Funding for Defence businesses to translate research and ideas into commercial outcomes

Your project needs to show how it aligns to the objectives of the program. The objectives are to:

• support Australian manufacturing businesses and entrepreneurs to translate and commercialise good ideas into new and enhanced commercial outcomes including new high-quality products and services and solutions
• encourage manufacturers to adopt new technologies and develop new processes and innovative solutions to build scale, capability
• support Australian manufacturers to grow and build scale and overcome challenges facing their sector (as outlined in the Defence National Manufacturing Priority road map)
• create new jobs in the manufacturing sector
• support Australian manufacturers to pivot to high value-added activities
• attract investment to develop ideas and translate research into commercial solutions and outcomes
• increase manufacturing capability, expertise and specialisations, business acumen, knowledge diffusion and stimulate innovation in Australian manufacturing
• grow and support manufacturing networks and ecosystems and increase collaboration.

Projects under the Manufacturing Translation Stream can include collaboration between manufacturing businesses and a research institution to invest in the creation of new or improved products or processes. 

Meritorious projects

We anticipate the most meritorious Translation projects in this stream will show great advancement in the maturity level of ideas and research into products, services and solutions according to the Technology Readiness Level scale. Once complete, these projects will show that the product, service or solution is close to, or in full commercial deployment. This translation can be supported by: 

• supporting businesses to adopt new and novel technology, processes and solutions
• building management capability, expertise and business acumen
• increasing collaboration and facilitating knowledge transfer.

We encourage you to collaborate with other organisations to maximise the impact of the investment, provide opportunities for manufacturing businesses to scale up and become more competitive.

The Modern Manufacturing Initiative is a key element of the Australian Government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy, which aims to help Australian manufacturers scale-up, compete internationally and create jobs.

Learn more about the Modern Manufacturing Strategy.

If you submitted an application for the Manufacturing Translation or Integration Streams through Round 1 and intend to apply for Round 2, you should review the new Grant Opportunity Guidelines as we've made some changes. These include further information on:

• the primary objective of each stream
• what the key elements of a meritorious project are, such as showing considerable advancement in the maturity level of ideas or products according to the Technology Readiness Level scale or advancing your position and market presence in new and existing local and global value chains
• how to address each Assessment Criterion, and in particular the need to show the additional activities the grant would allow you to undertake, and the spill over benefits of your project under Assessment Criterion 3.

We know many businesses have concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on grant applications and grant management. When applying for a grant, consider timeframes and constraints that may impact grant activities due to COVID-19.

If COVID-19 has impacted your ability to meet the obligations of your grant agreement, to discuss your circumstances and how we can assist you, you should contact:

• your customer service manager
• an agent at our Contact Centre.

You can find further COVID-19 government financial assistance and support for Australian businesses on our coronavirus information and support for business page.

First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.

The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.

We give each criterion a certain number of points.

In deciding which projects to fund, the Minister will consider the assessment committee scoring, how your application compares to other applications, whether it provides value with relevant money, and the advice of Industry Innovation Science Australia.

• Assessment criterion 1: Alignment with program objectives (50 points)
• Assessment criterion 2: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (25 points)
• Assessment criterion 3: Impact of the grant funding on your project (25 points)

The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should suit the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.

The Minister will make the final decision.

If your application is successful, you’ll receive a written offer. If you are unsuccessful, we’ll notify you in writing and give you the chance to discuss the outcome with us.

Successful applicants must enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth. The grant agreement will specify the reporting requirements, payment schedule and milestones necessary to receive payments. We use the template grant agreements from Department of Finance.

We’ll make the first payment when the grant agreement is executed. We’ll make subsequent payments after we have received and accepted the required report. 

Payments will be made by direct credit into a nominated bank account.