BIG Lottery Fund
Grant to Key Fund (Social Incubator
North)
State aid reference no: xxxx/xxx
1. Member State
United Kingdom
2. Region
England
3. Title of Aid Scheme
SIF: Key Fund
4. UK legal basis
The powers of the BIG Lottery Fund to grant public funds under this scheme are
contained in the following legislation:
National Lottery Act 1993 (as amended in 2006)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/39/contents
5. EC legal basis
All aid provided under this Scheme will be within the limits set out in Article 36 of
Commission Regulation (EC) 800/2008 (General Block Exemption Regulation) 1
Summary information relating to the Scheme has been registered with the Commission
under reference XXXX/XXXX
6. Definitions
In this Scheme, the following expressions have the meanings assigned below:
“SME” means an enterprise that falls within the criteria and parameters of the
definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises contained in the
Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises (2003/361/EC), which took effect on 1
January 20052
1
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:214:0003:0047:EN:PDF
http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2003/l_124/l_12420030520en00360041.pdf
See also the New SME Definition User Guide and Model Declaration
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme_definition/sme_user_guide.pdf
2
7. Objective of the Scheme
The Social Incubator North project is driven by the particular economic and social
characteristics of the North of England and the opportunity to respond to the common
challenges across the area in a single, co-ordinated strategy. Social Incubator North has
emerged from several years joint working by the project partners and the development of
a common understanding of and agreed priorities in addressing the long-standing
economic challenges.
The project proposal draws strength form the increasingly close working of the four
social enterprise networks, the expansion of Key Fund across the area and the
coverage, policy connections and developmental specialisms of Locality.
Key Fund is the only regional social business specific community development finance
institution in the UK. It has significant experience of successful investment, consortium
management and business development.
The aim of the project is to create a specific North of England approach to social
investment as a response to the overly strong influence that is exercised by London. The
intended outcome is a new approach to creating social business, led by a new formal
partnership that is best placed to interpret and react to the characteristics of the Northern
economy.
Delivery will take the shape of a three stage combined business growth and investment
programme, spotlighting quality and sustainability, built on enterprise and geographic
expertise. The project will generate 200 applicants through a competitive process, from
which 100 will be taken forward into a formal support process. A second stage will hone
the client group to an investment cohort of 60, with an expected final beneficiary group
of 50 being supported through the full business development and investment process.
We will use a mixture of one to one, group and e-learning approaches, building learning
sets and mutual support groups across beneficiaries. Client support and monitoring
processes will be linked by on-going client assessment that will build a longitudinal
picture of business development alongside learning and output recording.
The BIG Lottery Fund will support this project and provide grants to start-up enterprises
in partnership with Key Fund in order to help kick start the social investment sector, as
part of the Social Incubator Fund. BIG Lottery Fund grants will be funded under the De
Minimis exemption and provide funding for innovation advisory services and business
support services under the General Block Exemption for Innovation Advisory Services.
8. Government body authorised to implement the Scheme
The BIG Lottery Fund
9. Scope of the Scheme
The total budget for the programme is £2,130,000 of which £1,425,000 will be awarded in
grants to the ventures and £705,000 will be spent on business support services and
innovation advisory services.
10. Duration of the Scheme
The General Block Exemption Regulation funded budget over the period from the 1st
April 2013 to the 1st April 2015 will be £352,500, with Key Fund meeting the remaining
50% balance of costs from private funds.
11. Form of aid
All aid awarded under the Scheme will be transparent and in line with criteria set out in
Article 36 of the General Block Exemption Regulation.
12. Eligible costs
“Eligible costs” shall be the following;(a) as regards innovation advisory services, the costs relating to: management
consulting, technological assistance, technology transfer services, training,
consultancy for acquisition, protection and trade in Intellectual Property
Rights and for licensing agreements, consultancy on the use of standards;
(b) as regards innovation support services, the costs relating to: office space,
data banks, technical libraries, market research, use of laboratory, quality
labelling, testing and certification.
13. Aid intensities
The aid intensity for awards made under Article 36 or Aid for Innovation Advisory
Services shall not exceed 50% of eligible costs.
14. Incentive effect
Aid recipients must demonstrate that the aid is required for projects to proceed.
Funding will not be awarded where the activity has already started before an application
for support is made.
15. Cumulation
Aid provided under this Scheme will not be cumulated with other forms of aid nor with
aid classed as de minimis aid3 in regard to the same eligible costs if the result would
breach the aid intensities set out above.
3
Aid fulfilling the conditions laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 on the application
of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis aid.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:379:0005:0010:EN:PDF
16. Budget
The total budget for the programme is £2,130,000 of which £1,425,000 will be awarded in
grants to the ventures and £705,000 will be spent on business support services and
innovation advisory services. Both the grants to the ventures and business support services
funding will be matched at 50% private funds.
17. Monitoring and reporting requirements
All recipients of aid under the Scheme will be informed that aid has been provided under
the Scheme, registered under X792/2009, pursuant to Article 36 of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 (General Block Exemption Regulation).
Records will be kept for 10 years from the date of the last award of aid under the
Scheme. Records will be sufficiently detailed to establish that the conditions of the
Scheme are met.
Contact information:
Legal Team
BIG Lottery Fund
1 Plough Place
London EC4A 1DE
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 (0) 207 211 1800
Fax: +44 (0) 207 211 1750