SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE
HIGH-GROWTH SPINOUT PROGRAMME
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
For further advice:
Please email hgsp@scotent.co.uk, or request the High-Growth Spinout Programme
team on 0845 607 8787.
www.scottish-enterprise.com/hgsp
HGSP Guidelines
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June 2015
1.
Introduction
1.1
Background to the High Growth Spin-Out Programme
The High Growth Spin-Out Programme (HGSP) supports the pre-commercialisation
of leading-edge technologies emerging from Scotland's universities, research
institutes and NHS Boards. It helps researchers to export their ideas and inventions
from the lab to the global marketplace. Applications can only be submitted by the
institution Technology Transfer Office and cannot be accepted from individual
academics, schools, departments or faculties.
The objective of the Programme is to assist existing, or create new, high-growth
companies based in Scotland, with the potential and capability to grow to companies
of scale and generate significant economic impact in Scotland. For the purposes of
this Programme, Scottish Enterprise (SE) defines company of scale as having the
potential to achieve at least £5 million additional turnover per annum or secure at
least £10 million commercial investment within 5 years of trading as a direct result of
licensing the intellectual assets which arise from supported projects.
The HGSP structure is shown in the diagram below.
Typically 3 years to move from Phase 1 to the end of Phase 3
Duration - 12 months;
Budget – up to £200k
Phase 2
Proof of Company
Working Prototype
Development
Commercial Opportunity
Development
Customer Engagement
Investor Engagement
Company Creation
Duration – Flexible
Budget – up to £400k
Spinout Company
Phase 3
Proof of Investment
License to Company
Building of Company
Advancement of Commercial
Product
Customer Traction
Private Sector Investment
Duration – Flexible
Budget – up to £400k
Growing Company on
Company of Scale Trajectory
Early Customer Engagement
Early Investor Engagement
Technology De-risking
Development and Structuring of
Commercial Opportunity
Host Institution
Company Formed
Gate Review
Phase 1
Proof of Commercial
Opportunity
Gate Review
Phase 1 Application Approved
Host Institution
TO
CoS
Project budgets pitched at the maximum amount for each phase will only be approved in exceptional
circumstances
Project delivery is split into 3 phases (typically lasting no more than 3 years in total)
as outlined below. All projects approved under the HGSP will enter at Phase 1.
Phase 1 - Proof of Commercial Opportunity (Fixed duration – 12 months). For
universities, funding may be provided by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). For
other research organisations, funding is provided by SE.
Key Aim: To take commercially focussed (not blue sky) research proposals to a point
at which the technology has been partially de-risked and shown to have commercial
potential through active participation in a structured process of customer interactions
Stage of Maturity: Typically Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2-3. The work will be
supported and undertaken within the host institution.
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Key activities: (a) engage with potential customers and demonstrate a market pull for
the technology by participating in SE’s Start Global process (please refer to Appendix
1); (b) de-risk the technology.
The anticipated outcomes from Phase 1 may include the application for further
support from Scottish Enterprise towards establishing a commercial outcome using a
Phase 2 Proof of Company award or, if appropriate, a licence of the background and
foreground intellectual assets associated with the Project to either an existing
Scottish company or the creation of a spin-out company.
Phase 2 - Proof of Company (duration flexible within overall timeline of 3 years
for Phases 1-3). This is available to any research institute.
Key Aim: To advance the technology and business proposition towards the
commercial opportunity identified in Phase 1. Create a working prototype that can be
shown to have beneficial effects in a relevant environment. Prepare to transition the
intellectual assets into a company setting.
Stage of Maturity: Typically TRLs 4-6. The work will be supported and undertaken
within the host institution.
Key activities: (a) Progress technical activity in response to customer feedback; (b)
Produce a fit-for-purpose business plan for realising the commercial opportunity
identified in Phase 1
Phase 3 - Proof of Investment (duration flexible within overall timeline of 3
years for Phases 1-3). This is available to companies spinning out as a result of
support through the High-Growth Spinout Programme.
Key Aim: To secure significant private sector finance to support the high growth
ambitions of the company.
Stage of Maturity: Typically TRLs 7-9. The work will be supported and undertaken
within the new company.
Key activities: (a) Advance customer/investor interactions to the point of securing the
required private sector finance to support the high growth ambitions of the company
by the end of Phase 3; (b) Recruitment/retention of key management positions
required to secure the identified private sector finance; (c) Continuation of
R&D/Product Development (TRL 7-9) in customer identified formulations in order to
secure the identified private sector finance; (d) Production of promotional materials,
travel and trade show attendance required to increase the global awareness of the
company and secure the private sector finance.
The HGSP Programme finances projects with strong commercialisation potential and
is not another source of research funding. Naturally, many of these projects
contain a high element of risk. In funding the projects, SE and the SFC are
committing a significant amount of resource (both in financial and personnel terms) to
enable the projects to realise their potential. As such, we have a rigorous
assessment process as described in this document. A high-level outline of the route
to approval is shown in Appendix 2.
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There are three calls for applications each year (please refer to the SE website for
further details). It is important that potential applications are discussed at the earliest
stage with the Technology Transfer or Commercialisation offices of your institution.
Your application should:
 Indicate the ways the proposed project will result in the successful creation of
a company based in Scotland with clear potential to grow into a company of
scale.
 Provide clear grounds that there is a demonstrable and real market
opportunity for the technology.
 Clearly express what must be undertaken to achieve the required commercial
outcome from the project.
 Describe the experience of key personnel; both in the research and
development (R&D) process and in the progression to commercialisation.
 Confirm that access to all prior intellectual property rights necessary for this
project have been secured and are owned by the institution and will be
licensed on appropriate terms to the proposed spinout or licensee company.
 Include a clear description of the proposed strategy for commercial
exploitation of the technology.
 Be realistic in terms of both the opportunity targeted in the application and the
position of the market.
 Provide realistic project costs.
 Provide a list of deliverables and milestone dates through which the project
progress can be monitored.
2.
The Application Form
Question
Project Title
Collaborating
Organisation(s)
Business Sector
Total Amount
Requested
HGSP Guidelines
Guidelines
Provide a non-confidential descriptive title of the proposal i.e. which can be
published, at SFC or SE’s discretion, without prejudicing IPR. The title should
be brief and be worded to engage and enthuse non-specialist readers, i.e.
suitable for marketing purposes for the project.
(15 words maximum)
Collaborations can only take place with Scottish institutions with which
confidentiality agreements are in place. If the collaborating institution does not
have a confidentiality agreement in place with SE please contact the HighGrowth Spinout Programme team at 0845 607 8787 or hgsp@scotent.co.uk to
arrange for an agreement to be put in place.
Select the relevant Business Sector for the application of your technology, e.g.
the correct sector for a proposal from a Dept of Physics which has a laser
based sensor for medical technology is Life Sciences rather than Technology
and Engineering. If your technology could be used in several business sectors,
please indicate the sector relevant to the initial application. A full list of relevant
sectors is outlined in Section 5.1 below.
This is for Phase 1. This figure and the detailed budget (section 9) may change
during project development and appraisal e.g. if additional costs are identified
or if the funds requested to undertake the work are found to be over or under
estimated.
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June 2015
Contact Details
Other SE Support
Resubmission
Indicate the name, postal address, email, phone of the commercialisation
contact responsible for submitting the application (this person will receive any
documents/written communications in relation to the project’s assessment), as
well as an additional address for legal correspondence. Also enter the name,
email address and phone number for the Principal Investigator and any CoInvestigators.
A Principal Investigator may only have one HGSP project being implemented at
a time. Confirm here if the PI is currently receiving any other SE support or
another proposal is being evaluated.
The same technical approach can only be resubmitted once. Note here if the
idea has been evaluated in the past.
Project Commercial Potential: These questions have been selected to give you an
opportunity to describe the opportunity. Please do NOT state the same information or
opinion in multiple answers. If you state in one answer e.g. the advantage of your
approach, do not state it again elsewhere.
Question
1. Abstract
2. Your
Technology
3. Intellectual
Assets
Guidelines
Give a very brief overview of your proposed project. Set the context of the
proposal by very briefly describing the commercial opportunity (i.e. the customer
problem to be solved) and how the technology you have demonstrated can
address it. (around 100 words)
In 2-3 sentences only, describe here what novel intellectual asset underpins the
project (e.g. invention, know-how, software, technical approach) identifying the
critical differentiator that will underpin commercial success. Do not describe here
the benefits of your approach, describe only the innovation. This section should
only be a factual description of the technology. Do not include why you consider
it superior to alternatives. (around 50 words)
Do not describe here the benefits of the technology. In describing what
intellectual assets will be available to be licensed, do not include your opinion of
what commercial advantage these assets may convey.
Confirm here that: a) all of the background IP (BIP), listed, that will be required
by the project, is already owned by the institution making this application and; b)
the BIP and all foreground IP (FIP) created during the project will be available to
be licensed, c) there are no agreements to licence any relevant BIP already in
place and d) no licence for any of the BIP or FIP will be entered into during the
Project. This section confirms that your institution has the rights to the intellectual
assets that underpin the opportunity. The background IP is referred to in the
standard contract and is listed as an appendix in this contract. A clear statement
is required here that clarifies what the nature of this IP is and that it is
unencumbered. Examples of encumbered IP are research that has been done
by an investigator/inventor whilst they were at a different organisation and work
that has been funded by e.g. a European grant where the collaborating partners
have been granted these rights. The IP situation should be clear e.g. rights
clarified with previous employers or partners, before the proposal is submitted.
Describe what foreground IP is anticipated to be created. What will the company
licensing these assets require?
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4. Benefits of
Your Innovation
Describe here what commercial advantage your disruptive innovation or unique
selling point (USP) offers your customers over the competition; e.g. achieve
performance superior to incumbents approach at lower cost in less time (be
specific on aspects of performance and quantitative throughout). What evidence
do you have that your technology will be able to displace the existing solution for
the problem, if there is an existing solution? Show here that you have a detailed
understanding of why your approach is better than the competition. Describe
what specific problem it is that your solution solves. We are not seeking a top
down view of the size of the opportunity. What we would like to understand is
what segment of the market is directly addressable by the technology. This
question requests that you estimate how many customers globally there are and
have a rough idea of what will be the selling price of your product or service. All
HGSP projects must have the potential to achieve turnover of £5m or secure
external investment upwards of £10m, 5 years after company formation. Some
technologies address an opportunity that creates a new market. In other cases,
there is an existing solution for the problem and the technology proposed has a
compelling sustainable advantage that will displace the incumbent. If
appropriate, you may mention any existing support for your approach you have
received from potential customers as this will greatly enhance your application.
Alternatively and additionally, you may provide examples of companies similar to
the company you aspire to create that have achieved high growth addressing
this market whilst also highlighting what commercial advantage/USP your
innovation offers over their offering.
(around 300 words)
5. Brief
Description of
Project
Describe briefly what will be done during the Project; e.g. the funding will be
used to employ 2 engineers who will build and test a demonstrator. Include what
technical level of maturity it has already reached. Has proof of principle been
demonstrated and what technology readiness level (TRL) will have been
reached by the conclusion of the project. Discuss whether there are any
regulatory hurdles to overcome. What will be achieved technically and
commercially by the end of the project? Make clear if there are regulations such
as clinical trials or CE marking etc. or legislation that affect your ability to trade or
secure further investment.
(around 150 words)
6. The Team
Indicate what roles, if any, it is currently envisaged those involved in
implementing the project may have in exploiting the outcome within the
company. Indicate how the Institution will work with SE to source a suitably
incentivised and high-quality management team. What personnel resources are
required to implement the project – have they been identified. University
recruitment processes have minimum required periods for advertising etc. so
take this into consideration when setting milestones and project start date.
Highlight whether any of the technical team have previous commercial
experience and have a desire to join the company to which the assets will be
licensed. Describe who will champion the commercial development of your
project and how they will be recruited. What other positions will be required and
when will they be recruited?
(around 100 words)
7. Partner and
Customer
Relationships
Describe briefly the Partner and Customer relationships the Team will require to
enable a successful outcome for the project. Why are these relationships
important? What partner relationships already exist and which will be developed
during the project? How will new customer relationships be developed? Describe
your links with the companies and third parties from whom you have gathered
the evidence that is presented in this proposal. What, if any, gaps are there in
your supply chain.
(around 100 words)
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8. The
Commercial
Vision
Explain your vision of how your innovation will enable the development of a
sustainable global company of scale based in Scotland either through spinout or
license. Summarize the type of business you currently expect to arise from this
project. What types of products and services will it provide and who will be its
customers? The HGSP supports proposals from those with the ambition to grow
a large company quickly (see question 4). Describe this aspiration and how it will
be achieved? Estimate what additional support you will require.
(around 200 words)
9. Detailed
budget
Personnel are only those specifically employed for the project (inc. salary,
pension, NI, etc. plus allowance for any increases during life of project) not for
those currently employed by the University. Justification of all costs included will
be discussed in detail in the event the proposal passes the initial assessment.
The budget is typically dominated by the cost of employing 1 or more RAs. It is
not usually appropriate to request large value items of equipment for a short
project. Overheads are not supported. Eligible costs are described in section
1.4.5 below.
10. Milestones
Describe the technical and more importantly the commercial milestones and
associated success criteria that will be used to measure the progress of the
project. Commercial milestones for Phase 1 projects must include:
- Commercial Champion chairing project meetings (start of project);
- Successful completion of Start Global Programme. Business Model Canvas
completed with all underlying assumptions tested with customers and target
product profile required for investment identified (by month 3);
- Agreed actions from Start Global implemented (month 4 onwards);
- First draft of route to commercial outcome (Commercialisation Plan) completed,
including clear identification of significant value inflection points (month 6);
- Material in support of progression to Phase 2 submitted (1 month prior to
Phase 2 entry panel meeting);
Technical milestones will be unique to the project e.g. attain efficiency of 80% for
unit X by month 10. Technical and commercial milestones should be clearly
marked, for example [T1] for Technical Milestone 1, [C2] for Commercial
Milestone 2 etc.
11. Estimated
Budget &
Timescale Phase 2 &
Phase 3
3.
These figures provide an indication of future budgetary requirements. You will
have the chance to amend these figures when in possession of more detailed
information during Phase 1.
Post-Submission Process
SE will convene an assessment panel to consider the commercial potential of all
proposals received at each Call date on a competitive basis.
In the event that the commercial proposition is not supported by the assessment
panel the proposal will be rejected and feedback provided. A new application for the
same subject matter can be submitted to a future Call only if it addresses all of the
previously highlighted concerns. Only one resubmission will be accepted.
If the commercial potential of the approach is evaluated to be of an acceptable level
of risk and therefore merits further assessment the proposal will move forward to the
project building and diligence phase. A significant and timely resource commitment
by the institution will be required at this stage of assessment.
HGSP Guidelines
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A SE Project Manager (PM) and Advisor will be assigned to work with the project
team to help build the project and gather the additional information required. The
Advisor is an SE-employed consultant with substantial background in business and
technology who helps to facilitate the commercial outcome of a project. Full support
and endorsement of the final version of the project by both the SE Project Manager
and the Advisor is mandatory in order for the application to be submitted for full
review.
Due diligence will examine the project in more detail to ensure that appropriate
budget and personnel are in place for the completion of the project and the
achievement of the expected commercial outcome. This will include:
 Commercial assurance, for which SE will provide resources, will ideally be
undertaken by someone who will remain with the team during the
implementation phase.
 SE will require evidence of the institution’s “freedom to operate” in
commercialising the proposed technology.
 SE will provide resources, where deemed necessary, to an R&D advisor to
undertake technical diligence.
The proposal may be terminated at any point during this phase if the PM and Advisor
believe the information gathered does not support the case for a HGSP project.
On completion of the project building and diligence phase, the project team may be
invited to present before an expert panel with relevant technical and commercial
expertise. The project team must include a Commercial Champion, with a skills and
experience profile aligned to the specification shown in Appendix 3. The panel review
may result in three outcomes:
-
endorsement of the project as is;
endorsement on condition that revisions suggested by the panel are made or
a recommendation by the panel that the project is not supported.
For projects which are endorsed, the schedule of project milestones agreed will
describe specific and, where possible, quantified targets which define precisely the
criteria to be used to decide if milestones are being achieved and the project should
continue once it is underway. These will form part of the contract issued.
4.
Confidentiality
Submissions to the High-Growth Spinout Programme are highly confidential and
commercially valuable. Please ensure that all drafts are clearly labelled as
confidential.
As part of the HGSP application and award process, SE has entered into agreements
with various institutions containing obligations of confidentiality in relation to
information received at any point during the application, award or project
management stages. Any individual involved with the High-Growth Spinout
Programme in the assessment of applications and/or the facilitation of awarded
projects has similarly entered into an agreement with Scottish Enterprise which
imposes obligations of confidentiality on them. For Scottish Enterprise staff, this is
addressed within employment terms which carry a duty of confidentiality; for
HGSP Guidelines
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June 2015
contractors it is addressed within the terms and conditions of the contract award.
Where an external assessor is used out with this group e.g. the GlobalScot network,
a separate confidentiality agreement will be put in place prior to the individual having
sight of any paperwork.
5.
Eligibility
5.1
Key Industry Sector/Other Emerging Technologies
Applications to the High-Growth Spinout Programme should be submitted against
one of the following key sector headings. In general the choice of heading should
reflect the key market sector that commercialisation of the proposed innovation is
expected to address in the first instance i.e. the industry in which the target
purchasers or end-users of the new innovation will be found:



















Aerospace, Defence and Marine
Chemical Sciences
Construction
Creative Technologies
Energy – Oil and Gas, Thermal Generation, CCS
Energy – Renewables and Low Carbon Technologies
Financial Services
Food and Drink
Life Sciences - Diagnostics
Life Sciences - Medical Devices
Life Sciences - MedTech
Life Sciences - Other
Life Sciences - Platforms
Life Sciences - Therapeutics
Manufacturing
Technology and Engineering
Textiles
Tourism
Other Emerging Technologies – for innovative technologies that fall out
with these areas
Your application should demonstrate a good understanding of the development
priorities in the industry sector you plan to address and also show how the proposed
innovative concept and the project will develop a commercial outcome which directly
addresses those priorities.
5.2
Institutions
Universities are eligible to submit proposals to Phase1, which may be funded by the
SFC. Other research organisations will be directly supported by SE.
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5.3
Collaborations
Applications from two or more Scottish institutions are welcomed but the application
must make clear which single institution will act as lead institution for the
collaboration. Also, a clear collaboration agreement must be in place between the
collaborating partners that outlines that the arising intellectual assets from the project
will be owned and available for licensing to the arising company, from the lead
institution only, before any project is funded or commences. For the avoidance of
doubt, all the arising intellectual assets from the project must be available for
licensing from the lead institution only, not from multiple partner institutions.
Collaborations can only be between Scottish institutions, each of whom is eligible in
their own right to apply to the Programme.
5.4
Sub-contracts
If the successful achievement of a project would clearly benefit from the involvement
of a third party organisation who would not qualify as an eligible collaborator on the
project (e.g. a non-Scottish academic institution or a commercial company) then this
may be achieved by a sub-contract. The reasonable costs of a sub-contract can be
included in the eligible costs for the HGSP funding provided there is full disclosure of
any common interests between the project team and proposed sub-contracted
suppliers and all applicable rules of procurement and competitive tendering have
been followed to ensure that the chosen sub-contractor’s offering is demonstrably the
best value for money.
5.5






Eligible Costs
Enter the overall forecast costs of the project by category.
Enter forecast project costs rounded to the nearest £1000.
It is important to the success of an application that the cost forecasts in the
application represent a robust and credible estimate of everything that will be
required to achieve the desired commercial outcome.
Enter description for each cost up to a limit of 20 words per cost line.
Estimated costs for Patenting should be included in this section.
Include sufficient time for project management – which is much higher than for a
research project.
In estimating the costs and duration of the Programme please note that Phase 1 and
Phase 2 supports pre-competitive development of innovative ideas to a point at
which a company can be formed and attract commercial investment or a licence to
an existing Scottish headquartered company can be agreed. Costs should not be
included where these would normally be covered by the commercial start-up
investment in a new company. The following list is a guide to which costs are eligible
but list any others which you feel should be considered. HGSP funding is not
available to cover contributions in kind or overheads such as Full Economic Cost. All
costs included in the estimate must actually be your responsibility and be paid by
you. Please note that any money spent on the project before the agreed project start
date will not be eligible for funding.
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Question
Personnel
Guidelines
 All persons working on a HGSP project must be under an
employment contract to the institution which explicitly
provides that any IP resulting from the person’s work will be
owned by the institution. Honorary or visiting Professors are
not employees of the institution - to employ academic visitors
from overseas on a HGSP project could be a breach of their
conditions for being in the UK.
 Where any member of staff is on a visa allowing them to
participate in the project, consideration must be given prior to
making an application of their likely ability to remain with the
spin-out company when the HGSP project is complete.
There are limited numbers of Graduate Entrepreneur visas
available across Institutes and the application must clearly
outline how this would be addressed.
 State the total number of staff involved in the project and the
percentage of their time they will spend on the project.
 Only the costs of those additional persons specifically
employed by the institution for the sole purpose of working
on the HGSP project are eligible. The personnel costs for
these specifically-recruited staff should be an overall figure,
including salary, national insurance and pension provision.
Also, due allowance should be made to accommodate any
salary increases or pay awards likely to occur during the life
of the project.
 Where personnel recruited to work on a project are paid on
academic pay-scales, the appropriate grade level should be
indicated in the application. Where personnel are recruited
out with academic pay-scales, an indication should be given
of how the appropriate level of salary costs has been
determined or estimated.
Consumables
Briefly describe the consumables you will be using in the project
and the associated costs. These should be technical and
project-specific consumables; general office consumables such
as stationery etc. will not normally be eligible for funding.
Additional
Essential
Equipment
We recognise that in some cases, equipment which would not
normally be provided by or available to the academic research
function is essential for proving the viability of commercialisation,
and leasing or subcontracting is either not an option or not cost
effective. If the required essential equipment falls within this
category then describe it here, together with its associated
costs. Expenditure on IT equipment, which must be used
exclusively for the purposes of the proposed project, will be
limited to the depreciated cost on a pro-rata basis over a 3 year
period within the life of the project.
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Subcontracting
In most instances, it may be best to contract out some of the
project work. Has make-or-buy been considered? State the
nature of this work, and the kind of suppliers to whom it is likely
to be subcontracted, together with the associated cost. All
subcontracting must be competitively tendered. If any
subcontracting is made from a ‘related party’, then proof that the
expenditure has been made on a ‘3rd party’, ‘arms-length’ basis
will be required should the project receive funding. ‘Related
parties’ include University spin-out businesses or any business
with which those involved in the project are in any way
connected. All anticipated instances of such expenditure must
be disclosed.
Individual project Principal Investigators and Commercialisation
Office staff will be responsible for ensuring that all Institutional
Policies and Procedures regarding the procurement of third
party assistance/ subcontractors (i.e. proper tendering
procedures) are adhered to.
Patenting
Provide an estimate of the direct costs to the project of patenting
or other forms of IP protection, as appropriate.
Champion
The time required for the Commercial Champion will vary
depending on the project and the skills and experience of the
Champion. Therefore the position may be filled as a full time
appointment or a part-time consultancy of typically 3 days per
week at a typical consultancy rate of ~£450/day across the
project may be more appropriate. It is anticipated that the
champion will attend and lead the project team in the Start
Global programme. The workload of the champion will vary and
any contracts should ensure an element of flexibility to
adequately provide for this.
Provide details of the nature and overall amount of any other
costs including travel and training.
Other
6.
Approval by Applicant Institution
If your application has not been endorsed by your institution’s local approval process,
it will not be considered for the High-Growth Spinout Programme. Approval must be
sought from the Commercialisation or Technology Transfer Office of your institution
which is responsible for co-ordinating and submitting applications to the HGSP. To
enable this, applications should be submitted by a member of your institution’s
commercialisation or technology transfer staff, and not by research staff. Any
applications received directly from research staff will be rejected.
7.
Equal Opportunities
Scottish Enterprise is committed to achieving Equal Opportunities. Principal
Investigators applying to the Programme may be invited to complete a short
questionnaire for equal opportunities monitoring purposes after their application has
been received. This data will be held securely and anonymously in a separate
location from the application and will be used for Equal Opportunities monitoring
purposes only.
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8.
State Aids
High-Growth Spinout Programme funding is provided for Phases 1 and 2 on the
basis that it does not constitute State Aid. Therefore the money must not be used in
such a way as to create a competitive advantage for any commercial venture during
the funding period.
This does not prevent a company from acting as a subcontractor in a project
provided that no direct competitive advantage accrues to the company and any IP
generated as a result of work carried out under the subcontract is owned solely by
the host institution with no restrictions on how they deal with it. All subcontracts or
any other procurement by a HGSP-funded project must comply with the host
institution’s rules on procurement and competitive tendering. It is expected that these
will be similar to SE’s own but, for the avoidance of doubt, the minimum standard of
best practice in these matters is the equivalent of SE’s own procedures.
If there is any doubt, in the first instance the applicants should contact their
commercialisation contact within the institution.
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Appendix 1 – Start Global Overview
The Start Global Programme is for new or early stage technology-based companies
with ambitions to go global.
It's an intensive 16 week programme designed to challenge you and help to validate
your business idea, and includes:

Workshops

Entrepreneurial training

One to one support

A market visit to explore global opportunities
The workshops cover subjects ranging from finance and disciplined entrepreneurship
to how to engage with customers and investors. Over the 16 weeks, you'll have six
one-to-one days with a specialist advisor, and by the end you'll be equipped with the
knowledge and skills to take your company into a global marketplace.
The programme admits up to ten companies, adopting a cohort approach to give you
an opportunity to learn from peers and experienced advisors. There is also support
from international mentors and professional service firms, meaning participants will
make contacts in productive networks.
To be part of the programme, your company will need to have the potential to
achieve turnover of £5 million, or secure external investment of £10 million within a
five year period. Your company will also need to be headquartered in Scotland, with
plans to operate globally
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Appendix 2 – Project Approval Route
Submit application by call
deadline
The Panel consists of a mixture of
internal and external reviewers
Assessment Panel review
application
SE project team assigned
Activities that support the strengthening and validation of
the application e.g primary market/customer
engagement, regulatory advice, IP landscaping advice
Due diligence
Presentation to Expert Panel
If project endorsed by the panel, the SE project
manager will prepare and submit an approval paper to
secure funding for the project
A project manager and commercial advisor will
be appointed to work with the applicants who
make it through the Panel stage
If due diligence completes and project team in place.
Panel members drawn from across UK and
potentially further afield. (Still TBC).
Project approval
Contract offer
Once the contract has been signed,
the project can commence
Project commences
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June 2015
Appendix 3 – Commercial Champion Specification

Project team commercial member whose job it is to conduct the commercial
engagement, build up the business proposition and direct the research to
meet the commercial ends.

Understanding of the applications of the science in the target commercial
sector to a level of being able to communicate the commercial priorities to the
scientists conducting the research. Should be able to understand the
experimental plans and results and be able to direct the research plan in
order to steer it to meet the customer and investor requirements.

Ability to lead the market research to identify
customers/partners/ investors for the product/service.

To represent the opportunity to external parties, and take a proactive role in
finding out what are the key experimental data for the technology.

To lead the preparation of external presentation materials for investor and
industry partnering, engagement and pitching.

Assume primary responsibility for the identification and engagement with
alternative sources of funding for the spinout company to support new
company creation and growth to achieve commercial success.

Likely that this role will transition to a Business Development or Chief
Operations Officer within the company (in rare cases could become CEO)
and will work with a more commercially experienced CEO recruited in early
stages of Phase 3.
with
potential
Likely Qualifications and Experience

PhD in relevant scientific discipline possibly with postdoctoral/ industrial
research or commercial experience in the field or even from the same original
group.

Still early in their career and no longer than 5 years from the bench.

Will be in a commercial role for at least 3 years, business development, sales,
marketing, ideally in a small SME that has secured commercial relationships
with an industrial partner.

Ideal source would be a product manager responsible for a technical product
group.

Responsible for all aspects of developing an investment proposition and fund
raising materials, product management, sales marketing strategy and
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June 2015
importantly interfacing with the research groups and the external market
place.

Must be able to engage portfolio scientists and build a team dynamic with a
common understanding of what is required to achieve a successful outcome.

Support project scientists in working to achieve technical plan, and
maintaining focus on commercial endpoints.
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June 2015