In my last few posts I described the process of applying for a “Climate Ready” R&D grant from the Commonwealth Government. In December I applied for a grant to develop software which will mimic the way a stone mason builds a dry-stone wall. The software will take on the hard part which is the 3D geometric manipulation of irregular objects and so enable builders to use a very low embodied energy material (rock rubble) as an alternative to more energy-intensive manufactured materials such as concrete and brick.

I’ve just been informed the application was not successful. The grants scheme is competitive which means startups will be hard pressed to compete against larger businesses who have more experienced management teams and more resources to conduct detailed market research to support their application. These two things are important selection criteria. AusIndustry (who administer the scheme) also automatically put applications for software at the bottom of the pile so all I can say is thank god for the R&D Tax Offset.

The graphic above shows total expenditure for R&D and how assistance via the ATO is nearly as much as via a grant. A significant advantage of the R&D Tax Offset compared to a grant is that the applicant needs to jump through far fewer hoops. For a brief intro to the R&D Tax scheme have a look at Startup Australia.

December 4th was the closing date for the 2nd round of funding in the Commonwealth Government’s Climate Ready R&D grants program and I’ve had my application accepted. AusIndustry administers the program but it’s a separate body, Innovation Australia, that makes the final decision on who gets the money and I won’t know if my application is successful for up to 3 months. If the feedback from AusIndustry is anything to go by my chances are slim.

The project for which I am asking for funding will use software to enable the use of a very low embodied energy building material (unprocessed rock rubble) instead of more energy intensive manufactured alternatives like brick and concrete blocks. The potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions looks good on paper and even though the Climate Ready customer information guide states that “the program’s intent is to assist the climate change effort as broadly and imaginatively as the applications to the program allow it to” it looks like the Old Industrial Era bias is creeping into the selection process.

During the last couple of centuries technical problems were solved by developing new machines but during this century ICT ,and biotech, will be up there with engineering as a significant player in the world of practical R&D. Unfortunately AusIndustry gives software projects an automatic low ranking unless they can be used to enable efficiencies in the renewable energy sector. Software used to increase efficiency, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, in the construction sector is seen by AusIndustry as not being applicable to the climate change effort. Innovation Australia will probably spend more time and look more favourably on applications ranked highly by AusIndustry.

I shouldn’t be too harsh on AusIndustry though, or I’ll be embarrassed if I get the grant. I’ll write again in 3 months and let you know.

It’s been a while since my last post so here’s a quick summary:

The Commonwealth Government’s new Climate Ready grants scheme was introduced in July. It aims to give companies matching funding to cover R&D, proof-of-concept and early-stage commercialisation for processes, products or services which address the effects of climate change.

I’ve been preparing an application based on my project to develop software called Rocksolver which will mimic the way a stone mason builds a dry stone wall by doing the hard 3D geometric manipulations. In the application my focus is on demonstrating that the software will make an industrial process more efficient by allowing the builders of sea walls, for instance, to use unprocessed rock instead of pre-cast concrete blocks. Weight-for-weight, unprocessed rock used as a building material produces 10% the greenhouse gas emissions of concrete, hence my attempt to get Climate Ready funding. I missed the first round of funding and the second round closes soon.

Last week I submitted my draft Climate Ready application to AusIndustry to get their feedback. It looks like the AusIndustry people are the gate-keepers who filter the applications so the final selection committee only sees the stuff that looks like it might have a chance. I received the feedback this week and it’s reasonably detailed, fair and thankfully won’t require me to do too much more work. Mostly they’ve picked me up on the places where I haven’t quoted sources of technical information, which is fair enough. I’ve got until the 26^th November to respond to the feedback, gather all the remaining required documentation (a letter from an accountant saying the company can match funding, proof of ownership of IP, etc) and submit the final application to be eligible for the 2^nd round of funding.

The process so far has been time consuming but the application and AusIndustry’s feedback have certainly made me focus on the hard realities of commercialisation.

Last week I introduced the first few steps in initiating contact with AusIndustry and starting the application process for a Climate Ready R&D grant. To make it for the first round I needed a detailed draft application by this week but as the deadline approached I was overtaken by the flu which means I’ll miss the first round and will now aim for the second round which opens at the end of October. I suppose these setbacks are part of the real-life experience of people working towards making their venture a success.

A disadvantage of a delay in submitting a grant application is that any money spent on R&D before an application is accepted by AusIndustry can not be counted as eligible expenditure. As the pool of resources is whittled away it means the amount of money sought in the grant becomes less and less due to the necessity for the grant being matched dollar-for-dollar by the applicant. Another disadvantage is simply an extended amount of time before knowing if a grant is successful or not. It takes up to three months from the time the application is accepted to when AusIndustry informs the applicant of their success or otherwise. Any money spent on the project in that time will be matched by the grant only if the grant is successful. It’s a bit like gambling which is lucky as it adds some excitement to the whole process.

An advantage for me in the delay in submitting an application is that I have extra time to address the weaker parts of the application. In particular I need to spend more effort quantifying the level of interest in the market place for the product I am developing. Another advantage is that the reader gets to see my posts on this riveting topic for months to come. You lucky things!

Last week I gave a brief introduction to the Commonwealth Government’s new Climate Ready grants scheme. This week I’ll talk about getting started in the application process.

Before even thinking about applying for a Climate Ready grant the best thing to do is have a look at the sample application form, customer information guide and eligible expenditure guidelines which can be downloaded from the AusIndustry’s Climate Ready site. If reading those documents doesn’t scare you off then the first step in the application process is to submit a “customer enquiry form” available from the same site. I found the form relatively easy to fill out and submitted it on 31st July. A few days later I was sent a CD containing an application form. Then an AusIndustry customer service manager (CSM) contacted me to discuss the project and to inform me that if I want to get into the first round which closes on 4th September I’ll need to submit a detailed draft application by the beginning of next week. The pressure’s on.

Because I was already in the system from previous contacts with AusIndustry I didn’t have to provide too much extra information to the CSM but an applicant new to the system might be required to have a face-to-face meeting with AusIndustry people before they are given the application form. They seem to be keen on ensuring only applications which are competitive are submitted.

Even though the application process is a cut down version of the old Commercial Ready scheme it is still a lot of work. Because I’m new to marketing and commercialisation I’d estimate I’ve spent about two months work gathering and refining the information needed for a grant application. I’m doing all the work myself although some applicants will use a consultant to help them draft the application and to act as middle-man between the applicant and AusIndustry. Total consultant fees vary widely from about 5% to 20% of the grant amount so thoroughly check what exactly it is they do, i.e. how much work do they put in and how much will they require the applicant to do. One disadvantage of a consultant is the extra layer of communications which can slow down the whole process. An experienced mentor could be just as good as a consultant.

Another source of good advice is AusIndustry itself as the CSM will usually return the draft application with feedback about how it can be improved. Only after AusIndustry officially accepts the application can the project spending be counted as being eligible expenditure. Although there’s still no guarantee the grant will be successful so the applicant needs to take that into account when budgeting for the project. I’ll be applying for a grant in the lower end of the scale, around $80,000. I don’t know what someone does if they can’t scrape up the minimum amount for matching a grant ($50,000), I suppose they get nothing as punishment for being poor.

Hi, My name’s Malcolm Lambert. I’m the founder of a startup called Intresto which aims to use computer science to improve our ability to use the world’s largest resource of low-embodied energy building material, rock rubble.

I’ve just sent in my pre-application application for Climate Ready funding. Over the next few weeks and months I’ll be posting about the grant process hopefully to let other startups in this space know what to expect if they go down the same route. Below is my first post. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I do…

THE PROGRAM

On 28 July the new Commonwealth Government’s Climate Ready grants scheme was open for applications.

With $75 million over 4 years it’s designed to support projects which address the effects of climate change and it goes a small part of the way to replacing the Commercial Ready program which was scrapped in May.

Grants are for R&D, proof-of-concept and early stage commercialisation and are on a dollar-for-dollar basis in the $50,000 to $5 million range. For example, opportunity exists for local tech startups to apply for funding for projects to develop “information systems for businesses or consumers to compare the carbon footprints of different activities”.

The scheme is administered by AusIndustry but the success or otherwise of applicants is judged by an independent panel. They will be looking for management capability, commercial potential, national benefit, technical strength and need for funding.

The government does not want equity in the company in return for funding but successful applicants will need to demonstrate that the government is getting value for money. Sounds fair enough.

Come on, apply those smart geek minds and join me in solving one of the world’s most pressing problems. The closing dates for the first four rounds of funding are 4th September, 4th December, 12th March and 25th June.