The Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge will provide support for groups of SMEs that want to work together to scope innovative opportunities to address significant urban challenges. Invest NI and Belfast City Council are supporting this programme with the understanding that the city needs to encourage greater innovation, particularly in the exploitation of data science and smart technologies, if it is to successfully deliver its new long term city strategy, ‘The Belfast Agenda 2035’. To be eligible for funding each group must consist of a minimum of four Northern Ireland companies, one of which must be an Invest Northern Ireland customer and be willing to act as Lead Company. (Non-commercial partners, such as academic, voluntary or public sector bodies, may also be part of a proposed group.)  The funding is to be used to engage the services of an independent facilitator to work with the group to address the challenges identified and scope out potential opportunities.

All sections of this application form should be completed as indicated. You should note that failure to provide adequate information will result in your application being rejected. Guidance Notes, indicating the level of detail required in answering each question can be found at the back of this document. All applications will be assessed by a panel of representatives from Invest NI and Belfast City Council.

A separate briefing pack containing further information relating to the Belfast Agenda, Belfast City Council’s Smart Belfast Framework and the thematic challenge areas is available to download from the call website at www.investni.com/smartbelfastcall. You should read this in conjunction with the application Guidance Notes before completing your application. If you require any further clarification on the application process please contact a member of the Invest NI Collaborative Growth Programme team on 028 9069 8342; for queries related to Belfast City Council’s Smart Belfast Framework or the specific challenge areas please contact the Smart Belfast team at smartbelfast@BelfastCity.gov.uk

Please note that Invest NI will share the information contained in this application with its partners at Belfast City Council.

1. Applicant Details

Date of Application

Name of Project

Name of Lead Company

Nature of Lead Company business

Is Lead Company an Invest NI customer? Yes/No Please delete as appropriate

Is Lead Company an SME? Yes/No Please delete as appropriate

Lead Company website address

Lead Company postal addressContact for this application (Please indicate if contact is based in the Lead Company or not) Email address of contact (work):

Telephone number (work): Mobile: Landline:

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SME members of your collaborative group :

Business Name Contact Person

Nature of Business Email Telephone Number

Invest NI customer; Yes/No

Other project participants , if applicable (ie. non-private sector/academic/large companies):Name of organisation Contact Person Area of interest

or expertise Email Telephone Number

2. Project DetailsWhen completing Sections 2.1 - 2.9 below, the boxes will automatically expand to accommodate your text. Just insert additional lines if required.

2.1 CHALLENGE AREA: Please indicate which Smart Belfast challenge area your project will address. You must select at least one area; if your project spans two areas of interest please indicate by selecting each area. Further information on the scope of each challenge area can be found in the briefing pack.

Urban Transport

Visitor Experience

Circular Economy

Active Living

Management of the Public Estate

2.2 OVERVIEW: Please provide an overview of the proposed project, including a) a brief summary of the group’s area of focus and expertise relating to the selected challenge area/s; b) an outline of the issues and/or opportunities you intend to investigate and address through the Scoping Study; c) how the opportunity you intend to scope will have a positive impact on the challenge area you have chosen and d) contribute to the foundations of the Smart Belfast framework.

This summary should be no more than 750 words

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2.3 OBJECTIVES: What are the Group’s key objectives in carrying out this Scoping Study?

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2.4 TASKS: What specific tasks/activities will the group undertake in order to meet the objectives in 2.3 above?

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2.5 INFORMATION GATHERING: Please specify any information gathering activities ( eg, stakeholder engagement, data collection, initial research,) you anticipate requiring in order to remove barriers/constraints to your project’s success?

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2.6 BUSINESS OUTCOMES: Please specify in what ways you anticipate the collaborative members, individually and/or collectively, may benefit from involvement in the Scoping Study project:

Non-monetary benefitsFor example: Enhancement of skills;product and/or process innovation; and/or knowledge transfer

Monetary benefitsFor example: Sales; exports; opportunitiesto tender

2.7 SMART BELFAST OUTCOMES: Please specify in what ways you anticipate the city and its stakeholders/customers may benefit from involvement in the Scoping Study project (in particular, how they could contribute to the urban challenges and the Smart Belfast foundations):

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2.8 INNOVATION: In what way do you believe the project may be innovative and/or enable the members to become more innovative? What will make you stand out from others in this field? Is there is a uniqueness to your approach? if so, how?

2.9 TIMING: What timescale do you require to complete the proposed scoping study? Please tick as appropriate.

3 – 6 months 6 – 9 months

3. Support3.1 COSTS: Please outline the proposed project costs and provide a brief description of your rationale as to how you have arrived at these. A maximum of £25,000 grant support may be awarded per project.

Cost Category Amount Rationale Facilitation (please provide overall cost and proposed daily rate; this figure should include the costs of project administration. Mileage is no longer considered an eligible project cost)

£ Eg. daily rate/number of days required

Study visits (flights and accommodation for facilitator only): £ Eg. destination and proposed agenda/itinerary

Specialist Consultancy £ Eg. type of consultancy required/explanation of how this differs from general facilitation

Total amount sought £

Approximate number of hours members anticipate contributing over duration of the scoping study project

3.2 ADDITIONALITY: Why is Invest NI and Belfast City Council support required for this project?

4. Declaration4

This section is to be completed by the Lead Company, on behalf of the group.

Please tick if you are in agreement with the following statements

The details of this application are correct and accurate to the best of my/our knowledge.Yes

The Lead Company agrees to process and pay any project costs relating to the project, as agreed by the collaborative group.

Yes

The project described in this application is not already in receipt of, or is likely to be in receipt of, any public funding, nor does it form part of another project that Invest NI or Belfast City Council are currently supporting.

Yes

If any aspect of this project will be funded, or is likely to be funded, by a public body please give details below:

I have read and understood the Disclosure and Publicity and clauses (see last page of this application)

I have read, understood and agree to the Facilitator Recruitment and Profile Information clauses (see last page of this application).

Yes

Yes

By signing or typing the name of the Lead Company contact and submitting this form either electronically, or by post, the applicant acknowledges that they are making a declaration to Invest NI and Belfast City Council on behalf of all the collaborative group indicated in Section 1 of this application. In doing so, please ensure that all parties to the application have read and are in agreement with the details of the proposed project, including the specific obligations associated with any offer of funding from the Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge.

Name Position in Company Date:

Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge Application Guidance Notes General Guidance In order to apply for funding under this Challenge you must have a minimum of four Northern Ireland SME

companies who are prepared to collaborate on the proposed project. One of these companies should be anInvest NI customer and be willing to sign the Letter of Offer on behalf of the whole group.

To progress your application the Invest NI/Belfast City Council Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge team will carry out an appraisal on your proposed project and make a business case to secure funding; providing a clear, focused and evidence-based response to each question is therefore essential.

Please use Plain English and do not assume the reader has any prior knowledge of the sector, project or issues you face.

You are applying for support to help scope out a potential commercial opportunity; we do not expect you to havea fully formed project plan and/or detailed monetary targets at this stage; we do however need to have evidence that there is a reasonable prospect of commercial gain as a result of focusing on the particular concept, together with a willingness to work together on a project that individual companies could not tackle on their own.

Applications which rely on short generic statements, or which do not demonstrate sufficient robustness (in relation to either the overall project objectives or the proposed activities to be carried out), are unlikely to be successful.

Additional information to support your case (e.g. previous reports etc.) may be submitted along with your application.

Should you require more space to complete any of the sections simply insert additional lines (when completing tables) or use the return key (when entering information into a box)

Where a question requires a Yes/No response please delete the answer that does not apply. The application must be dated and signed at Section 4 and returned to the Challenge team via

karen.mclaverty@investni.com by Monday 6 November 2017

Section One: Applicant Details

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Each application requires a Lead Company who must be an Invest NI customer. The role of the Lead Companyis not necessarily to lead the project, but rather to act as an administrative vehicle, paying out the costs associated with the project and claiming the eligible grant back from Invest NI.

In selecting a Lead Company you should be aware that this company will need to recruit and pay the Facilitator on behalf of the whole group, and will therefore need the necessary cash flow to pay invoiced costs and then wait for settlement of the grant payment at a later date (typically within 30 days of submission of an acceptable claim).

If the Lead Company is an SME then Invest NI will pay 100% of eligible project costs (see Section 3 of these guidance notes for details of what constitutes eligible costs); if the Lead Company is a large company (notan SME) then Invest NI can only pay 50% of eligible project costs (see Section 3 of these notes for more guidance on the how to calculate your costs if your project is led by a large company)

Please note an SME is defined as ‘An autonomous enterprise which has less than 250 employees and either turnover under €50 million per annum, or an annual balance sheet under €43 million and holds less than 25% of the capital or voting rights (whichever is the higher) in one or more enterprises and/or in which outsiders do not hold a stake of 25% of more of the capital or voting rights (whichever is the higher).

You will require a minimum of four Northern Ireland companies in order to make an application; you should also seek to involve representatives of academic institutions and other stakeholders as part of your membership; when developing the membership of your group you should consider the range of expertise and skills you will requireto make the project a success.

Organisations from outside Northern Ireland can also be party to your application providing they are in agreement with the Terms and Conditions of the Programme, noted in the application document.

You can add new members to the group as the project develops; members may also drop out, but you should ensure that the overall membership does not drop below four Northern Ireland companies.

Section Two – Project Details6

2.1 Challenge Area: Please indicate which of the five Belfast Smart City Challenge areas your project will address. Your project may ‘span’ two or more areas, so if this is the case please tick the relevant boxes. Proposals must address at least one of the challenge areas. For more information on these areas please consult the briefing pack available in conjunction with this application form.

2.2 Overview: please give us a brief synopsis of your project, detailing some background to the area of need and or opportunity you are seeking to address, indicate the strategic importance of the proposed project, why collaborative working is being pursued, and what you hope to achieve by scoping the project, both for the companies who are members of the Network and for the City and its stakeholders/customers; try not to use too much jargon;

We are ultimately seeking to fund specific projects that propose an innovative deployment of Smart City technology and in doing so have the potential to contribute to economic development, growth in employment, exports and level of skills, as well as an enhancement to the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of services provided at a city level. Proposed benefits may impact directly and or indirectly on the members of the collaborative group. At a Scoping Study level however we are looking for evidence of a potential opportunity and a clearly thought out action plan as to what steps need to be taken in order to help member companies take advantage of the opportunity;

2.3 Objectives: Please provide focused objectives for your Scoping Study. These should relate to the specific project being undertaken and provide a clear pathway to addressing the issue/opportunity outlined at 2.1.

As an example, a project might have as its objective to scope out the following:o The size and nature of the opportunity o The barriers/risks companies experience in accessing that opportunity, and how to mitigate against theseo How best to ensure knowledge transfer amongst memberso The current skills landscape amongst the group/sector and how to fill any gapso The size, scale and nature of stakeholder engagement requiredo How best to prioritise opportunities; o The potential for the group to continue working collaboratively; possible terms of reference for future

working and or rules of engagement;o Options for future sustainability of the group, including opportunities to internationaliseo Competitive positioning of the group within the marketplace i.e. Identification of competitors and

the added value of the proposed network and propositiono Recommendations as to next steps

2.4 Tasks: In this section we will require you to demonstrate an understanding of what activities thegroup need to undertake, in conjunction with the facilitator, to address the objectives outlined at 2.3.We do not need finite detail, but rather the headline tasks that you plan to carry out;

2.5 Information Gathering: In order to carry out a robust scoping study your group may need to engage with other stakeholders outside of the membership. These may include, but are not limited to, other government departments; local councils; regulatory groups; potential customers; voluntary organisations; other fundingbodies and/or academic institutions. Please list these together with a brief rationale as to why you intend to engage with them.

2.6 Business Outcomes: Please indicate the outcomes/benefits the members and/or the overall network anticipate as a result of the project. As this is a Scoping Study we do not expect you to provide definitive answers, but rather an estimate of the scale and type of benefits that could accrue. Please do not simply repeat the outcome categories we have provided as examples (i.e. skills; knowledge transfer etc.); instead, providea description of the specific anticipated outcomes relating to this project;

2.7 Smart Belfast Outcomes: Please indicate the outcomes/benefits that may accrue to the Council and its stakeholders (including citizens of Northern Ireland) should your scoping study lead to a more formal collaboration, including the implementation/future development of your product, service or way of working.

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2.8 Innovation: We are primarily focused on funding projects that are innovative, this can be ether by bringingthe idea or invention to the market as a new product, process or service through the phases of ideas generation research and development, product development, marketing and selling a new product or service. We are particularly interested in projects that offer the opportunity to engage in ‘open innovation’, leveraging the flowof technology and knowledge between the organisations and demonstrate a greater willingness to support commercialisation of a business’ own ideas as well as innovations from other firms within the group. When describing what is innovative about your project please consider the ways in which you could engage with potential members from other sectors in order to improve your outcomes.

2.9 Timing When indicating timescales for your project please bear in mind that the majority of Scoping Studies we have funded in the past have typically taken six months to complete. While we are generally flexible in our approach to timings we believe that projects lasting any less than three months are unlikely to deliver therequired level of robustness, whereas projects lasting longer than nine months are likely to lose momentum and/orthe opportunity to achieve first mover status.

Section Three – Support 3.1 Costs: Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge projects can apply for up to £25,000 to assist

with scoping a specific commercial opportunity; eligible costs that can be funded under this grant include independent facilitation (including administration insofar as it relates to the specific project) specialist consultancyand study visit travel for the facilitator only;

The Lead Company will be required to contract and engage an independent Facilitator on behalf of the entire group. This person must be acceptable to all group members and may not be an employee of any organisation that is party to the application;

The Lead Company should recruit the individual in line with current employment legislation and best practicefor the appointment of consultants of this nature; Invest NI reserves the right to ask for evidence of a fair and transparent recruitment process and can withhold any/all of any subsequent Collaborative Growth grant if itdeems that the correct process has not been followed;

Invest NI will require details of the daily rate negotiated with the Facilitator; you should seek to ensure thatthis represents value for money as Invest NI reserves the right to challenge applications which indicate a rate deemed to be excessive in comparison to current average rates for work of this nature. Please note that we recommend that Lead Companies should not pay out against facilitator invoices until such times that the group is satisfied that all project objectives have been met and that the facilitator has completed a report that is to the satisfaction of the members and Invest NI;

You can use part of any grant to cover the costs of the Facilitator travelling to attend events and/or meetings (study visits) that are deemed relevant by Invest NI and the group to establishing best practice and/or gathering information in the context of the project. If other project participants wish to travel on a similar basis then they will be responsible for their own costs; facilitator study visit costs must be based on actual invoiced costs and mustbe detailed and vouched as part of any subsequent claim.

If an SME is acting as Lead Company then the group may apply for 100% funding; if the Lead Companyis a large business (not an SME) then the group may only apply for 50% funding;

In either case the group will need to demonstrate that they are engaged in genuine collaboration, using the skills of member companies in a complementary fashion; to this end, each participant in the project will be requiredto fill out a timesheet on a monthly basis (copies of the timesheet and completion instructions will be made available once a project has been approved);

INI reserves the right to withhold grant payment if a network does not demonstrate true collaboration. If the Lead Company is a large business and (not an SME) and is in receipt of 50% funding the group

will be subject to vouching/verification in order to ensure that the required grant match has been made. 3.2 Additionality: We are unable to fund projects that are likely to proceed at a similar speed and/or scope

regardless of whether or not Invest NI provides funding; neither can we fund projects that are currentlyin receipt of any other funding, private or public sector, to address the same issue/s

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Section Four – Declaration The application should be signed and dated by the project owner representing the Lead Company. In doing

so the individual concerned should be aware that he/she is signing on behalf of the whole group; Invest NIwill infer that all group members are in agreement with the scope of the project and the terms and conditions associated with the Programme.

Additional InformationDisclosure, Publicity, Facilitator Recruitment, Profile Information1.1 The funding for the Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge is drawn from Invest NI’s Collaborative Growth

Programme and all applicants to the Challenge (and those who are subsequently successful) will be subject to the same eligibility criteria and operational processes as those which are currently in place for the Collaborative Growth Programme.

1.2 Invest NI/Belfast City Council shall be entitled to publish details of the amounts and types of assistance offered at such times and in such a manner as Invest NI/Belfast City Council may decide (including, but not limited to, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000).

1.3 If and/or when the project is approved, the Lead Company, and other entities party to this application, shall render Invest NI/Belfast City Council such assistance as Invest NI/Belfast City Council may reasonably request in connection with any publicity which Invest NI may deem appropriate in respect of the project.

1.4 If and/or when the project is approved Invest NI/Belfast City Council shall be entitled to disclose details of the project to other government agencies and departments and other bodies engaged in economic development in the EU (subject to the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and any other applicable legal restrictions which prevent the disclosure of such information) where Invest NI/Belfast City Council considers that disclosure is in the interests of the project.

1.5 If and/or when the project is approved Invest NI/Belfast City Council may include any information which it receives in relation to the project in a database of economic, financial and statistical information and may publish or disseminate reports derived from such a database provided that such reports do not specifically identify the Customer.

1.6 Invest NI/Belfast City Council shall be entitled to disclose information on the project to Invest NI/Belfast City Council’s professional advisers who are subject to obligations of confidence or to consultants working on Invest NI/Belfast City Council’s behalf provided such disclosure is made for the specific purpose for which the consultants are engaged.

1.7 As public bodies Invest NI/Belfast City Council are subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) laws that require us to be open and transparent in decision making processes as well as demonstrating use of public funds. To this end Invest NI/Belfast City Council may, in the interest of openness and transparency, proactively publish limited information on the scheme including: name of applicants (this includes sole traders; partnerships and limited companies) and amount of assistance. There are exemptions under the FOI legislation in respect of disclosure of information that would likely cause commercial detriment should such information be requested under the Act.

1.8 Subject to paragraph 1.2 Invest NI shall treat all information received from the Client in pursuance of this application as confidential and shall not disclose such information to any third party other than those referred above at Paragraphs 1.4 -1.7, without the consent of the Company, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed, except as may be required by law (including without limitation Freedom of Information legislation) or for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or for the purposes of any parliamentary or governmental enquiry into the activities of Invest NI.

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Facilitator Recruitment and Profile Information

1.9 Independent Facilitators should be contracted by the Lead Company on behalf of the project. For Phase One Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge projects this will normally involve the obtaining of a minimum of three quotes.

1.10 Invest NI reserves the right to request evidence to show that Facilitators engaged in Smart Belfast Collaborative Challenge projects have been recruited in a fair and transparent manner. Where such evidence does not exist Invest NI reserves the right to withdraw all or any funding relating to the project in question.

Other

1.11 If, following an appraisal, an application to this Programme is successful Invest NI/Belfast City Council may request additional baseline information from each proposed participant before proceeding to issue a Letter of Offer in respect of the project. The project Lead Company should make participants aware of this before submitting an application. A sample of the information required is available, on request, from the Collaborative Growth Team at Invest NI.

1.12 Once a project has been approved a Letter of Offer will be issued to the project lead company. SMEs who are signatories to this application, and therefore participants in the collaborative project, will be required to sign and return an individual Letter of Adherence acknowledging their commitment to the project and the associated obligations therein.

1.13 Invest NI reserves the right to decline or impose specific conditions for support on any proposal.

1.14 Invest NI/Belfast City Council reserves the right to contact any/all of the group members named in this application to discuss any/all aspects of this application.

If you require this application form in an alternative format (including Braille, audio disk, large print or in a minority language to meet the needs of those whose first language is not English) please contact the Invest NI Equality Team on 028 9069 8273 or equality@investni.com or on Text Relay Number 18001 028 9069 8273

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