Impact Report

Intake Process

Each intake takes approximately 10 weeks from the submission deadline to the final decision – specific dates, criteria and the available funding envelope for each intake may vary. Here is how the process works:

Applications must be received by 5pm on the deadline date. Applications received after this time will only be accepted if you have agreement in writing from the Innovation Fund prior to the deadline time and date.

Applications are reviewed by an assessment panel. Only successful shortlisted candidates will proceed to the next stage. If you are successful, you will be assigned a liaison person(s) to provide feedback from the Investment board, and to help guide you through the remainder of the process.

Applications

Gate 1 - Shortlisting

Shortlisted candidates who progress to the next round are announced. Shortlisted candidates develop final proposal documentation and a pitch video. With guidance from your liaison, you will develop your final proposal in the form of a document called an Investment Proposal and a simple video based presentation. The Investment Proposal is a more detailed explanation of your idea and covers information such as: what's the crucial problem you're trying to solve, what are you planning to do, how are you planning to do it, what does success look like, and what are the deliverables, timing, and financials.

Final proposal submission deadline

Your final proposal document must be received by 5pm NZT of the deadline date. There will be a gap between the deadline and the final funding decisions to allow the assessment panel review your proposal and pitch video. It's important to ensure your information is clearly articulated and concise to help with assessment and decision making.

Gate 2 - Funding Decisions

After reviewing the material submitted by the shortlisted candidates, the Investment Board makes their funding decisions. The Innovation Fund Management team will contact in the following days you to let you know of the outcome. Good luck!

What to expect next

For successful candidates, the Innovation Fund team will work with you through a statement of work and some other paperwork to release the funds. This process takes approximately 8 weeks but may take longer for complex pieces of work. After the statement of work has been finalised and the initial funds released, there will be regular touch points with the Innovation Fund to monitor and support your progress. Throughout the project there will be opportunities to celebrate your success in social and regular media and at the end of your project, a case study will be published on the Innovation Funds website, and you will become part of our alumni.

Who we fund

We provide funding and expertise that support the identification, validation and championing of innovative ideas and opportunities that make a difference for all New Zealanders.

Those with:

A great idea that could provide value to the New Zealand government, Westpac, New Zealander businesses and citizens
A unique proposition
Commercial potential
Some, or all, of the above

Those who are:

New Zealand Government agencies
New Zealand Private businesses or organisations
New Zealand citizens and residents

Why apply

What you receive:

Funding and hands on help bringing your idea to life
Access to our network of experts
A critical review of your idea by industry experts
Promotion and championing of your initiative

FAQs

We will provide guidance of the funding available for each intake. You may request more (or less) than the intake budget, however the amount awarded to successful candidates is at the discretion of the Investment Board Panel.

Yes. There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit.

Yes. In fact we are positively disposed to a proposition having multiple backers

No, not generally. In fact, we will help you look at ways to help you protect your intellectual property.

We do not enforce a particular method, but we have a preference for experimentation, problem and solution validation, proof of value, proof of concept, MVP’s, human centred design thinking and agile development practices.

You must be a New Zealand Government agency or department, a New Zealand company or community organisation, or a New Zealand Citizen or Permanent Resident, or to be eligible to apply for the fund.

Terms & Conditions

Please refer to our Terms and Conditions (if you like that sort of thing)

Terms & Conditions