A presentation by Chris Yapp for the CIKTN / TSB Partnering for Innovation event 24th March 2011 - An Assessors view of applying for grants

1. Applying for Grants:An assessors view Dr Chris Yapp Chris_yapp@hotmail.co.uk

2. My experience Written and been part of bid teams since 1983 (smallest £40,000 largest £1.5bn) Assessed bids for TSB and predecessor orgs Assessed proposals for Venture/Private Equity Written call documents for EU Assessed bids to Commercial bodies Assessed proposals for CSR funding

3. My summary Around 80% have an idea worth funding Over half fail to answer the questions Creative Industries companies are very variable in proposal writing Beware Jargon (ITT for ITT in ITT)

4. To improve your chances Read the questions Get each answer into 1 or 2 sentences and expand as needed Do not insult funder ! Avoid emotional language

5. First Challenge Is my project in scope? Scope -Domain Scope -Stage

6. Second Challenge Does it sound feasible? Feasible -for the funding Feasible - on the timescale Feasible - Project Complexity

7. Content Challenges What are the outputs/ outcomes? Assessors can’t distinguish hype from ignorance! Evidence of market need/value Evidence of track-record/skills Rationale for public funding

8. Compare Our project is highly innovative Mobile apps are the future. There are no health mobile apps This funding will demonstrate that we can eliminate the tyranny of the Microsoft desktop The key innovation in our project is.. While mobile apps are a growing market, to date health apps targeted at 16-25 year olds... This funding will develop a simplified interface for first time users designed with over 60s in mind