The Development stage

Your advisor will work with you to develop your project proposal and a draft application.

The application is then circulated to key members of the VisitScotland Marketing and Growth Fund teams to get feedback and suggestions for development.  

Once you receive the feedback you should work with your growth fund advisor to further develop your application.

What happens when your application is submitted?

When you submit the final draft of your application both you and your advisor should be confident that the application is in a successful format having taken on board all the feedback and suggestions received.  

Your application will be put forward to the next Growth Fund panel meeting which is made up of both staff from the VisitScotland Marketing, Business Engagement and Strategy Partnerships teams and an external industry representative.

The panel members all independently score your project against a set of criteria and then discuss each project on an individual basis.  

Once an outcome has been reached this decision will be communicated to the group within 2 working days.  

What happens if the application is successful?

If you're successful in securing funding you will be sent an agreement confirming the amount of the fund awarded together with details of the terms and conditions of the funding. This document is legally binding and must be signed and returned to your Growth Fund Advisor before any activity can commence.  

• On receipt of the signed agreement your advisor will issue you with the first 25% instalment of your funding.  You are then responsible as a group for implementing and managing the marketing project throughout the one year activity period.
• The middle 50% of your funding can be claimed in up to 4 claims. All claims are retrospective and require both original invoices and proof of payment to be provided.
• After your one year activity period you then have an additional three months to conclude any final monitoring and evaluation of the project.  The final 25% of the funding will be paid out on receipt of the remaining invoices and proof of payment and a satisfactory evaluation report.

What happens if the application is unsuccessful?

You will be issued with feedback on the reasons why the application has not been approved. We would always encourage groups to take the opportunity to discuss this feedback with their Growth Fund Advisor and if appropriate resubmit an amended application.