Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund for Stream 1 Textiles Innovation (Australia)

Deadline: 15-Nov-21

Applications are now open for the Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund for Stream 1 Textiles Innovation to support Circular economy projects that design out waste to improve environmental and economic outcomes for Victoria.

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.

Phases

In a Circular economy, a resource lifecycle includes 3 key phases: make, use and recycle.

• 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.

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.

Funding Information

Each project can receive a grant between $75,000 and $150,000.

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.

Eligibility Criteria

• 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.

For more information, visit Sustainability Victoria.

For more information, visit https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/grants-funding-and-investment/grants-and-funding/recycling-victoria-innovation-fund-round-2-stream-1-textiles-innovation