Invitation to quote : Road to Net Zero Business
Support Programme – Net Zero Challenge Fund
The Road to Net Zero Business Support Programme is a pilot initiative
designed to pro-actively pivot business support and grants on a net zero
future, building business advice expertise, and developing a portfolio of
tested interventions which can be rolled out further in future.
The Net Zero Challenge Fund will enable the programme to support a
small number of flagship projects at 100%. The Fund is offered on an
Open Call basis and will be assessed collaboratively by key partners. The
Challenge Fund is designed to bring innovative/creative ideas and the
testing of technologies in the private sector to help solve public sector
net zero challenges.
Funded projects will be revenue based, however, they may also include
some minor equipment purchases, to meet the fund and timescale
requirements; projects may also include an element of feasibility or
industrial research testing.
We are seeking fully costed proposals for activity and/or technology pilots
to be carried out between 1st March and 31st May 2022, with all claims for
funding required by the end of May 2022.
Scope of activity
SMEs are invited to submit a proposal to develop feasibility studies and/or
pilot activity which address one or more of the following challenges or
opportunities –
• Delivering viable low carbon heat solutions, potentially at scale
• Overcoming the challenge of listed building retrofit
• Large-scale deployment of alternative fuels including hydrogen
• Delivering rural transport decarbonisation
• Developing shared business park reduce, reuse, recycle solutions i.e.
heat recovery
• Delivering decarbonisation throughout the supply chain
• Supporting mid-size businesses to decarbonise
• Unlocking and promoting public and private sector Green Finance
opportunities
• Delivering new collaborative partnership solutions to
decarbonisation
Project activity could include –
• Feasibility research leading to costed proposals/plans to be
considered for future funding
• One-off pilot activity testing out a new approach to delivery with a
clear plan for evaluating the pilot and disseminating the findings
Pilot activity funded through this opportunity must –
• Demonstrate evidence of net zero transition need
• Have a clear rationale for what is being tested and why, evidence of
innovation, and explain how the results of the pilot will be
disseminated and why they will be useful to public sector partners
and the wider economy
• NOT be business as usual activity
Proposals should be fully costed to enable an accurate assessment of value
for money.
The successful projects will be required to engage in some (mainly online)
events with the wider partnership and to engage with the wider Road to
Net Zero Business Support Programme.
All projects will be required to provide at least 2 publication quality images
of any pilot activity and illustrated case studies/ information sheets to
inform the partnership and other stakeholders of the findings of their
activity.
Success criteria
Successful proposals will –
• Show a clear link to net zero transition
• Be creative and original, with clear evidence that a new approach is
being tested
• Be scalable with evidence of potential to roll out if successful
• Have a strong approach to evaluation and dissemination of results
Budget
A total budget of £150,000 including VAT is available for this work. Lots of
£25K+ (at a 100% intervention rate) including VAT will be considered. We
are seeking up to three projects in Norfolk to reflect Government
prioritisation, and up to two projects in Suffolk.
Timeline
Successful proposals will include a convincing timeline for delivery of their
activity which should take place between 1st March and 31st May 2022. All
claims for funding required by the end of May 2022.
If you would like to provide a quote, please complete the attached
template and return it to Julie West by 5pm on Friday 18th February. All
submissions must be kept brief, with a maximum of 6 pages.
The process for shortlisting and contract award is set out in our terms of
conditions.
Proposals will be scored against the following criteria:
• Value for money – weighting 30%
• Quality – weighting 70%, made up of:
o Demonstrate a need for innovative net zero transitionary
support – priority will be given to projects that have a strong
case for investment – 20%
o Deliverability – thorough proposal, with clear milestones and
project management approach, and detailed and realistic
costings – 20%
o Scalability and strong approach to evaluating the outcomes
and disseminating results for future funding 20%
o Imaginative approach, clear evidence of innovation – 10%
A short online interview will be conducted with shortlisted applicants.
Email [email protected] for more information
