Eligibility Criteria
All SFI applications are assessed against the following
criteria.
1. Location
The project must be undertaken within one of the region's Assisted Areas.
Please do not complete an application before you are certain
that the proposed location of your project is in an eligible
area. The
postcode finder will give an indication of the Assisted Area
status for Tier 2 areas. Assistance for SMEs is also available
in Tier 3 areas - contact us for details.
2. Need
Applicants must demonstrate that a grant is necessary to enable the
project to go ahead as planned. This may be to reduce the risks
associated with the project, to influence the choice of a mobile
project’s location or for some other reason. There must be no prior
commitment to the project otherwise there will be difficulty in
establishing a need for assistance. Project appraisal must have
been completed and a formal offer of assistance issued before the
applicant enters into a commitment to proceed with the project.
3. Eligible investment
The
project must involve expenditure on fixed assets, such as property,
plant and machinery. Assets can be purchased outright or by
lease finance or hire-purchase terms. Some property leases may also
be eligible. Certain costs of a non-recurring nature (patent
rights, professional fees) may also qualify. Your project will be
monitored for a minimum of five years through to completion of the
investment and beyond to ensure the conditions of the offer have
been met.
4. Jobs/Skills
The project must create new jobs or safeguard existing employment
if you are seeking support of £100,000 or more. The more your
project increases skills and involves investment in the local
skills base, the more value will be placed on this criteria when
considering support.
5. Viability
Your project should be viable
and help your business to become more competitive. The project will
normally be expected to become profitable within three years.
6. Quality of your project
The majority of support should be focused on high-quality,
innovative, knowledge-based projects that provide skilled jobs.
Apart from a small proportion of cases that have significant
employment benefits, the emphasis is on raising productivity and
improvement in the skills base.
7. National and regional benefit
Your project should contribute positive benefits to both the
regional and national economy.
8. Other funding
The greater part of the funding for the project should be met by
the applicant or come from other sources in the private sector,
such as bank borrowings, lease finance, equity and loan
finance. Additional public sector assistance may be available
but may have to be combined with the SFI grant to ensure that the
total value of aid for the project complies with European
Commission regional aid limits.
Further Information