As a partner in Deloitte’s R&D and Government Incentives Team, I have heard this refrain many times over the years from businesses frustrated by the complexity of government grants programs.
I have also seen many good investment programs stall or fold for want of government assistance to bring them to fruition.
From time to time, the Federal or NSW Governments will promote funding programs intended to achieve a range of objectives.
These include boosting business capability, creating jobs, supporting high-end manufacturing, or stimulating new economic activity; nationwide, these programs amount to about $9 billion annually.
In competitive, merit-based grants programs, there are inevitably many more applicants seeking funding than the available quantum of program funding can allow.
This means for every business that successfully attracts government support for its investment program, many more miss out - sometimes having committed significant time and resources to the application process.
But rather than feel deterred, there are three simple questions businesses should ask themselves to improve their prospects of successfully attracting government support for their investments.
1. What are your forward investment needs?
Every business needs to plan its forward investments to stay ahead of competitors, market trends, and consumer demands.
I recommend businesses make a frank assessment of their necessary investment projects on a five-year horizon. With a high-level view of your future needs, an assessment can be made of what investments could be expanded or brought forward if a government contribution were to become available.
Projects that could not proceed, or would only proceed on a delayed timeframe, without government support should be the focus of your application for funding.
2. What are the Government’s objectives?
For most grants programs, the Government will express its desired outcome from its investment. This is not limited to the types of activity it wants to see businesses undertake, but extends to the broader objectives and benefits the Government wishes to realise. For example, one grant program may have a focus on improving supply chain or export linkages, while another may prioritise the creation of new jobs.
Understanding the Government’s goals will help you to both identify the most appropriate program for your investment, and to ensure your application comprehensively addresses the nexus between your investment and the Government’s desired outcomes.
3. Do I need professional help?
A high quality investment project will fail to attract government support without an equally high quality grant application or direct approach to government.Connecting effectively with government and presenting a compelling argument for a grant application are highly specialised skills. Deloitte offers support to businesses to communicate the particulars of their investment projects in a persuasive way that government decision-makers readily understand. Maximising an application’s chances of success in a highly competitive environment requires a comprehensive understanding of ministerial and bureaucratic processes, points of influence, and the often-complex political and economic factors driving government decisions.
Many growing businesses lack this expertise or the capacity to devote sufficient resources to these tasks, and I strongly advise them to engage with professional consultants for these vital services when applying for competitive government grants.
It is important to see government assistance as an enabler of your business expansion, and to engage at state and Federal level to see where your growth can be supported.
