Business Grants Hub Service Offer and Catalogue · 3 Business Grants Hub Service Offer As part of the SGGA program, the government has asked the Business Grants Hubs to implement

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Department of Industry, Innovation and Science

July 2019 Version 1

Business Grants Hub Service Offer and Catalogue

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Contents

1 The Business Grants Hub

2 Working in Partnership with the Business Grants Hub 2.1 Policy Program Partnership 22.2 Our Responsibilities 22.3 Your Responsibilities 2

3 Business Grants Hub Service Offer 3.1 Governance arrangements 33.2 Standard offer 43.3 Program Lifecycle 53.4 Timing 53.5 Factors Outside our Control 63.6 New Policy Proposals 63.7 Quote for Services 63.8 Costings 63.9 Invoicing arrangements 83.10 Average Staffing Level (ASL) transfer 83.11 Business Grants Hub Service Offer summary 9

4 Business Grants Hub Service CataloguePhase 1: Engage 11Phase 2: Design 13Phase 3: Select 16Phase 4: Establish 18Phase 5: Manage 19Phase 6: Evaluate 21Ad-hoc grant opportunities 22

Appendix A – Glossary 24

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1 The Business Grants Hub

Our Vision – Delivering for Government. Valued by citizens.

Grants are fundamental to assisting the Government achieve its policy objectives and deliver benefits to citizens. The Government is streamlining and standardising grants administration for delivery through specialist grant hubs. The Business Grants Hub falls under the Streamlining Government Grants Administration (SGGA) Program.

We deliver the Business Grants Hub as part of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. We have a proud history working in a program policy partnership model through our AusIndustry divisions, which specialise in program and service design and implementation. AusIndustry has been the Government’s chief conduit to business for more than 20 years. We are now delivering programs to a broader customer base of business and business like organisations. Our customers include local government, research and higher education providers, not for profits, community organisations and schools.

We support Australian businesses, industries and regions to grow and transform. We help citizens strengthen their networks, find the right information, get expert advice and access government funding and concessions that meets their needs. We have an integrated service delivery model that maximises outcomes for customers and government, whilst allowing us to remain adaptive and responsive. Our people are networked and local to those we serve with staff in all capital cities and 16 regional centres. Our private sector partners helps us to deliver specialist business services and support peak work demands. Our integrated enabling technologies ensure our people and partners have the tools and insights they need to make timely evidence based decisions. Our online digital platforms offer a simple and convenient way to find, access and consume government information and services, supporting a personalised digital end to end customer experience.

At the Business Grants Hub we are committed to being an exemplar in grants design and administration. We work with you, our policy partners, to implement solutions that are fit-for-purpose, customer focused and consistent with whole-of-government frameworks and best practice.

Ultimately citizens benefit from efficient and effective grant administration with reduced administrative costs to government and increased outcomes from the completed grants.

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2.2 Our ResponsibilitiesThroughout the program lifecycle we commit to working in partnership with you to cost, design and deliver your grant opportunity in the most streamlined, efficient and effective way.

In providing our services, we commit to:

• working in partnership with you to ensure the most proportionate, streamlined, fit-for-purpose grant service possible

• managing and delivering all programs in accordance with our quality framework

• meeting our agreed implementation and delivery timeframes

• ensuring staff and contractors have the skills and experience they need to provide quality services

• being responsive to your feedback on our services• behaving ethically and acting with honesty,

due care and diligence• giving you accurate and up-to-date information and

responding promptly to enquiries• working in partnership with you to consider privacy

impacts under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) for the grant opportunity

• sensitively managing any information and data collected to meet our joint obligations under the Privacy Act and to ensure data integrity

• being open and transparent about our processes and conducting our dealings with integrity and honesty

• treating all customers fairly and equitably, and• operating in line with whole-of-government

frameworks, legislative requirements and best practice.

2.3 Your ResponsibilitiesThroughout the life of the program you will retain responsibility for key activities and approvals.

You will provide principal policy formulation and ministerial advice for programs, are accountable for achieving your policy objectives, and will assist with resolving any policy issues. You are responsible for:

• defining the intended policy outcomes and high-level design characteristics of the program

• accepting the quote for Business Grants Hub program services

• agreeing to and signing the Memorandum of Understanding (if required) and Services Schedule

• obtaining constitutional and legislative authority for the program, including if there are variations to the program’s design after the launch of the program

• managing ministerial approval of the guidelines• managing stakeholder consultations• managing media enquiries, events briefing and

associated communication materials• managing ministerial briefings and

whole-of-government reporting requirements• responding to questions at Senate Estimates• ongoing assessment and reporting on the performance

of your program• providing a timely response to requests for

input/feedback and/or approvals for evaluation activities

• owning and managing the program evaluation framework and implementation

• ensuring any legislative requirements/restrictions are communicated to us during the design of the program, and

• ensuring sufficient funds and ASL for the administration of the program.

2 Working in Partnership with the Business Grants Hub

2.1 Policy Program Partnership

Together we will work with you to deliver on your policy outcomes. We will work with you across the grant lifecycle to:

• improve the experience for grant applicants and grant recipients

• lower the delivery costs• balance risk with administrative simplicity, and• provide greater visibility of programs to government.

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3 Business Grants Hub Service Offer As part of the SGGA program, the government has asked the Business Grants Hubs to implement a streamlined and standardised approach to grants administration. To meet this obligation, and ensure we deliver grants consistent with best practice and at a cost effective price, we provide a standard service offer across the full lifecycle of the program.

3.1 Governance arrangementsWe use a suite of governance documents to formalise our interagency arrangements to enable the smooth delivery of your programs. We use a Memorandum of Understanding and Standard Reporting and Assurance Services Schedules between the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and your entity.

We will agree a Service Proposal (quote) and Services Schedule with you for each program or grant opportunity we deliver for you. The Services Schedule captures the governance arrangements, price, average staffing level, timing and agreed service level standards.

Each of the governance documents has a service level timeframe for action. If you don’t meet your commitment to respond within the service timeframe we cannot continue to commit resources to the program. This may impact delivery timeframes.

To on-board your program in the agreed timeframe we need the Service Proposal (your acceptance of our quote) signed before work commences. The Services Schedule must be signed prior to launch. We cannot launch any grant opportunity in the absence of the signed Services Schedule. This is essential to enter into arrangements with our workforce and has significant planning implications.

The Services Schedule may vary throughout the life of program to reflect any changes in the scope, resource requirements and/or price. We will work through any variations with you.

Governance document structure:

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3.2 Standard offerWe have outlined key elements of our standard offer below. Full details of key services and artefacts at each stage of the program lifecycle are in the Service Catalogue (section 4). If your grant opportunity requires additional services outside of our standard offer, we will work with you to agree on the service and price. We will report on our service levels on an annual basis. The standard offer for ad-hoc grants may differ from the standard in some aspects.

Our standard service offer includes:

Our suite of templates and standard documentation can be accessed on the Policy Partner Portal. Your Account Manager will set up access to the Policy Partner Portal when we start working with you.

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3.3 Program LifecycleAll grant opportunities administered by the Business Grants Hub follow the program lifecycle (below).

3.4 TimingSuccessful program delivery requires us to work in partnership. We commit to meet our obligations and service levels in the Service Catalogue. We expect you to respond in a timely manner to meet your obligations and avoid delays in delivering your grant opportunity. We will work with you to schedule the key program milestones including launch, application opening and closing dates, application assessment timeframes, decisions and execution of grant agreements. It is essential that we agree these key dates as early as possible so we can allocate appropriate resourcing. Once timeframes have been agreed, any changes may result in increased price and may require renegotiation of delivery points.

The typical timeframe from initial contact to launch is 12 to 16 weeks. ad-hoc grant opportunities are on-boarded in a shorter timeframe. Application assessment timeframes are typically between six and eight weeks depending on volume and assessment requirements.

Use the timeframe (below) as a guide only. We will work with you to agree on the implementation timeframes for your program.

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3.5 Factors Outside our ControlSometimes there are factors outside our control which may impact timing of grant opportunities. These include ministerial commitments due to national emergency, caretaker periods, machinery of government, and other factors. We will work with you to achieve the best results in delivering your programs within the agreed time in these circumstances.

If your program requires urgent attention and delivery timeframes we will work with you to agree on a fast-tracked implementation timeframe. Any urgent work may be at an additional price to cover resourcing requirements.

3.6 New Policy ProposalsWe provide review, design and costing advice at the New Policy Proposal (NPP) stage. We do not charge for our typical costing service. We strongly encourage you to work closely with us when developing your NPP to define your program assumptions appropriately in order to secure adequate funding for the administration of your grant. Additionally we will ensure streamlined grant design principles are incorporated to avoid complex and expensive administrative arrangements.

We know that for some grant opportunities, design parameters can change during the NPP drafting process and require multiple costings. We will provide three costings for each grant opportunity. We will charge you for each additional costing.

Our pricing methodology and model has been shared with the Department of Finance. When a New Policy Proposal is costed we share the costing with the Department of Finance.

3.7 Quote for ServicesTo obtain a costing quote, you will need to provide initial details of the program, including the objective, the expected target customer, the type and value of grants and the grant length. You will provide this information in our program snapshot and checklist template provided by your Account Manager.

We will discuss the program details with you to:

• understand your requirements,• determine the most appropriate design, and • calculate the price (cost) and Average Staffing Level (ASL) for administering your grant opportunity.

3.8 CostingsWe have updated our pricing schedule to reflect our business maturity, robust frameworks and streamlined services. We have an activity based pricing schedule that is centred around our standard services offer, your program assumptions and additional services. We use the model to calculate the resource requirements (both staff and cost) based on the activities to be undertaken for your program, the time to complete the activities and the resourcing levels that undertake the activities. Our standard ASL split is 70 per cent ASL and 30 per cent contractors. Activity times can vary depending on the grant opportunity pattern, volume, technical complexity and delivery timeframes.

Our standardised and streamlined model for costing and delivering your grant opportunity is based on the grant opportunity patterns (below). Our offer is based on standard services and includes a range of optional services that you can add to your package. Included in the price for services is a base fee for your program to be set up on the system. Your Account Manager will work with you to agree your program assumptions and provide you with a costing. Sometimes we will use contractors to deliver some services and this will be reflected in your costing.

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The following indicates the standard and additional services for each grant opportunity pattern:

Grant Opportunity Patterns

Grant Patterns Merit Based Eligibility Based Ad-hoc Grant

Commonwealth Grant Rules

and Guidelines selection process

Open Competitive; Targeted or Restricted Competitive; Non-Competitive, Open; Closed Non-Competitive

Demand Driven One-Off Grant

Standard Services

• Grant Opportunity Guidlines

• Application Form

• Up to one Grant Agreement Type;

approval letter, exchange of letters, simple

or standard

• One payment arrangement

• One grant percentage

• Eligibility check against integrated databases

• Up to five assessment (merit) criteria with

three indicators

• Up to five program specific (KPI)

reporting questions

• Project reporting

• Management of funding and associated

compliance reporting

• Variations and terminations

• Fit-for-purpose Evaluation Ready

(may include program logic, data matrix and

an evaluation framework as required)

• Data certification



• Up to one Grant Agreement Type;

approval letter, exchange of letters, or

simple

• One payment arrangement

• One grant percentage

• Eligibility check against integrated

databases

• Project activity and expenditure eligibility

check


reporting questions




• Variations and terminations


(may include program logic, data matrix

and an evaluation framework as required)




• Standard grant agreement

• Eligibility check against integrated

databases

• Assessed on the basis of alignment

with the policy objective and value with

relevant money


reporting questions




• Initial and final payment


Additional Services

(Custom costing)

• Multiple grant agreement types

• Multiple grant percentages

• Multiple payment arrangments

• Eligibility check against other sources

• Assessment Committee

• Additional assessment (merit) criteria and/

or indicators

• Additional program specific (KPI) reporting

questions

• Substantiation audit, incl. site visit

• Technical project reporting

• Post project reporting

• Post Commencement; Monitoring and/or

Impact Evaluation

• Data governance and management services

• Two Stage process (Expression of Interest

and Application)

• Multiple grant agreement types

• Multiple grant percentages

• Multiple payment arrangments


• Additional program specific (KPI)

reporting questions


• Technical project reporting


• Data governance and management

services


• Up to five assessment (merit) criteria with

three indicators

• Additional assessment (merit) criteria

and/or indicators

• Additional program specific (KPI)

reporting questions

• Legal consutation


• Data governance and management

services

• Program Evaluation


(may include program logic, data matrix

and an evaluation framework as required)

• Post Commencement; Monitoring and/or

Impact Evaluation

We consider any services not outlined in this catalogue as bespoke solutions. Any bespoke requests will attract a price premium and may change the ASL split It will be at our discretion whether we can accommodate bespoke arrangements.

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3.9 Invoicing arrangementsThe fee for service charges will be based on the costing we agree with you.

We will invoice you based on the agreed costings on an annual basis.

If there are significant volume fluctuations and/or changes to the services required at any point during on-boarding or delivery of the grant opportunity, a revised costing will be required. Your Account Manager will discuss any changes to the costing with you. We will agree to any variations and capture this by varying the Services Schedule.

Ultimately, you will be invoiced based on the agreed costing annually.

3.10 Average Staffing Level (ASL) transferFollowing a decision of government on the delivery model of a program, you will transfer the relevant ASL to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS) based on the costing. When we use contractors to deliver aspects of your program this will reduce the ASL required.

You will formalise the ASL transfer with the Department of Finance.

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3.11 Business Grants Hub Service Offer summary

• Introduce you to the Business Grants Hub service offer and the project team

• Agree on assumptions, costings and timeframes for your program

• Provide costings for New Policy Proposal

• Review our governance arrangements and prepare the service proposal and services schedule

• Access to the Policy Partner Portal including our suite of documentation and templates

• Complete Program Snapshot and Checklist

• Review documentation on Policy Partner Portal

• Agree to assumptions

• Sign service proposal

• Sign services schedule

• Manage program approval process

• Manage program authority process

• 1-6 weeks

• Design solutions that are customer centred, fit-for-purpose and balance risk management with administrative simplicity

• Complete set of compliant grant program documentation

• Program specific digital platform and ‘standard’ process design configuration

• one grant agreement type

° one payment arrangement type ° one grant percentage ° eligibility criteria verified by

integrated databases ° up to five merit assessment criteria

and up to three indicators ° up to five program specific (KPI)

reporting questions• Fit-for-purpose Evaluation Ready

(program logic, data matrix and an evaluation framework as required)


• Additional program configuration:

° multiple grant agreement types ° multiple payment arrangements ° multiple grant percentages ° eligiblity criteria verified by

non-intergrated databases ° more than five merit assessment

criteria or more than three indicators ° additional program specific (KPI)

reporting questions ° additional progress e-reports ° post-project e-report

• Stakeholder consultation logistics and support

• Evaluation Framework

• Obtain constitutional advice and legislative authority

• Conduct stakeholder consultations

• Approve grant opportuity guidelines

• Manage escalations from central agency guideline approval

• Manage ministerial approval of grant opportunity guidelines

• Approve program delegations

• Approve, own and manage the program Evaluation Framework

• 10-12 weeks

• Multichannel program promotion

• Applicant support services through a range of channels

• Automated application submission

• Application assessment

• Recommendations packaged for decision maker

• Advice to applicants on assessment outcomes

• Regular standard program reports

• Engaging technical experts

• Assessment committee establishment and management

• Grant recipient announcement strategy

• Customer information sessions

• Endorse assessment framework

• Provide representation on departmental assessment panel

• Approve the assessment panel membership (if required)

• Brief your Minister or delegate on funding recommendations

• Brief your Minister on assessment outcomes and announcements

• Manage media enquires

• Manage whole-of-government reporting and ministerial briefing

• 6-8 weeks

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• Automated agreement generation

• Develop, negotiate and execute grant agreements with all successful applicants

• Publish details of executed agreements on GrantsConnect


• Manage feedback process with unsuccessful applicants

• Cost check pre-agreement

• Approx. 4 weeks

• Monitor project performance and aquit expenditure

• System generated payments

• Manage breaches and non-compliance

• Manage agreement variations and terminations

• Financial reporting

• Project status reporting


• Risk management

• Manage any internal fraud investigations

• Site visits

• Level 3 audits

• Post project reporting• Post-commencement Evaluation

• Manage administered funding

• Manage any budget re-profiling requests

• Manage any external fraud investigations

• Authorise agreement variations, terminations, or debt recovery (if required)

• Briefing policy owing Minister

• Manage debt recovery

• Length of grant projects

• Prepare program wind down plan

• Prepare closure and lessons learnt report

• Provide all program data to Policy Partner

• Evaluation - we will manage the evaluations set out in the evaluation framework if costed


• Input on policy aspects for evaluation (if costed)

• Briefing policy owning Minister on evaluation outcomes

• 12-26 weeks

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4 Business Grants Hub Service Catalogue

Phase 1: Engage

Services you Receive In the Engage phase we introduce you to:• the Business Grants Hub • our service offer• your dedicated Account Manager• your program team, and • what you can expect when we work together to on-board,

design, manage and deliver your program.

We provide advice on streamlined program design and implementation solutions leveraging our experience across diverse customer groups, policy domains and program models. We identify and agree on the program assumptions including high level design parameters, application metrics and program requirements to provide you with a delivery price Once the program funding is approved we will agree implementation timeframes with you.

During this phase we review our governance arrangements. If our agencies haven’t worked together before, we put a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Standard Reporting Services Schedule and Assurance Services Schedule in place. Once you accept the service proposal (quote) we will commence design work and prepare the program specific services schedule. The program specific services schedule must be signed by you before launch.

We set-up your access to our Policy Partner Portal for you to review our suite of documentation and templates. You will use the Policy Partner Portal to understand how we design, manage and deliver your program.

Basis of Costing Fixed Price

Our Responsibility • Provide an overview of the Business Grants Hub • Authorise access to the Policy Partner Portal• Assign a dedicated Account Manager• Capture design assumptions for a costing• Provide a costing, including Department of Finance

costing workbook• Liaise with your Department of Finance Agency Advice Unit for

any specific costing enquiries on our Business Grants Hub costing model

• Develop a Memorandum of Understanding and Standard Reporting services schedules and Assurance Services Schedule (if required)

• Develop program specific Service Proposal and Services Schedule

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Your Responsibility • Complete the Program Snapshot and Checklist for each costing request

• Agree to program assumptions• Provide SES Band 1 approval of the service proposal within

10 business days of receipt. We require your acceptance to commit our resources to program design and set up activities

• Provide SES Band 1 approval of the service schedule within five business days of receipt of the final version. We require your acceptance to commit our resources

• Access and read the information, documentation and templates provided on the Policy Partner Portal

• Approval processes for your New Policy Proposal• Advise us once the New Policy Proposal is approved and provide

costing agreement and decision minute reference

Key Deliverables • Costing• Service Proposal (including assumptions, costing and ASL)• High level project implementation plan, including

key milestone dates • Services Schedule

Business Grants Hub Requirement

Policy Partner Requirement

Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Costing provided within five business days of agreeing to the program assumptions (for New Policy Proposals)

Program assumptions agreed and accepted

80 per cent of costings provided within the timeframe

N/A

Service Proposal provided within five business days of agreeing to the program assumptions (for approved programs only)

Service Proposal signed within 10 business days of receipt

80 per cent of Service Proposals provided within the timeframe

N/A

Service Schedule provided within 10 business days of signature of the Service Proposal

Services Schedule signed with five business days of receipt

80 per cent of Service Schedules provided within the timeframe

N/A

TimeframesThe standard timeframes for the engage phase is approximately five weeks. Factors outside our control, including program complexity and/or change in program assumptions, can impact the timeframe. Once you sign the Service Proposal we will commence design work on your program in line with the agreed high level implementation timeframes.

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Phase 2: Design

Description The design phase involves co-creating your grant opportunity with you to deliver against the government’s policy objectives and outcomes. When we design your program we aim to do this in the most streamlined, efficient and cost effective way.

Program design involves:

• developing the strategic objectives and outcomes of the program, including fit-for-purpose Evaluation Ready services which may include program logic, data matrix and an evaluation framework as determined by us

• drafting grant opportunity guidelines• creating the governance framework (including delegations, program

authorisations and compliance arrangements) • designing the application form, grant agreement, reporting template

and configuring these through the Business Grant Management system• developing and providing training for the program delivery team• developing documentation to certify the data collected for the program• developing external content for publishing on business.gov.au and on

GrantConnect (grants.gov.au)• internal communications materials and briefing for internal stakeholders

For new grant opportunity rounds of programs currently managed and delivered by the Business Grants Hub our design and system configuration effort is less than the design effort for a new and/or complex grant opportunities.

Basis of Costing Fixed price based on grant opportunity pattern and service offer requirements

We will discuss and agree on these elements as part of the program assumptions and costings.

Key Deliverables • All program design documents: ° Program logic, data matrix and evaluation (if applicable) ° Grant opportunity guidelines ° Self assessment risk analysis (Department of Finance) ° Application form through our Business Grant Management system ° Configuration into Business Grant Management system ° Grant agreement(s) ° Program reporting template(s) ° Program privacy threshold assessment ° Program documentation including assessment framework

and procedures ° Program risk appetite statement ° Program risk and compliance plan ° Contact centre script ° business.gov.au and grants.gov.au content

• Standard reports (frequency and details outlined in the Standard Reporting Services Schedule)

http://www.grants.gov.au

https://www.business.gov.au/

http://grants.gov.au

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Our Responsibilities • Provide advice to design the most streamlined and efficient program to deliver your policy objectives

• Develop the program documentation and establish the customer interaction channel support requirements

• Work with you to agree our joint obligations under the Privacy Act and to undertake a Privacy Impact Assessment where required

• Prepare documentation in line with whole-of-government frameworks and processes

• Liaise with you to co-ordinate launch

Your Responsibilities The responsible Minister will approve the grant opportunity guidelines, launch the grant opportunity and you will provide the Minister with the necessary support.

To ensure your program launches on time and within budget you will:

• obtain constitutional advice and legislative authority for the program and share that with us

• be clear on the policy intent• work within the timeframes provided by your Account Manager in the

high level implementation plan• own approval of the guidelines through central agencies• brief your Minister • approve the program delegations• own and manage the program evaluation framework where applicable

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Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Successful launch of programs on the planned date

Provide approval of documents at the agreed dates in the implementation plan

100 per cent of all grant opportunities will launch and open for applications on the agreed date

Ministerial adjustments to the launch/application open date out of the Business Grants Hub and Policy Partner’s control

Publish grant opportunities on GrantConnect

Provide authority to publish grant opportunities on GrantConnect

Publish 100 per cent of grant opportunities on GrantConnect within timeframe required by Commonwealth grant Rules and Guidelines

Grant opportunities that are exempt from publishing will not be published on GrantConnect

Host grant opportunity information on business.gov.au

Maintain online content tailored to program audience

N/A Publish 100 per cent of grant opportunities on business.gov.au within timeframe required.

Content updates made within five business days

Urgent updates published, as negotiated

Grant opportunities that are exempt from publishing will not be published on business.gov.au

Develop, maintain and update contact centre scripts to support customer enquiries through three channels:

• phone• email and • web chat

These are available nationally from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday

Manage customer complaints and provide feedback

Escalate enquiries to Policy Partner as required if it relates to specific policy issues

Respond to escalations that require specialist policy guidance

Emails – 100 per cent responded to within 1 business day

Web chat – 90 per cent answered within 10 seconds

Inbound calls - 90 per cent answered within 10 seconds

N/A

Timeframes:Indicative timeframe based on the standard timeframes. We will agree on the implementation timeframes for your program in the engagement phase. The timeframe may need adjustment based on program complexity and responsiveness at key stages.



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Phase 3: Select

Description The select phase is where we review, assess and recommend applications.This phase involves:

• managing applicant enquiries• reviewing submitted applications • assessing applications against the program’s eligibility and

(where appropriate) assessment (merit) criteria• establishing and managing the assessment committee,

independent board or panel (if required)• providing the assessment, including recommendation to the

decision-maker for decision• communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants

regarding their applications, and• communicating assessment outcomes to relevant internal

and stakeholders

Basis of Costing Number of applications based on assessment complexity

Key Deliverables • Assessment documentation pack• Financial impact documentation • Decision letters to applicants• Standard reports (frequency and details outlined in the

Standard Reporting Services Schedule)

Our Responsibilities • Providing customers with advice through three channels - phone, email or web chat available nationally 8am to 8pm Monday – Friday

• Information sessions (if costed)• Promoting relevant program through our national network of

customer service managers and regional managers• Agreed selection process that meets program and policy

requirements• Assess applications in line with the assessment (merit) criteria in the

grant opportunity guidelines• Establish an assessment committee, independent board or panel

(if costed)• Manage the assessment committee with secretariat services

(if costed)• Package assessments and the financial impact overview for you• Notify applicants the outcomes of their application, following decision• Manage decision processes (if delegated to the Business Grants Hub)

Your Responsibilities • Endorse the assessment framework• Brief and support the responsible Minister or Policy Delegate drawing

on eligibility and (merit) assessment to support a decision• Manage the decision making process with the decision maker

(if Policy or Minister)• Manage ministerial announcement and media release• Provide decisions for all applications to us

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Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Be responsive to the concerns raised by Policy Partners

Engage with us if you have any concerns about the assessment process

More than a score of eight for Policy Partner satisfaction with assessment process (1 – 10)

N/A

Complete application assessment and provide recommendations in the agreed timeframe

Application decisions provided to the Business Grants Hub within the agreed timeframe

90 per cent of applications assessed within the agreed timeframes

Ministerial adjustments, caretaker period and/or election

Timeframes:We will agree to the assessment timeframe as part of the implementation timeframe. This is usually six to eight weeks. Factors including assessment requirements, committee arrangements and number of applications will contribute to your final assessment timeframe.

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Phase 4: Establish

Description In the establish phase is where we enter into grant agreements with the successful applicants. This involves developing, negotiating and execution of grant agreements.

We use the grant agreement template we agreed in the Design phase for all grant recipients. If there are multiple agreement types we will negotiate the appropriate grant agreement according to the requirements in the grant opportunity guidelines.

Basis of Costing Number of grant agreements based on grant agreement type

Key Deliverables • Grant agreement/s executed• Standard reports (frequency and detail outlined in the


Our Responsibilities • Negotiate and execute agreements with grant recipients using the agreed grant agreement template

• Payment and reporting in line with our standardised payment arrangement options

• Grants awarded reporting on GrantConnect

Your Responsibilities • Ongoing policy decisions (as necessary)• Manage media enquiries• Manage ministerial briefings and whole-of-government

requests



Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Grant agreement/s executed according to the agreed schedule

N/A More than 95 per cent of grant agreement/s signed within the agreed timeframes

Ministerial adjustments, caretaker period and/or an election

Complete grant agreements with no errors

N/A No errors in grant agreements

N/A

Publish grant opportunities on grants awarded on GrantConnect

Provide Authority to publish grants awarded on GrantConnect on your behalf

100 per cent if grants awarded published within timeframe required in Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines

N/A

Timeframes:We agree to the establish timeframes in the grant opportunity guidelines. The standard timeframe for contract negotiation and execution is often four weeks but may be more depending on your program requirements.

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Phase 5: Manage

Description The manage phase involves us managing your grant programs, including monitoring grant recipients’ compliance with their grant obligations. This includes:

• monitor grant recipients’ performance through project reporting

• manage funding against funding profile and associated compliance reporting

• manage variations to project agreements• manage terminations to projects, and• arrange for unspent funds to be repaid

Basis of Costing Number of grant agreements and variations

Key Deliverables • Grant reporting (progress and final reports)• Payments to grant recipients• Project audits• Manage breaches and non-compliance• Identify debts and raise account receivable invoices • Standard reports (frequency and detail outlined in the


Our Responsibilities • Manage grant agreements with grant recipients• Receive and assess progress and final reports and

pay grant recipients• Monitor and manage recipient performance including

compliance• Data collection as specified in the Evaluation Framework

for future evaluations• Identify and manage risks• Escalate issues early, as required• Review budget• Undertake cost checks to ensure proposed expenditure is in

line with grant opportunity guidelines (if required)• Standard reporting and briefing• Manage variations and/or terminations• Examine and evaluate independent project audit certificates• Manage site visits (if required)• Undertake post-commencement and/or monitoring

evaluations (if additional service is costed and agreed)

Your Responsibilities • Fraud investigations in accordance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework

• Program underspends and budget re-profiling

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Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Review and assess grant recipient reports within the agreed timeframe (usually 20 business days of satisfactory submission)

N/A More than 90 per cent of grant recipient reports reviewed within the agreed timeframe

N/A

Manage project variation requests within agreed timeframe

Confirm tolerance for project variations

Process more than 90 per cent of variations within the agreed timeframe

N/A

Manage project terminations within agreed timeframe

Provide direction to proceed with termination/s using the Termination Acceptance

Process more than 95 per cent of terminations within the agreement timeframe

N/A

Advise Policy Partner of program funding impacts, as required

Arrange program movement of fund with Department of Finance, as required

N/A N/A

Review and assess grant recipient final reports within the agreed timeframe (usually 20 business days of satisfactory submission)

N/A Assess more than 90 per cent of final reports within the agreed timeframe

N/A

Prepare and conduct project audit site visits, evaluate audit certificates, and undertake any follow-up actions (if required)

N/A Audit activities completed within four weeks

N/A

Identify debts and raise accounts receivable invoices for payment

Pursue unpaid debts for up to 90 days

Report on and handover outstanding debts more than 90 days overdue

Pursue debts older than 90 days or undertake write-off action

100 per cent tax invoices provided to customer within 30 days of approval of debt

Handover report provided to Policy Partner within one week of debt being overdue for 90 days

N/A

Process payments accurately and within the agreed time.

N/A More than 99 per cent of payments made without error

More than 95 per cent of payments made on time

N/A

ATO Taxable Payments Annual Report provided to Australian Tax Office on your behalf

N/A Provide the Australian Tax Office Taxable Payments Annual Report to ATO annually by 28 August

N/A

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Phase 6: Evaluate

Description In this phase we undertake program closure and lessons learnt report to close the program.

If we have costed and agreed to provide an evaluation, at the end of a program, we will undertake evaluation activities. During the evaluation we will assess if the program has met policy objectives and delivered the intended government outcomes, as agreed in the Evaluation Framework.

Basis of Costing Hours of Service

Key Deliverables • Program Closure report, including lessons learnt• Program evaluation report (if requested)• Customer satisfaction surveys (if requested)

Our Responsibilities • Prepare and provide the Program Closure report• Conduct Evaluation as agreed (if Evaluation is requested)• Standard reports (frequency and details outlined in the


Your Responsibilities • Participate in and contribute to evaluation process as required by the evaluation team (if Evaluation is requested)

• Approve evaluation report (if Evaluation is requested)



Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Program Closure report provided after all program activities are completed

N/A 95 per cent of Program Closure reports provide within the agreed timeframe to allow program evaluation to commence

N/A

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Ad-hoc grant opportunities

Description Ad-hoc grant services provide a concentrated set of activities across the grant program lifecycle: design, select, establish, manage and evaluate These types of grants aim to meet a specific need often due to urgency or other circumstances. They typically do not involve planned selection processes.

An ad-hoc grant may be appropriate where:

• An existing grant program cannot accommodate the ad-hoc grant activity

• An urgent payment needs to be made to a grant recipient to address an unexpected need

• It is a single grant for a purpose (not expected to be repeated)• The grant is generally not available to a range of applicants

If the fixed price ad-hoc grant offering is not appropriate due to the complexity of the ad-hoc grant we will work with you to agree costs.

Basis of Costing Fixed Price

Key Deliverables • Service Proposal• Services Schedule• All program design documents including:

° Ad-hoc grant opportunities guidelines ° Application form (if applicable) ° Grant agreement template ° Spending approval (if applicable)

• Application registration and eligibility confirmation (if applicable)• Application assessment and review (if applicable)• Advise applicants of application outcomes• Negotiate, issue and execute grant agreement• Grant reporting (progress and final reports) including payments• Project variations (if required)

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Our Responsibilities • Provide advice to design the most streamlined and efficient way to deliver your ad-hoc grant opportunity

• Develop the program documentation and establish the customer interaction channel support requirements

• Prepare documentation in line with whole-of-government frameworks and processes

• Assess application/s in line with the assessment (merit) criteria in the grant opportunity guidelines

• Notify applicant/s of the application outcome once a decision is made

• Negotiate and execute agreement/s with recipient/s using the agreed grant agreement template

• Payment and reporting in line with our standardised payment arrangement options

• Grants awarded reporting on GrantConnect• Manage grant agreements with recipient/s• Review progress reports and final report, including payment/s• Monitor and manage recipient performance including compliance• Identify and manage risks• Review budget• Standard reporting and briefing• Manage variations and/or terminations (if required)• Manage independent audit certificates and site visits (if required)• Manage program post project reports (if required)

Your Responsibilities • Sign Service Proposal• Sign Services Schedule • Manage the decision making process with the decision maker • Program underspends and budget re-profiling



Target Exceptions

Key Service Levels

Manage the ad-hoc grant to completion within the agreed time

N/A Launch and assess 95 per cent of ad-hoc grant opportunities within the agreed time

N/A

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Appendix A – Glossary

Term DefinitionAssessment (Merit) Criteria We offer a menu of standardised assessment (merit) criteria. You can choose three to five

assessment (merit) criteria and up to three indicators for each criterion. We will customise this depending on your program requirements.

Data Certification The Department’s four levels of data certification – bronze, silver, gold and platinum – signal that data can be discovered, understood, trusted and is reliable. It involves creating up-to-date and comprehensive metadata (additional information) to describe and accompany datasets.

• Bronze Certificate: the dataset is listed on our Dataset Register with accompanying metadata to make it discoverable.

• Silver Certificate: in addition to being certified Bronze, more metadata is available including the allowed sharing and release of data and definitions of data items to inform users about the data.

• Gold Certificate: In addition to being certified Silver, the quality of the data is analysed, monitored and managed to build trust in the data.

Under our standard service offer, your grant opportunity is certified Silver.

More information on the certification levels is in our data management factsheet on the Policy Partner Portal.

Data Laws We have a set of five principles called the Data Laws that outline how we govern, manage and share data. Our Data Laws align with current best practice in the Australian Public Service and comply with the Australian Government’s Public Data Policy.

More information is in our data management factsheet on the Policy Partner Portal.

Data governance and management

This service will provide users with assurance of how well we maintain the data collected for your program and that it can be relied upon. This builds trust and ensures more accurate reporting and program monitoring.

We will manage data in a standardised way, based on our Data Laws. We implement these using the Data Certification process. The following are key deliverables of Data Certification:

• dataset is catalogued – the dataset is listed on our dataset register with additional information

• data glossary – describes the contents of a dataset to improve the understanding of data that has been collected and used

• data sharing rules – a clear rights statement, detailing sharing rules, impacting legislation and copyrights of a dataset

• data quality issues log – identify and manage issues

Debt management We will manage debts for up to 90 days. If funds are not returned within 90 days, we transfer the debt to you with a handover report outlining the actions taken to pursue the debt.

Eligibility We offer a menu of standardised eligibility criteria. We will customise this depending on your program requirements.

Evaluation Ready The Evaluation Ready process ensures an evidence based platform for effective assessment of a program’s success or progress. We consider each program on a case by case basis. We provide a fit-for-purpose Evaluation Ready process based on the program requirements. This may include a program logic, data matrix and an evaluation framework as determined by our evaluation unit.

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Term Definition

Evaluation Framework Documentation which outlines the rationale for future evaluation activity over the specified years. It captures all the Evaluation Ready (Program Logic, Key Performance Indicators and data requirements) materials in a consolidated document.

Grant agreement – approval letter

This agreement, based on the Department of Finance’s template, works in conjunction with the application form as a single touch point, providing both grant approval and the terms and conditions of the grant in a single document. It does not require the grant recipient to return a signed agreement. The approval letter agreement takes effect from the date of the letter.

We use this agreement for low risk, low value, one-off grants, that have a set formula for calculating the grant amount and will not require a grant variation.

Grant agreement – exchange of letters

This agreement, based on the Department of Finance’s template, is sent to the grant recipient for signing and return to us for execution.

The grant becomes effective when we execute the agreement.

We use the exchange of letters agreement for low risk, low value grants such as eligibility based or competitive programs, including reimbursement schemes.

Grant agreement – simple (low risk)

This agreement, based on the Department of Finance’s low risk agreement, contains a greater number of terms and conditions than the approval letter and exchange of letter agreements. This agreement has additional clauses to cover the Commonwealth from risks relating to:

• activity or milestone dates• grant recipient insurance obligations• termination for default, and• the right to be repaid if the grant has not been spent in accordance with the

agreement

We use this agreement for low risk grants, which may contain several milestone payments and limited clauses addressing intellectual property, privacy and confidentiality.

Grant agreement – standard (medium-high risk)

This agreement, based on the Department of Finance medium risk agreement, uses the simple agreement as a starting point. It allows us to add further clauses to protect the Commonwealth against program specific risks for medium or higher risk programs. Additional clauses include:

• annual budget reviews• independent audits of eligible expenditure• privacy and confidentiality• reduction, suspension or termination options• step-in or transition options, and• dispute resolution mechanisms that determine how a dispute is to be litigated

We select the most appropriate additional clauses to include, depending on the program typology and relevant risks. Some clauses will be particularly important, depending on different program typologies:

• capex program - equipment and assets clause• innovation program - assignment and waiver clause, and• service delivery program - transition clause

We use this agreement for programs that:

• have complex granting arrangements• are higher in value• involve ongoing activities with significant interaction with third parties, and • may involve complex intellectual property rights

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Term Definition

Grant opportunity The Department of Finance uses the term ‘grant opportunity’ as a collective term to describe any grant round, invitation to apply or other such time when an applicant can apply for a grant as defined under the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines. A program may include multiple grant opportunities. For example, a four year program that has multiple funding rounds, each round is considered as a new grant opportunity.

Independent audit report This is a financial acquittal report prepared by an appropriately qualified auditor, independent of the grant recipient. It verifies that the grant recipient spent the funds in accordance with the grant agreement. It includes an acknowledgement that providing false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Code.

Payment type – advance payments

We make payments progressively in advance of expenditure based on grant recipient forecasts, commencing at execution of the grant agreement.

Payment type – initial advance payment followed by payments in arrears

We make an initial payment upon execution of the grant agreement to support set-up activity based on a grant recipient forecast. We make subsequent payments in arrears based on actual expenditure.

Payment type – payments in arrears

We make these payments progressively in arrears based on actual expenditure.

Payment type – progress ‘fixed’ payments

We link pre-defined payments to activities on a set schedule. We make payments provided projects are progressing against milestones.

Payment type – single upfront payment

We pay 100 per cent of the grant upon execution of the grant agreement.

Payment type – single payment at completion

We pay 100 per cent of the grant upon completion of the project.

Program logic At the heart of each program is a ‘theory of change’ by which policy planners determine the outcomes sought and how we achieve change. The program logic tool used to visually represent the theory of change for a program.

A program logic describes how an intervention contributes to a chain of results flowing from the inputs, participants and activities via short and medium outcomes to long-term impact. The program logic also considers the assumptions and external factors which may impact delivery.

Progress/periodic reporting Grant recipients provide either milestone reports or reports at pre-defined intervals, such as quarterly or six monthly. Payments are linked to reports provided projects are progressing against milestones.

Project budget – summary This table outlines the project’s expected budget by expenditure category and by financial year.

The grant recipient reports actual expenditure on the same basis. This table is also included in the grant agreement.

Service Level Measures the performance in the provision of our services. An example is the percentage of calls answered within a certain timeframe in our call centre.

Standard Program Reports Standard Program Reports are the reports generated for each program that are set out in the Standard Reporting Services Schedule and aligned with the Grant Program Lifecycle. Our standard reporting arrangements, including report contents and frequency, are available in Annex 1 of the Standard Reporting Schedule.

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Documents

Business Grants Hub Service Offer and Catalogue · 3 Business Grants Hub Service Offer As part of the SGGA program, the government has asked the Business Grants Hubs to implement