BIPC Jumpstart terms and conditions

Huntingdonshire District Council is funding a BIPC Jumpstart Programme in Huntingdonshire which is being delivered by the Business & IP Centre Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.

The BIPC Jumpstart grant has the following terms and conditions:

Eligibility

Applicants must be 18 years and older to apply. Finalists will be required to share proof of ID at Pitch Day.
Your business must be operating or trading within Huntingdonshire.
Existing Businesses - Companies House or HMRC Registration: The business must have been duly registered with either Companies House or HMRC on or after 1 December 2022. Documentation and evidence of such registration should be provided as part of the grant application process.
New Businesses: Alternatively, if a business has not yet registered with Companies House or HMRC by the date of grant application, it must undertake registration within two months of the date that the winners are announced. The business should submit proof of registration to the Business & IP Centre Cambridgeshire & Peterborough within the specified timeframe.
If your business is operating or trading outside of Huntingdonshire, you will not be eligible to apply to this specific fund. If your business is operating or trading in another part of Cambridgeshire or Peterborough, you may be eligible to apply for our other BIPC Jumpstart grant .

Application process

Only one application to the BIPC Jumpstart grant scheme can be made per business.
You must book, attend, and complete associated feedback forms for a minimum of 3 live BIPC Jumpstart support programme sessions taking place between 11 September and 17 November 2023. You can choose any combination of 3 sessions (one to ones, webinars, or workshops). Please note, ‘On Demand’ pre-recorded webinars do not count towards this total.
You must submit a completed application form and answers to our 5 critical questions by Midday Friday 1 December 2023.
First round shortlisted applicants must attend a finance one to one between 17 January to 30 January 2024 and submit the ‘Business Plan Financials’ document by Wednesday 31 January 2024.
Finalists must be available and agree to travel to the location of our pitch day (within Huntingdonshire) date to be confirmed - between 27 February and 1 March 2024.

Amount of grant funding and allocation

£25,000 (twenty-five thousand pounds) of grant funding will be awarded to up to eight winners in the following denominations:
- One Platinum grant - £10,000 (ten thousand pounds)
- One Gold grant - £6,000 (six thousand pounds)
- One Silver grant - £4,000 (four thousand pounds)
- Five Bronze grants - £1,000 (one thousand pounds)
If there are fewer than eight grant winners due to for example a finalist being unable to attend on Pitch Day or failing to meet the terms and conditions, the remaining grant funding will be proportionally distributed amongst the Bronze grant winners to supplement their £1,000 grants.

Purposes for which the grant may be spent

This grant is limited to capital expenditure only. Examples of capital expenditure include, but are not limited to, new equipment, machinery, software, professional organisation fees, digital improvements (e.g. a website or electronic payment methods), and furniture and fixtures.
Any grant awarded as a result of your application may only be used for the purpose(s) specified in your BIPC Jumpstart application form.
Any changes to grant spend need to be agreed by Huntingdonshire District Council and BIPC Cambridgeshire & Peterborough before any purchases are made.

Reporting and accountability

For new businesses, grants will not be paid until we have confirmation of your company registration:

Companies House private limited company registration (usually takes 24 hours) - Register your company - GOV.UK

Self-Employed - register if you’re self-employed - GOV.UK. You’ll get your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) by post in 10 working days (21 days if you’re abroad). You’ll get it sooner in your personal tax account or HMRC app.

Successful applicants must supply BIPC Cambridgeshire & Peterborough with the relevant details to set up a payment account on Cambridgeshire County Council’s ERP Gold accounts payable system. An invoice may be requested to process payment of the grant.
Grants will be paid in full within 60 days of receipt of all necessary documentation.
Grants are required to be spent within 3 months of receipt (expected June or July 2024)
Invoices and receipts from suppliers who provided the procured good(s) or service(s) must be supplied to Cambridgeshire County Council within three months of receipt of the grant to evidence how the grant funding was spent. These should be on the suppliers’ headed paper and include an address and contact details.
You agree to be a case study for BIPC Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and Huntingdonshire District Council District Council and evidence how the SPF funding for BIPC Jumpstart Programme has helped your business.
Successful applicants are required to provide an update on their business every quarter for the period of 12 months following receipt of the grant.

Grant clawback

Business & IP Centre Cambridgeshire & Peterborough reserves the right to recover some or all of the grant funds disbursed to the grant winner for the following reasons:

Non-compliance: If the grant winner fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the grant, such as not using the funds for the specified purposes.
Misrepresentation: If the grant winner provided false or misleading information during the grant application process or throughout the grant period.
Breach of Contract: If the grant winner violates any other provisions or obligations outlined in the grant agreement.

Intellectual Property

BIPC Jumpstart applications will be viewed by a series of judges throughout the assessment process. If you are or may be applying for a patent for an invention, we recommend that you seek independent legal advice regarding how much you may disclose about your invention without invalidating a patent application.

You agree by applying for this BIPC Jumpstart grant that your contact details and data will be shared with the funder of this programme, Huntingdonshire District Council.
You agree that data relating to the BIPC Jumpstart programme may be shared with the British Library where required.
You grant permission for Cambridgeshire County Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, and the British Library to take photographic or videographic images of (or including) you for the purposes of the BIPC Jumpstart programme, with the understanding that the imagery captured and any reproductions or adaptations of images may be used for fundraising, publicity or any other purposes to help achieve the Cambridgeshire County Council's aims. This might include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in our printed and digital communications, including social media, email and press releases.
Read the BIPC Privacy Statement
Find out how Huntingdonshire District Council uses personal data
More information on how the British Library uses personal data

Other

Any additional prizes awarded as part of the BIPC Jumpstart programme will have their own terms and conditions attached to them which will be disclosed at the time of being awarded.