eBusiness Programme Diagnostic and Grant resource
Managed by East Midlands Chambers of Commerce
Businesses that are currently working with a Business Link Adviser and have identified an ICT project that will contribute to the growth of their business may apply to receive grant funding.
To be considered for this resource total project costs will exceed £4,000 and SMEs will be required to provide 50% of the total project costs. Project costs may include a combination of revenue and capital items.
Purpose of Grant:
To enable SMEs to research, procure and introduce appropriate technology based solutions into their business in order to increase productivity.
Level of Grant Support:
50% of eligible costs
Maximum grant of £6,000 (of which at least £6,000 must be capital spend; £3,000 grant)
Minimum grant of £2,000
Eligible businesses are restricted to one application to a maximum of £6,000 over a 12 month period from date of contract.
Note - All grant assistance is discretionary and subject to the limited funds available.
Eligible Costs:
Hardware
- Servers, Routers, Access Points, Firewalls, Hubs & Switches, UPS
- PC’s (including Macs), Notebooks, PDA’s
- Digital Camera’s , Camcorders, Web Cameras, Multimedia Projectors
- Printers, Plotters, Scanners
- Telecommunications (that link into a computer network), Smartphone’s.
Software
- Office Applications, Finance, Graphics & Media, CRM, Desktop Publishing, Web Authoring, - Payroll, EPOS, Operating Systems, OCR
- Programming / Database Development tools, Shopping Cart systems
Development
- Web development, Software Application development
Internet / Web Applications
- Email Marketing Applications, Online Survey Applications, Keyword Research Applications, SEO Analysis Software
Consultancy
- ICT Research, Online Marketing Consultancy, Project Management, Installation and Configuration, set up of hardware/software solutions
Note – For grant eligible items being bought on a hire/lease agreement, applicants should note that only the deposit and up to 12 months repayments (subject to funding being available) will be eligible for grant funding.
Ineligible costs:
Costs will be ineligible if they have been committed to (i.e. order placed, deposit paid) or have been purchased/developed prior to an application being approved.
Examples of ineligible costs include:
• Costs not part of the identified project
• Statutorily required items e.g. fire alarms.
• Costs not contributing to the growth of the business.
• Like for Like equipment purchased in order to replace existing worn out items
• Training
• Delivery costs
• Services such as: Adword campaigns, delivery of training to use software
Application Customer Journey
The application customer journey includes 5 stages:
Stage 1: Business Link Adviser referral
A referral will be made to the eBusiness Programme team from a Business Link Adviser.
Stages 2: eBusiness diagnostic/action plan report
The eBusiness Programme team will arrange for a Consultant to visit the business to carry out an independant and in-depth diagnostic highlighting the business needs and resulting in the development of an action plan and project specification report. The report will identify and test the project idea, make recommendation for solutions and provide an implementation plan with timescales for the proposed project. This report will be considered by the eBusiness Programme grant panel and if eligible the business will be invited to submit a full application for funding.
Stages 3: eBusiness Grant Application
The eBusiness Programme team will provide the business with an application pack for completion and return within an agreed timescale. The application will be assessed and approved/rejected by the grant panel. The award of any grant funding and specific elements of a grant application is at the discretion of the panel.
Stage 4: Contract issued
Following approval of an application a contract with be issued by East Midlands Chambers of Commerce to the business which includes timescales agreed in the diagnostic action plan report.
Stage 5: Claim
Following implementation of the proposed project a claim will be made by the SME to East Midlands Chambers of Commerce within the agreed timescales.
For further details about the diagnostic and grant programme please contact your local Business Link Adviser or the eBusiness Programme team on 0845 603 8370