Looking to collaborate and innovate? The time is now. The Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund Round 2 seeks to develop Victoria’s textile industry with sustainable practices. In addition, the fund also focuses on preventing waste across the supply chain for varying industries. Funding provided will be used to create a more sustainable Victoria.
Round two of the Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund is now open.
Round two aims to support Circular economy projects that design out waste to improve environmental and economic outcomes for Victoria.
The fund is distributed through 2 streams:
Stream 1: Textiles Innovation focuses on preventing textile waste - read more about Stream 1.
Stream 2: Collaborative Innovation focuses on preventing waste from multiple organisations in a specific supply chain, sector or region. This article is about Stream 2.
The projects must:
be delivered by a Collaborative Partnership
be innovative (have never been done in Victoria before)
explore, test or demonstrate solutions that prevent waste in the make phase or the use phase of a resource lifecycle.
This grant is part of the Recycling Victoria policy funding.
1. Fund overview
In a Circular economy, a resource lifecycle includes 3 key phases: make, use and recycle.
The project must explore, test or demonstrate solutions in the make phase or the use phase of the lifecycle. It must prevent waste by design.
Make phase
Refers to the design, production and distribution of products or services.
The project should be about designing materials, products or services to prevent waste.
Examples of activities that can be done in a project:
Create products that are durable, and can be more easily repaired or reused.
Provide virtual options for physical products.
Re-design products, services or systems to eliminate waste.
Use fewer materials or resources to deliver the same value to customers.
Use non-toxic, renewable materials as inputs.
Use phase
Refers to the consumption or use of goods and services.
The project should be about keeping materials and products in their original state for as long as possible.
Examples of activities that can be done in a project:
Enable shared use of, shared ownership of, or shared access to products.
Extend product life through maintenance, repair or refurbishment.
Reuse or re-sell second-hand products.
1.1 Fund objectives
The project must deliver at least 2 of these outcomes:
Creation of new Circular products and services
Avoidance of waste materials to any waste or recycling destination
Increase employment through Direct creation of Jobs.
1.2 Funding available
Each project can receive a grant between $150,000 and $250,000.
1.3 Co-contribution
The Lead Applicant and Collaborative Partners must together contribute at least $1 for every $1 funded (1:1 Co-contribution).
Co-contributions can be either financial (cash) or In-kind. At least 20% of the Co-contribution must be cash contribution.
Other grants cannot be used for Co-contribution.
2. Eligibility
2.1 Who can apply
The application must be made by at least 4 organisations. In such a group application (known as ‘Collaborative Partnership’), the main organisation responsible for delivering the project is the Lead Applicant, and the others are the Collaborative Partners.
Lead Applicant
The application must have one Lead Applicant.
The Lead Applicant must be from one of the following groups:
Businesses (including commercial or for-profit Businesses and Social Enterprises)
Charities
Industry Groups and Associations
Research Institutions.
The Lead Applicant must:
have a current Australian Business Number (ABN)
have been operating with the ABN for at least 2 years by the fund closing date November 15, 2021
meet or exceed the minimum Co-contribution requirements
agree to comply with the Terms of Participation in Grant Programs
agree to comply with the funding terms and conditions for grants over $50,000, as per the General grant funding agreement
lead the Collaborative Partnership according to requirements.
Collaborative Partner(s)
The application must have at least 3 Collaborative Partners. Related Entities of the Lead Applicant will not count towards the minimum Collaborative Partner requirement.
The Collaborative Partner must be from one of the following groups:
Businesses (including commercial or for-profit Businesses and Social Enterprises)
Charities
Community organisations or groups
Government or local government organisations
Industry Groups and Associations
Other Not-for-profit Organisations
Research Institutions.
The Collaborative Partner(s) must:
have a direct, clear role in the project
have a current ABN
have a demonstrated contribution (in-kind or financial contribution) to project delivery.
Each Collaborative Partner must provide a letter of support (or equivalent) that is signed by an authorised representative. It should detail:
their commitment to be publicly announced as a Collaborative Partner should funding be awarded
their roles and responsibilities in the project
the amount of cash or In-kind Contribution that has been committed to the project.
The Collaborative Partnership needs to be demonstrated by a formal agreement, such as a memorandum of understanding or equivalent. The agreement must be in place before the project commences.
We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
Sustainability Victoria manages several grants. Although you can apply for more than one grant for a project, you can only receive one grant. If you’ve already applied for a Sustainability Victoria grant and now find this grant is more relevant or suitable, you can withdraw your application by emailing us.
2.2 Who cannot apply
Refer to Section 2.1 for who can apply.
Organisations from these groups can participate as a Collaborative Partner but not as a Lead Applicant:
Community organisations or groups
Government or local government organisations
Other Not-for-profit Organisations.
2.3 What will be funded
The project must focus on:
designing out waste from the make phase and/or use phase within multiple organisations of a specific supply chain, sector or region
an Innovation for Victoria (that is, it has not been done in Victoria before).
The Innovation could be a:
Business model Innovation – where a new product, process, service or system is created
technical Innovation – where a new technology is developed
social Innovation – where new capabilities, connections or relations are created.
The project must also:
start within 3 months after it’s announced that it has been awarded funding
primarily take place in Victoria – over 50% of activities should be in Victoria
be completed by October 2023.
Project activities can include:
business case development
design
experimental proof of concept
feasibility studies
ideation or concept generation
implementation
pilots, trials and demonstrations
prototyping
research.
The following project costs are eligible for funding:
capital costs (such as infrastructure or equipment)
new or existing staff costs (such as salaries) that are demonstrated to be directly related to the project
consultancy or contract costs
project management costs
project evaluation
other project execution costs.
You can submit multiple applications. Each application must be for a different project. An application must not be for multiple projects.
2.4 What will not be funded
Funding will not be provided for projects that focus on:
recycle, manage or energy recovery phases
waste recycling – including feasibility, capability building, collection or infrastructure
recycled content products – research, development, demonstration, commercialisation, standards or specifications
waste recovery – including feasibility, capability building, collection or infrastructure
waste-to-energy – Waste-to-energy technology is an energy recovery process that converts chemicals from waste residues into practical forms of energy like electricity, heat or steam.
bioenergy – Bioenergy is the production of energy from biomass materials such as the by-products of agricultural, food and forestry industries, as well as domestic and industrial waste management systems. Examples include: anaerobic digestion, fermentation, liquefaction, pyrolysis, gasification, plasma techno, torrefaction, direct combustion (incineration), indirect combustion, hydrothermal carbonisation.
bioenergy fuels – This refers to liquid fuel derived directly from biomass, for example, biodiesel (a diesel substitute) and bioethanol.
litter and illegal dumping
waste disposal (for example, incineration, landfill, sewer)
products or materials not currently wasted
product stewardship schemes
council-focused initiatives
community-focused initiatives
individual Business initiatives
water, energy, GHG emissions (although these may be co-benefits to a material-focused project).
These projects will also not be funded:
Projects that have received funding or support for the same activities from other sources
Projects that make requests for retrospective funding, where the activities that you are seeking funding for have commenced or are completed prior to signing a funding agreement with Sustainability Victoria
Projects that are being undertaken to comply with regulation or a regulatory notice or order
Projects that do not meet regulatory or planning requirements.
The following project costs are ineligible for funding:
Lease or purchase of land
Permit, licensing and approval costs
Routine or cyclical maintenance works
Repair of facilities damaged by vandalism, fire or other natural disasters where damage should be covered by insurance
Operating or business-as-usual costs (such as electricity, water and other utilities)
Existing staff costs (such as salaries) that are not demonstrated to be directly related to the project
Marketing, advertising, promotional costs
Purchase of vehicles (such as front-end loaders, forklifts)
Pre-construction (site preparation) such as site clearing, earthworks or site accessibility works
Travel and attendance at conferences
Contingency costs.
For further information please contact: info@hainesconsultinggroup.com.au
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