Grants available through the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (CIOS) Growth Hub acts in the same way as all other Growth Hubs across the country – a signposting organisation / single point of contact for business owners looking to navigate the funding and business support ecosystem. But it has evolved to become the single point of entry for a number of Good Growth funded grant schemes and business support schemes outlined further below.

Terminology

The Good Growth Fund is the umbrella title for the £132m of UK Shared Prosperity Fund monies allocated to Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, administered by Cornwall Council. The £10m of grants being administered by The CIOS Growth Hub are a devolved element of the Good Growth Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is the UK Government’s replacement for EU funding. Whilst many of the principles which applied to EU funding remain the same, it is important to note that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is sector blind. Some businesses previously excluded from the EU grant schemes, such as agriculture or tourism-based, may now be eligible for grants.

Rural England Prosperity Fund is a replacement for LEADER funding.

State Aid has been replaced by Subsidy Control. The rules sounded similar albeit the grants are open to applications from a wider range of businesses than under EU rules.

Grants and business support accessible through CIOS Growth Hub

The total Good Growth grants being administered by CIOS Growth Hub are £10m. See previous blog about the grants here.

Scheme	Date	Grant size	Overview
Business Growth Grants	Yes	Total fund is £3m – no details on minimum or maximum grant values	Grants aimed at supporting projects to create/ safeguard jobs, develop new products and services etc
Research, Development & Innovation	Yes	Minimum grant of £2,500 and the anticipated average grant value is £28,000 50% match funding	Grants to encourage businesses to grow through research, development and innovation to improve productivity, whilst also delivering improvements in environmental sustainability and enhancing social responsibility
Export funding	Open	Minimum grant value of £2,500 and the anticipated average grant value for this fund is £5,000 50% grant intervention	Export grants are available to help businesses to grow overseas trading, find new markets and support local employment; creating a positive outcome such as: Trade in new markets Create jobs Safeguard existing jobs Increase export capability
Rural Business Grants	Launch early 2024	Minimum grant value of £2,500 and the anticipated average grant value for this fund is £40,000 50% grant intervention	Capital grants to rural businesses with a focus on farm and rural business diversification, prioritising: Nature recovery investments Improvements to the quality of the existing tourism offer Food and drink processing for non-farmer owned businesses Projects that grow the local social economy
Net Zero grants	Launch early 2024	Minimum grant value of £2,500 and the anticipated average grant value for this fund is £25,000 50% grant intervention	Grant to support decarbonisation and improve the natural environment whilst growing the local economy by: Adopting new technologies or processes in their business Reducing greenhouse gas

Business support scheme to help businesses unleash their potential to scale and grow is provided through a new project STRIDE

Support for start up businesses is also accessible via the CIOS Growth Hub. Details can be found here.

Access via CIOS Growth Hub

There is definite logic in having a single point of contact to better understand the businesses’ needs and match these with resources available, and if necessary, assist them with a grant application. Support will be tailored to the business i.e., if a business approaches them with a defined strategy and need a grant to deliver a project then less CIOS Growth Hub intervention will be required.

We will continue to direct clients and contacts to CIOS Growth Hub, complement our knowledge of the funding ecosystem in Cornwall & Isles of Scilly – and act as an access point to grants and business support. Keep an eye out for details on a breakfast briefing in 2024 about grants and business support accessible through the CIOS Growth Hub.

We are mindful of the fact that the grants are valuable funding which will naturally take time to obtain. In addition, when discussing future plans with our clients, this will be part of the toolkit which businesses should be thinking about using over the medium term. This piece focuses on the CIOS Growth Hub there are Growth Hubs across the South West and support and grants will be available there too.