University of Kent

Kent Enterprise Hub Small Grants Fund
Starting from April 2010

The Kent Enterprise Hub Small Grants Fund is available to University of Kent students and recent graduates (within two years of graduation)* who have projects for business start-up or for developing their present student business projects.

Grants can be for start up ideas, for proof of concept of your project idea or for starting a new business. Grants will cover costs such as registration costs, premises, equipment etc. You can also apply for the grant to develop your business further if you have already started up. Grants are available from £200 to a maximum of £2000.

How to apply

You will need to provide the following:

· completed application form, including the business case and a breakdown of what you would use the funds for.

· a business plan for your present, or planned start-up business.

As part of the application process you will need to discuss and refine your application with one of the Kent Enterprise Hub advisors.

Additionally you will be required to disclose any IP that relate to your course or to third parties.

The Process

The application will be reviewed and put forward and proposed by the Kent Enterprise Hub to a Panel, you will be informed of the date of your panel once your application is received.

We aim to let you know if your application has been successful within two weeks of the panel meeting. Any decision made by the Panel is final, no appeals panel will be held.

If successful you will be sent an award letter with Terms and Conditions which you will need to agree in order for the funds to be released. You will need to provide personal bank details for the funds to be transferred. The fund needs to be spent by the 31 July 2011, or these will need to be refunded to the University of Kent.

Requirements

The University will require regular reports on your progress and the spending of the funding, a template report will be sent to you with your award letter.

The applicant will become an Associate of the Kent Enterprise Hub and will be required to continue a relationship with the University of Kent for a period of five years. As part of this, the applicant will be required to provide the Kent Enterprise Hub with up to date contact details and send a brief response to an annual questionnaire.

* Applications from Graduates will be accepted for academic years 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 only.

Terms and Conditions

1. Applicants must be students of the University of Kent (the “University”). For academic years 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 only, applicants who have graduated in the two years prior to the application will be considered.

2. Applicants are encouraged to take independent advice before applying to this fund.

3. Applicants are required to disclose the names of all other parties involved in the project/business.

4. Applicants will be responsible for ensuring that all other parties involved in the project/business abide by these Terms and Conditions.

5. Maximum aggregate value of Grant per applicant is £2,000.

6. Maximum aggregate value of Grant per project/business is £2,000.

7. All applications and business plans, submitted or discussed, will be considered as confidential.

8. Applicants are required to discuss their application and Business Plan with an appropriate member of the University’ s Kent Enterprise Hub or any other person nominated by the University.

9. Applicants must submit a completed Application Form together with a Business Plan.

10. Applicants will ensure that all information provided in the Application Form and the Business Plan is accurate to the best of their knowledge. The University reserves the right to take any appropriate action should it be proven that the Applicant or any other person(s) involved in the project/business was shown to have deliberately misled the University.

11. Applications will be proposed by the Kent Enterprise Hub and considered by a Panel, all decisions by the Panel are final and no appeal will be held.

12. The University of Kent shall have absolute discretion to refuse any application without appeal.

13. Successful Applicants will be asked to agree and sign a Grant Award Letter, confirming that they agree to abide by the Terms outlined in the Grant Award Letter and the Terms and Conditions and any amendments that may reasonably occur from time to time. Any significant changes to the Terms and Conditions will be notified to the Successful Applicants.

14. The Successful Applicant will submit regular reports as described in the Grant Award Letter.

15. Successful Applicants are required to keep auditable records of the expenditure in relation to the Grant and are required to report this expenditure within their reports. The University may request to examine the records at any time upon reasonable notice to the Applicant.

16. Successful Applicants will be required to return to the University any unspent Grant monies by the end of the spending period, which will be outlined in the Grant Award Letter.

17. Successful Applicants are required to inform the University if changes to the proposed projects are made which may affect the way the Grant is used. The University reserves the right to reclaim all or part of the Grant should the monies not be used for its original purpose. In any case, the University reserves the right to reclaim the entire Grant should the Successful Applicant not inform the University of any changes.

18. Successful Applicants will become a **** of the Kent Enterprise Hub and as such will be required to submit annual progress report to Kent Enterprise Hub and respond to the annual survey.

19. All information and enquiries regarding the Applications and Grants should be sent by email to roundone@kent.ac.uk