The Textile, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Small Business Program offers grants of up to $50,000 for projects to improve the business enterprise culture of established small businesses manufacturing textiles, clothing or footwear in Australia, or designing for manufacture in Australia.
Applications for round 8 now open – close 5pm Friday 1 March 2013
Up to $2.5 million funding is available for projects to be undertaken in 2013–14. Applicants must:
- have fewer than 20 employees
- undertake eligible textile, clothing and footwear activities
- have a turnover more than $100,000
- make a minimum cash contribution to the project of more than 25%.
Successful projects must transform the strategic approach or direction of the business, for example business management systems or manufacturing processes, to make the business more sustainable and internationally competitive.
AusIndustry will conduct workshops nationally in the week commencing 30 January 2013, focused on making your application more competitive. Register for a workshop closest to you from the AusIndustry website.
What is the aim of the TCF SBP and what funding is available?
The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program (TCF SBP) aims to transform the business enterprise culture of established TCF small businesses and boost their capacity to be innovative. A maximum of $50,000 is available for a particular project.
The program is a competitive, merit-based grants program. Funding for the program ends in June 2016, with $2.5 million available each year of the program. AusIndustry calls for grant applications in annual selection rounds.
Who is it for?
It is open to any eligible established TCF small business or to a consortium that includes an eligible TCF small business.
It must be undertaking eligible TCF activities as defined by the TCF Post-2005 Strategic Investment Program (SIP) Scheme.
For example, a TCF business that manufactures, or designs for manufacture, in Australia is eligible to apply for funding under the program. However, a business that solely imports products made overseas, or only undertakes retail activities, is not eligible.
What is the program objective?
The objective of the program is to improve the business enterprise culture of established TCF small businesses that have not received assistance under any of the TCF Strategic Investment Program (SIP), TCF Post-2005 (SIP) or the Clothing and Household Textile Building Innovative Capability (CHT BIC) Schemes.
What is ‘business enterprise culture’?
Business enterprise culture refers to the processes, nature and style of a business. It describes to what extent the values, attitudes and norms within a business are entrepreneurial.
Entrepreneurial behaviour can be reflected in any or all of a business’ management, production (including design), communication, financial and decision-making processes. A business with a strong enterprise culture typically:
- emphasises initiative, self-reliance and creativity
- focuses on maximising commercial returns on products and services
- is skilled at securing and maintaining a competitive market edge
- generates and manages change largely from within, and
- demonstrates goals of financial growth and expansion (emphasises growth).
What are the eligibility criteria?
To be eligible for a grant, the TCF small business should meet the following criteria:
- Have fewer than 20 employees.
- Have not received funding from the TCF (SIP), TCF Post-2005 (SIP) or the CHT (BIC) Schemes, or be entitled to receive funding under the CHT (BIC) Scheme at the time the decision that the applicant is eligible for the grant is made.
- Have had a turnover of not less than $100,000 in the previous year, and must be solvent and not under any administrative arrangements.
- Must make a cash contribution to the project of no less than 25% of eligible project expenditure. This contribution should not have come from a Commonwealth, State or Territory Government subsidy.
- The project must be aimed at improving the business enterprise culture of the TCF small business.
- Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be assessed against the merit criteria.
What are the merit criteria?
Applications that meet the eligibility criteria will compete on merit against all other applications, for that round, from across Australia.
The merit criteria are:
1. Whether the project’s outcome will meet program objectives, assessed by how the project will:
- contribute to the TCF small business’ willingness and ability to take risks
- contribute to the TCF small business becoming more creative
- improve the flexibility or adaptability of the TCF small business, and
- contribute to the growth strategy of the TCF small business.
2. Value for money and commitment
- Describe why the small business has a need for government funding and demonstrate your level of commitment to the project, including the level of time and resources that will be contributed to the project.
3. Whether the project is capable of being commenced and completed within a 12 month period commencing with the execution of the funding agreement.
What grants are available?
A maximum of $50,000 is available for a particular project. The maximum applies to any project, regardless of its size or the cash contribution made by the applicant.
Grants are only to be used for approved expenditure incurred during, not before, the project period. Routine business expenses, such as salaries of ongoing employees, advertising, or routine accounting are not eligible for grant support.
How will successful applications proceed?
Applicants will be informed in writing of the outcome of their applications.
Successful applicants must enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia within 30 days after being notified of the outcome of their application, unless extended in writing by the Commonwealth.
What is the payment process?
In most cases, there will be two grant instalment payments. The initial payment is made on contract execution. The final payment is made once we have received a satisfactory final report and an independent audited statement verifying expenditure. However, sometimes AusIndustry may choose to schedule payments over three instalments rather than two.
What is the application process?
We call for applications for grants once a year. We publish the dates of application rounds on the TCF Small Business Program Product information page at www.ausindustry.gov.au
To apply, you must fill in the TCF Small Business Program Grant application form and then lodge it with your nearest AusIndustry State/Territory or Regional Office by the due date. Late applications will not be accepted.
For more information about how Treadstone can help you with your application and with the development of your business enterprise culture, please contact us on 03 9008 5937 or email at info@treadstone.com.au
