Incubator Support – Expert in Residence

Incubator Support – Expert in Residence provides incubators with funding to gain new skills and expertise and help start-ups to succeed in international markets.
Closed
This grant is currently closed to applications
Application detail:

The Incubator Support Initiative is no longer accepting applications.

What do you get?

$5,000 to $100,000 of matched project funding for up to 1 year.

Who is this for?

Australian incubators that provide services to start-ups to help them achieve commercial success in international markets.

Overview

Incubator Support – Expert in Residence supports incubators to increase their capabilities and improve the chance of commercial success for start-ups in international markets by organising and providing access to top quality research, managerial and technical talent through incoming and outgoing secondments of national or international experts.

The experts you nominate must have the skills and expertise to:

  • work directly with your program’s start-ups to improve their chance of international commercial success
  • increase the capabilities of your incubator

We also assist successful applicants to access public data through the DataStart program and will promote start-ups through case studies on the data.gov.au portal.

The initiative is one of 4 elements that form the Entrepreneurs’ Programme.

Eligibility

What are the eligibility criteria?

To be eligible for an Expert in Residence grant, you must be either:

  • be an existing incubator or establishing a new incubator that can foster and facilitate the development of innovative start-ups focused on international trade

You must have an Australian business number (ABN) and be one of the following:

  • an entity incorporated in Australia
  • an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
  • an incorporated not for profit organisation
  • a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO)
  • a local government agency or body

Your project must:

  • include eligible activities and expenditure
  • have an eligible project value of at least $10,000

Read the Grant opportunity guidelines for more information on the eligibility criteria.

An incubator is an organisation that supports innovative start-up businesses focused on international trade. It provides services such as:

  • seed funding
  • co-location
  • mentoring
  • professional services
  • access to networks

Examples of eligible activities include:

  • a workshop where an expert gives advice on developing business activities, for example in international markets
  • engaging a national or international expert (with knowledge in start-up related technology and international experience) to assist start-ups to address key challenges during an incubator program
  • national or international exchanges with an expert from another incubator either in Australia or overseas

This is not an exhaustive list of eligible activities.

The program delegate decides if an activity is eligible.

Incoming experts

Incoming experts must bring new skills and capabilities and undertake activities that help build your capabilities in their area of expertise. You can include one or more incoming experts in your project.

To be eligible, experts:

  • must not be a current employee of your incubator
  • require a resume outlining their experience and capabilities

Outgoing experts

Outgoing experts must be embedded in a host incubator that will share capabilities and knowledge that will benefit your incubator. We allow 1 outgoing expert per project, however, this expert may visit multiple host incubators.

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

  • an individual, partnership or trust
  • a Commonwealth, state or territory government agency or body

Applying

The Incubator Support – Expert in Residence grant is no longer accepting applications.

If you are applying for a grant of $50,000 or less we will assess your application against the eligibility criteria only.

If you are applying for a grant greater than $50,000 we will first assess your application against the eligibility criteria. If you are eligible, we will assess your application against assessment criteria 2.

We will review the information you gave us about the incoming and outgoing experts.

We will assess your application against the following assessment criteria

  • Assessment criterion 2: Benefit to your incubator, start-ups and the broader innovation ecosystem

You will receive a written offer if your application is successful.

From there, you will enter into a grant agreement with us. The grant agreement will specify the reporting requirements, payment schedule and milestones necessary to receive payments. A sample grant agreement is available to view.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will notify you in writing. You will be able to discuss the outcome with us.

Need help?

Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.

  • Phone:
  • Open Hours:
    Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
  • Website:

Customer stories

We’re proud of the funding we’ve provided to support Australian businesses. Learn about some of our previous customers and how the Entrepreneurs' Programme has helped them.

Entrepreneurs’ Programme

The Incubator Support Initiative is part of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme. It aims to help businesses to:

  • improve their growth capabilities and networks
  • engage with researchers
  • foster innovation
  • encourage commercialisation of novel products, processes or services

Key documents

Grant opportunity guidelines

pdf · 0.52 MB docx · 0.46 MB

Fact sheet Incubator Support Initiative

pdf · 0.18 MB

Sample application form

pdf · 0.37 MB docx · 0.18 MB

Sample grant agreement

pdf · 0.24 MB docx · 0.11 MB

Accountants Declaration for grants over $50,000

docx · 0.04 MB

DataStart program information sheet

pdf · 0.11 MB

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