a strategic assessment of
projects by independent consultants and these projects will be
ranked in order of score.
The panel will make decisions on which projects should be
rejected or approved for funding on each application it considers.
Panel Composition:
2 Private members from the IAC
2 members from the Norfolk Leaders Board
2 members from the Suffolk Leaders Board
Offer letters arranged for approved
projects by SCC
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Agenda item 8.2
INNOVATIVE PROJECTS FUND
2019/20 CALL
Guidance for Applicants - Innovative Project Call (revenue)
Introduction
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership is committed to driving economic growth in Norfolk and
Suffolk. Our ambitions for future growth are set out in the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and
Suffolk for the period 2017 to 2036.
The ambitions are:
• The place where high growth businesses with aspirations choose to be
• An international facing economy with high value exports
• A high performing productive economy
• A well-connected place
• An inclusive economy with a highly skilled workforce
• A centre for the UK’s clean energy sector
• A place with a clear, ambitious offer to the world
We will deliver these ambitions through actions and investment in priority themes and places.
The themes are:
• Our offer to the world
• Driving business growth and productivity
• Driving inclusion and skills
• Collaborating to grow
• Competitive clusters, close to global centres
The priority places are:
• Ipswich
• Norwich and Greater Norwich
• The Norfolk and Suffolk Energy Coast, including Bacton, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft
and Sizewell, with assets on and offshore
• The Cambridge - Norwich corridor
• The East/West corridors along the A47 from Lowestoft to King’s Lynn and the A14
Felixstowe through Ipswich, Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Haverhill
to Cambridge
• King’s Lynn and the A10 and rail corridor to Cambridge
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economic-strategy/ The Local Industrial Strategy can viewed here: <<insert link>>
Call for projects
Applications are invited for revenue grant support towards innovative projects to support the
delivery of the themes and activities identified in the Economic Strategy and the Local Industrial
Strategy.
Specific Criteria
Applications should support one or more of the following high-level objectives:
NSES High Level Objectives (in current Delivery Plan)
Our offer to the world (OOTW)
OOTW-1: Integrate our inward investment and business location offer, campaigning at scale in new
markets and working with national Government.
OOTW-2 Attract the highly skilled people we need
OOTW-3: Make sure that investment markets have the information they need to take the decision to invest
in infrastructure of all kinds. Improve digital connectivity, etc.
OOTW-4: Use consistent place branding with an overarching offer.
OOTW-5: Work with Government to ensure that the unique contribution of our energy sector is well
understood and supported.
Driving Business Growth and Productivity (DBGP)
DBGP-1: Sharpen our high-quality business support offer to ensure it meets the changing needs of
businesses adapting to new ways of working and technology.
DBGP-2: Enable our SMEs to grow and increase exports by focusing grant programmes and other support on
growth, innovation and productivity
DBGP-4: Prioritise digital and physical infrastructure projects to support businesses to develop and provide
the space that new and existing firms need to grow.
DBGP-5 Set up new schemes to help high growth businesses and make it easier to access advice and funding
for commercial innovation and commercialising business and university R&D.
DBGP-6: Provide improved access to finance and assisting business capability in identifying skills deficits.
DBGP-7: Establish new centres of excellence to improve productivity and innovation, providing new skills for
business leaders and employees.
Driving Inclusion and Skills (DIS)
DIS-1: Through the development of sector skills plans, produce clear statements about the skills businesses
need now, and in the future, to influence providers, business investment and personal choices by new
students and those already in the workplace.
DIS-4: Prioritise leadership support for our entrepreneurs and those in new high growth businesses, through
further accelerator support, and business mentorship.
DIS-6: Step up our efforts to promote and support the delivery of high quality apprenticeships, providing
clear entry routes into our focus sectors, directly produce the skills and capabilities our economy needs -
including higher level technical skills through degree and higher level apprenticeships.
DIS-10: Develop new approaches and remove barriers to getting people back into work, especially for those
furthest from the jobs market and provide support for all into sustained employment.
Collaborating to Grow (CTG)
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Work across sectors:
CTG-O1: Link up our innovation hubs and wider business support offer, focusing on specific places where it
makes sense to do so.
CTG-02: Ensure our work on opening up supply chain opportunities reaches across sectoral boundaries
Competitive Clusters, close to global Centres (CCGC)
CCGC-O1: Supporting our national and global clusters to ensure commercial opportunity they represent is
fully developed and well communicated to Government and investors.
Eligibility criteria
Only project applicants located within the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership area may
apply.
All projects must:
Be able to demonstrate their contribution to the delivery of both the NALEP Economic
Strategy, the Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy (NSES), and Call Focus through
direct and indirect outputs.
Be able to demonstrate a clear link to:
One or more of the current priorities in the NSES Delivery Plan (see table above)
and
Not duplicate interventions already under way
Wholly benefit Norfolk or Suffolk residents or businesses
Be State Aid compliant
Able to demonstrate the need for funding and the additionality achieved by the funding.
Plug a funding gap that cannot be met by other grant programmes (e.g. Innovate UK,
Growing Business Fund or Agri-tech grants) and demonstrate that the funding will add
value.
Be for revenue funding only, although purchase of small plant, equipment etc could be
admissible.
Match funding up to 50% would be an advantage, this can be match funding in kind (e.g.,
staff time) but must be for new activity (existing staff positions working on the new project
must be backfilled).
Support inclusive growth.
It will not be possible to support:
Capital costs
Transport feasibility studies
Core running or staff costs
Business as usual costs
Assigned funds to support other grant schemes (delegated grant schemes)
Any costs that have been incurred before a grant offer is made
Items that only benefit an individual or sole business
Items that are not directly needed to deliver the proposed work
Loan repayments or contributions to general appeals
Activities of a political or exclusively religious nature
Expenditure against activity already supported from other Government sources, Local
Authority grants, or European Commission Structural Funds
Expenditure on works or activities which any person has a Statutory Duty to undertake,
except where there is strong justification in terms of the regeneration outputs that will
result
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VAT, unless this cannot be recovered
Projects where the sole beneficiary is the private sector
Application process
Please ensure that you have discussed your project with someone at New Anglia LEP
before applying. You will be asked to provide the name of your contact on your
application.
Grants offered under this programme are classified as de minimis aid under European
Commission State Aid rules. You are entitled to a total of no more than €200,000 of de
minimis aid from all Public Sector bodies in any three-year period. Applicants will be
asked to declare any de minimis funding received in the last 3 financial years.
When requesting an application form please confirm the following details in your e-mail:
Name of applicant
Name of project
Brief project description
Grant amount to be requested & estimated total project cost
Confirmation of any match funding
Project start date (if known)
Name of contact at New Anglia
You will need to provide sufficient information to help determine if the project meets the
requirements of the Call.
To arrive no later than 5pm on XX XXXX 2019.
No late submissions will be considered.
Project Selection criteria
Projects will be scored on a competitive basis against the criteria set out in this call
Demonstration of clear fit with Economic Strategy.
Additionality. How is this more than business as usual.
Value for money. Can the project demonstrate this is good use of public money.
Leverage. What additional funding, public or private or in-kind support does the project
generate.
Impact. What will the project deliver?
Sustainability. What will happen when the funding ends.
Key areas will be scored 1-5 for each project, with 5 being the highest.
Table 1 provides further detail (see below).
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Table 1: Assessment process
Criteria
5
4
3
2
1
Guidance
Clear Fit with
High - strong
Medium - Good
Low- Strategic fit not
Applicants should demonstrate for their project:
Economic
strategic fit that
strategic fit.
clear, supports <3
•Does the project or scheme directly support the
Strategy
directly supports 5
Project supports
ambitions. Perhaps
ambitions / themes/ priority places set out in the
or more themes
3-5 ambitions &
ongoing upkeep or
Economic Strategy?
and directly delivers
has a clear link to
sustaining activity
•Does the project unlock other projects with a high
specific actions in
actions in themes
but does not directly
strategic fit?
the themes and
& places but
support an action in
•Does it help accelerate delivery of a LEP or Local
places and / or
delivers limited
a theme or place or
Authority led capital scheme?
unlocks other
improvement on
will not bring about
•Will it deliver new economic growth, or is this
projects that do. A
business as usual
net additional growth
business as usual?
clear inclusive
and/ or marginal
or direct inclusive
•Have you assessed the inclusive growth
growth impact.
inclusivity.
growth impact.
contribution of the project?
•Is there a clear rationale for public intervention;
market failure or distributional impact, or should it
be funded by other means?
Additionality
Strong fit-
Medium -
Low - demonstrates
Applicants should demonstrate that their project is
demonstrates
demonstrates
low additionality
more than business as usual.
strong additionality
reasonable
above existing
The programme will not normally provide/support core
above existing
additionality
provision.
funding, unless in a start-up phase.
provision.
above existing
Does the project bring additional partners or benefits to
provision
the table.
Does it leverage in additional funding? How much and
has it been committed, cash or in-kind?
Value for
High- Significant
Medium- Good
Low- Poor value in
Applicants should demonstrate for their project that the
Money
value in the project
value in the
the project.
project demonstrates good use of public money.
project
Costs per output should be in line with acceptable
levels for other comparable LEP funded projects.
Leverage
High- project
Medium- project
Low- project requires
Programme contribution will always be within
requires minimum
operates at mid-
significant
acceptable State Aid ranges, SME intervention would
contribution and
point of
programme
be between 10-30%, de-minimis intervention could be
has maximum
Programme
contribution and has
higher, but leverage should always be at the highest
private or public
contribution and
minimum private or
level possible.
match
equivalent private
public match
or public match
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Criteria
5
4
3
2
1
Guidance
Impact
High- Significant
Medium - Good
Low- Minimal impact
Projects which deliver the maximum impact for the
impact as a result
impact as a result
as a result of the
minimum contribution will score the highest in
of the project.
of the project.
project.
terms of assessment.
Broader impact projects, those which demonstrate
a wider benefit will score higher.
Projects which support and lead to the
development of others are to be seen in a positive
light.
But projects that demonstrate clear outputs or
outcomes will be prioritised.
Applicants need to show clearly what the
Programme is purchasing and what it is getting in
return.
Sustainability
Strong- project is
Good- project
Weak- sustainability
Projects should clearly describe future
self-sustaining
shows potential
is not achievable
sustainability in terms of resources and finances.
immediately
sustainability
within 5 years or
Projects which require the minimum public input
following
within 1-3 years
requires ongoing
and have no further requirement for public funding
Programme
from Programme
public support.
will score in the strong category.
funding.
funding.
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Project Selection Process
Once submissions have been received, applicants may be required to respond to queries
about their projects from the LEP programmes team as part of the shortlist process.
Applications will be subject to a full appraisal by an independent consultant once submitted.
The appraisal will be in accordance with the National Local Growth Assurance framework and
HM Treasury Green Book principles of viability, value for money, achievability, affordability
and need.
The Innovative Projects Fund panel will be provided with a strategic assessment of projects
by the independent consultants and these projects will be ranked in order of score.
The panel will make decisions on which projects should be rejected or approved for funding
on each application it considers.
The Innovative Projects Fund Panel will consider all applications at its meeting on xx March
2020 meeting and determine whether to approve or reject each application.
An award of funding: All projects approved for funding will be subject to an agreement drawn
up in conjunction with the LEP’s Accountable Body, Suffolk County Council. The agreement
will include the cycle of anticipated drawdown of funding and the outputs expected to be
generated by the project. An offer of funding will be limited to a period of 6 months within
which the applicant must accept the offer and terms.
Support
Queries on the completion of the Application Form and process should be directed to:
Useful information
Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk
NSES Delivery Plan (awaiting link)
Applicants should ensure that they are familiar with the standards required for full business
case appraisal at an early stage. Guidance for this can be found at: HM Treasury Green
Book Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government
In addition, reference should be made to the DCLG Appraisal Guide (December 2016).
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