Call for business advice
Innovation & Resilience Fund
East Devon District Council is opening up Round 3 of its Innovation & Resilience Fund (IRF3) which allows businesses to apply for funding to deliver a specific project.
Grants of between £3,000 and £30,000 will be available to support transformational projects. All applicants must commit to match-fund at least 30% of the total project cost. For example, if the total project cost is £20,000, the applicant can apply for up to £14,000 from the scheme.
An IRF3 project must have a transformational impact on the business - it either needs to create new, high value employment or adopt new technology or processes to increase productivity. The funding cannot be used to cover salaries or lost income, to cover normal operational costs such as rent and utility bills, or to cover the cost of any goods or services already purchased.
How to apply
You can now register your interest online. You have until 8th May to register.
Applicants who are successful at the Expression of Interest stage will be invited to submit a full bid application. The deadline for full bids will be the 24th May 2024 at 4pm, after which a decision will be made on whether to award funding.
Funding will be awarded to successful applicants from June 2024.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible to apply, you must:
- Be seeking capital funding for a specific transformational project
- Be trading at the time of your application
- Primarily operate and trade within East Devon
- Not be delivering a project to be located in the urban areas of Exmouth
- Not be in administration, insolvent or struck off the Companies House register
- Not have exceeded the permitted subsidy control threshold.
Applicants who were successful in either IRF1 or IRF2 are eligible to apply for IRF3. However, preference may be given to those who have not previously received funding. A full list of eligibility criteria and guidance can be found in the IRF3 Policy on the East Devon District Council website.
The IRF3 is funded by the Government’s £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund as part of its levelling-up programme.
How we can help
We’ve been supporting rural businesses, communities and farmers for over 25 years, and we’re experts in preparing funding and planning applications.
Small Businesses
If you are thinking of making an Innovation & Resilience Fund application and need help with business planning, financial forecasting, and a better understanding of how you can take your business or organisation on the journey to Net Zero then we can help under the fully-funded Prosper scheme.
Farm Businesses
East Devon District Council are interested in receiving bids from farm businesses looking to expand the goods and services they offer to supplement their income from agriculture. This could be through producing new food like ice cream, offering services such as cookery classes or recreational courses, or making your farm a tourist destination. Previous rounds have supported several farm businesses to innovate. These include Castlewood Vineyards, Trill Farm Garden, and Four Elms Fruit Farm. The grants they received helped them create new products and expand their offerings to support them through tough economic times.
If you are interested in applying for a grant for your farm business, we can support you under our Future Farming Resilience Programme.
For general enquiries, please get in touch using the form below. Alternatively email or call us, free, on 0800 592 872.
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