NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

No. 144

Schedule

The Business Development Programme

I Provision of Information

1 Boards shall endeavour to provide relevant and timely information for SMEs within the following main categories:

(a) The overall economic and regulatory environment in which businesses operate, highlighting the significance of particular developments for SMEs;

(b) New Zealand’s trading activity and the regional economy, highlighting opportunities for SMEs;

(c) Techniques to improve business skills;

(d) Sources of advice and assistance for SMEs.

II Business Capability Improvement

2 Assistance provided under the business capability improvement component may involve:

(a) Preliminary business appraisal—designed to assess individuals’ and businesses’ capability/skill and performance levels at a given point in time. This provides a basis for developing an ongoing programme for improving skill and performance levels and for considering what assistance can be offered to help the firm make progress; and/or

(b) Business training/educative element—based on skills/knowledge/capability gaps identified in the appraisal. Clients will be referred to business training of a level and duration appropriate to their needs to develop their capabilities/skills/performances; and/or

(c) Grant scheme—the provision of funding by which a client can test/apply the new capabilities/skills gained through the business training educative element. Three critical areas are skills in innovation/research and development, strategy, implementation; and/or

(d) Business Best Practice education and recognition initiatives including the Business Development Quality Awards—directed at fostering the application of total quality management principles and practices in New Zealand organisations, particularly SMEs. Businesses will be encouraged to apply total quality management principles:

  (i) by receiving advice and information; and

  (ii) by having their achievement recognised through the Business Development Quality Awards.

II.a Preliminary business appraisal component

3 This component will focus on 8 business capabilities:

• business planning
• marketing
• operations management
• financial and information systems
• organisation and human resource management
• product design, research and development management
• quality
• environmental management

4 The appraisal will be carried out by a person selected by the applicant. A grant of up to $500 (G.S.T. inclusive) may be provided. No grant will exceed 50% of the cost of the appraisal. The maximum grant will be $500.

5 A pre-appraisal may be carried out for individual (non-SMEs) applicants by the Board for free. This may be a substitute for a full business appraisal.

II.b Business training/educative component

6 The eight capabilities covered in the preliminary business appraisal component provide the basis for this component.

It involves a training/educative element which is based on skills/knowledge/capability gaps which have been identified through the appraisals.

7 Boards will refer applicants to persons or entities who provide training in the relevant skill. No money will be provided by the Board to individual course attendees under this component.

8 Where the costs of running a seminar or training meeting cannot be met in full by fees paid by participants, Boards may underwrite the trainer’s fees.

II.c Grant scheme

9 The purpose of the grant scheme is to provide funding by which a business can test/apply relevant capabilities/skills (either gained through the business education training package or independently acquired). Grant money may be available for activities in the following three areas:

i) innovation/research and development,
ii) strategy,
iii) implementation.

10 The strategy element will help businesses to determine their goals and objectives, ways of meeting them, and identify any necessary resource requirements. The innovation/research and development and implementation elements will enable businesses to test this strategic focus. A strategic review option is also available to measure progress and to make any modifications necessary to enable the business’ long-term objectives to be kept in focus.

Limits

11 Assistance is offered on the basis of one dollar of funding under the scheme for every dollar contributed by the applicant to a maximum grant of $50,000 for all time to any one applicant. Applicants can make any number of applications against this $50,000 maximum but approvals are subject to a maximum of $20,000 in any one July/June year. The $50,000 and $20,000 maximums apply to the amounts actually uplifted. Grants are G.S.T. inclusive.

12 Any grant for the innovation/research and development component shall not exceed $10,000 per annum.

II.d Elements of the grant component—further details

Innovation/research and development

13 This element will cover the following 8 areas:

(a) Market assessments
(b) Financial analysis (budgets, cash flows, pricing and costing and funding needs)
(c) Research and Development, including the development of prototypes
(d) Production feasibility studies
(e) Intellectual property protection
(f) Accessing technology
(g) Regulatory requirements
(h) Distribution

14 Applicants seeking a grant under the innovation/research and development element will have to show that they are developing a product/service new to the region (research and development component) or that they are looking to introduce new technology into an existing product or service (innovation component).

Strategy

15 As noted in clause 3 of this Schedule, eight capability areas will be covered. The maximum grant under this element is $20,000 per annum.

Implementation

16 This element will cover 5 areas each with a maximum 50% grant component: