This is a competitive development program for technological innovations. NSW has great strengths in research across a wide range of scientific fields. Fund supports the translation of research into devices and systems ready for commercialisation.
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: From $200,000 to $5,000,000
- Application opened: 4 March 2022
- Application closed: 2 May 2022
Program objective
The Physical Sciences Fund (PSF) is a competitive development and commercialisation program for technological innovations in NSW.
The $5 million fund aims to deliver significant social, economic and environmental benefits to NSW by providing financial support for the development of new and innovative devices and systems within NSW, across the branches of the physical sciences and engineering, including physics, chemistry, astronomy and the earth sciences.
This program is funded and administered by Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible for the PSF, applicants must be:
- based and headquartered in NSW and be 1 of the following:
- a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (including a company limited by guarantee) that has an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
- an individual or partnership who agrees to form a company under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) so that DEIT can enter into a legally binding Deed of Agreement, or
- a NSW public research organisation applying through its appropriate technology transfer office or the Chief Executive Officer (or equivalent) of the research organisation that will become a separate entity before entering into a legally binding Deed of Agreement with DEIT.
Applicants must hold the intellectual property or the rights to commercialise the device, system or innovation.
Who can't apply
Ineligible applicants include:
- Australian or NSW Government agencies, local government, state owned corporations or statutory authorities, Australian subsidiaries of international companies
- businesses with an annual revenue (excluding grant funding) of more than $2.5 million in a financial year
- businesses that are insolvent
- an individual, unincorporated association or partnership that will not form a company under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
Most recent recipients
What your application needs to include
Stage 1: Preliminary application
Preliminary applications must include:
- a brief overview of the proposal and how it meets the eligibility criteria
- details of the applicant/partners involved (including any existing collaborative partnerships with industry organisations) and the impact/rationale for the grant sought
- schedule of the estimated costs of commercialisation of the product
- why sufficient funding for the entire project cannot be accessed from alternative sources
- project/product development stage, the value and type of support requested, estimated total cost of the project
- a short description of the project’s expected benefits, including how it will facilitate commercialisation
- the intended location of the project in NSW and any alternative locations being considered in other jurisdictions
- a 2-minute video clearly explaining the scientific and technological basis for the device/system (including imagery of the device/system), how it works, the intended outcome/benefit to the community, and how the funding would be used to drive commercialisation
- how the project aligns to the roadmap and framework.
Stage 2: Full application
Applicants who are invited to submit a full application must submit a more detailed application that is assessed by the expert panel. The expert panel will assess full applications on the extent to which proposals address the assessment criteria.
Applications must include:
- details of how the proposal would be implemented, the requirements for successful implementation and identified risks and their mitigants and/or controls
- details of whether the applicant has other income streams (such as other active businesses) and why they cannot be used to fund the proposal
- details of the market structure (such as supply chain logistics, end customers, distribution stream)
- details of the project governance structure (such as project board, advisory boards, stakeholders)
- details of any other co-contributions to the project, including from the applicant and other sources
- demonstrate capability and capacity to deliver the project.
Applications must outline answers to the questions related to these criteria to enable the application to be assessed (unless indicated not applicable).
As it is a competitive grants process, the assessment will be a comparative assessment of the application against all other eligible applications.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology or their delegate, being the DEIT Secretary or a Deputy Secretary-level senior executive in DEIT.
Decision making
Assessment will be merit- based against the assessment criteria and competitive, and the NSW Government may choose not to award or recommend funding under this program.
The expert panel will provide its recommendations to the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology. The expert panel recommendations will include what proposals to fund, the amount and type of funding, and any specific funding conditions.
The final decision by the Minister or delegate will be recorded in writing and any departure from the Infrastructure assessment panel's recommendation will be documented with reasons for the variation and published. Records relating to the decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998.
Support and contact
Email: grants@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au
Phone: 02 9228 5769