Grant Pro Tip

What is a government grant consultant?A government grant consultant can help you with finding and preparing government grant applications. Hopefully getting you cash too!Why are grant application consultants needed?Despite the Government’s efforts to cut red tape, grant applications still take a long time to write and prepare.Sometimes I will spend 40+ hours preparing a grant application.What does a grant application consultant do?A government grant application consultant will research, scope and write the application. It is my job to align your project to the objectives of the government grant.I will work out what to focus on to present the best possible case for funding. I will also focus on what areas are of risk and need to be addressed.For example, it is a government grant consultant’s job to know that a particular industry grant is heavily geared towards job creation and local economic impact, and I will highlight this in the application.How do I get a government grant?I get lots of enquiries from people wanting to know how to get government funding.Many grants are designed to have companies draft and submit their own applications.Each grant will be accompanied by guidelines, including submission dates, grant merits, funding focuses, with varying degrees of detail.The process of applying for a grant is usually time consuming, something which many companies in need of funding don’t have.For example, the Accelerating Commercialisation grant is a six-month process from Expression of Interest, to formal application, to application review and rewrite, to board confirmation—this could be upwards of 75 hours of work.While you can do it yourself, it is usually more time-savvy to have professional government grant consultant prepare it.Why don’t I have my project leader draft the application?Many applications cross a wide range of important areas.Sure, you will need to break down technical specifications, but you will also need to provide things like commercial viability, business forecasting, and local and/or national impact.On top of this, the grant application will need to appeal to the political climate and the underlying focus of the government grant—things which may not be intuitive upon reading the guidelines.Many government grant consultants are skilled technical personnel with financial expertise, complemented with a contemporary knowledge of the funding climate.What kind of background should a government grant consultant have?Government grant consultants will come with a variety of skill sets, often relevant to the industry in which they are applying.Mostly, the consultant will have technical expertise in the form of a STEM background; and, they will have business analysis and financial experience for drafting budget and forecasts.How do I become a grant consultant?You need to be a clear and concise writer and good at getting information together.You should also be able to ‘make up’ a lot of stuff, when no information exists.A government grant consultant should be the one spearheading and controlling the application.This involves scoping the project, researching the relevant information, overseeing and drafting the application—providing overall guidance and control of its content and lens.A grant application specialist provides the much-needed knowledge of distilling which components should be highlighted, and where weaker elements need bolstering.The presentation of information and how it is emphasised is where the government grant consultant brings their knowledge.How much does grant writing cost?Depending on the experience of the grant application consultant you could be looking at between $100 to $500 per hour to write a grant.Some grant consultants charge a fixed fee, some a success fee and some charge a mixture of both.Typical fixed fees for small grants can cost around $5,000. For larger grants this can be $10,000 to $20,000.Typical success fees can be in the range of 10% to 20%.What does a government grant application look like?Almost all grant applications ask for the same information. If you answer these questions, then you will be 90% of the way there.Who are you?What do you do?What have you done?What are you going to do?Why are you going to do it?Why should we believe you?How much will it cost?What do professional grant consultants know?What you need to get a grant is:An A+ CompanyAn A+ ProjectTime to write the grant (30 + hours)An ability to convey points 1 and 2.A government grant consultant can come in to help with #3. I usually can also help get a B- company and a C+ project to an A- standard by using #4. Sometimes it is enough to scrape in, but sometimes not.It depends on the competition.