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By Penny Farnsworth, Senior Advisor, Grant Office & Professional Advisory
As grant writers, we’re often asked what makes a grant application succeed. The answer isn’t always clear cut, because apart from the obvious such as meeting the eligibility criteria, demonstrating need and your capacity to deliver, grant funders can and do sometimes take other factors into account when making decisions. These factors usually relate to:
- geographic spread, including quotas for states and territories,
- relative need,
- strategic alignment with government priorities,
- the level of risk in the project (some grant programs actively seek out innovative and riskier proposals, while others see risk as a big red flag), and
- a council’s history.
Government agencies follow strict rules and guidelines in running grant programs, particularly in the assessment and award processes. The Commonwealth Grant Rules and Principles and the Queensland Government Financial Accountability Handbook Volume 6 – Grant Management set out the requirements most likely to apply to grants open to councils. While most agencies adhere to these guidelines and procedures, a quick read of audit reports can reveal cases where auditors have found room for improvement.
Councils and grant writers clearly can’t control these external factors but in preparing a grant application, we can do a great deal to boost the chances of success. Much of this lies in the preparation – having the right evidence to support your claims against the selection criteria and to make your case a strong and compelling one.
The most used criteria tend to relate to:
- the need for the project,
- the need for the external investment,
- why the proposal is the most appropriate solution and whether alternatives have been considered,
- value for money and/or cost benefit,
- community or regional benefits,
- community and stakeholder support,
- strategic alignment with the funder’s priorities,
- council’s capacity to deliver, considering previous project management experience and performance.
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In this article we will focus on demonstrating the need for a project.
Demonstrating the need for a project
The evidence required to demonstrate the need for a project will vary according to the nature of the project, including whether it is an infrastructure or service delivery project. In preparing applications, we will often draw upon publicly available demographic information that can demonstrate the size and population of a local government area, the level of disadvantage in a community, the level of remoteness and the number and availability of services. If you’re interested, the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office website can generate a report for your local government area in less than a minute - view it here https://statistics.qgso.qld.gov.au/qld-regional-profiles
Where appropriate, we will supplement this with information from council annual reports and plans, and other related documents. What can make an application stand out, however, is supporting material that helps ‘tell the story’ – these include:
- photographs of degraded infrastructure,
- evidence of long waiting lists for services,
- case studies (appropriately de-personalised),
- engineering or inspection reports,
- media articles,
- bills, and
- records of customer feedback about infrastructure conditions (e.g. pothole reports, bridge closures etc.) or service delivery gaps (libraries, facilities etc.).
Photographic evidence can be particularly compelling when seeking funding for infrastructure repairs and upgrades and don’t be afraid to show the ‘asset’ at its worst. Media reports can also be very persuasive in demonstrating that a situation is bad enough to ‘hit the press’ and that failure to find a solution might also be a newsworthy story.
Community and stakeholder feedback/surveys can be helpful to provide evidence of both the need for a project and support for the project from beneficiaries, partners, and other stakeholders. Surveys can be distributed quickly and cheaply and, if well designed, can significantly strengthen council’s case.
Being able to show that a project is part of council’s formal planning is critical in proving its importance. Aside from urgent, unexpected failures in infrastructure or services, it’s difficult to argue that a project is a top priority if it’s missing from key documents such as the corporate plan, operational plan, or targeted strategies like Disaster Resilience Action Plans, Local Housing Action Plans, Community Safety or Youth Development Strategies, and Economic or Tourism Development Plans. Consider updating these pans prior to applying for funding if worthwhile projects have been left out. Recording project discussions in council or community meetings, and noting support in the minutes, is another strong way to show community backing.
Demonstrating the need for external investment
This is usually a bit more straight forward, with council budgets and financial statements and government assessments of financial sustainability readily available online. We supplement this information with the relevant demographic data mentioned above and, if appropriate, highlight special circumstances such as low rates base, high levels of disadvantage, higher costs for goods and services and the impact of, or vulnerability to, natural disasters.
Many grant programs address specific needs, and we go above and beyond to make an application ‘stand out from the crowd’. In cases such as this, it can be worth looking at both co-investment and identifying other ways for council to contribute such as providing project leadership, mentoring, provision of accommodation, land etc. Smaller and more remote councils are unable to make large financial co-contributions but can often more than compensate by providing:
- additional, dedicated ‘in-kind’ support,
- seeking out strategic partnerships or sponsors,
- designing innovative service delivery models that achieve efficiencies, or
- showing a willingness to share benefits beyond the local area.
Where possible, setting aside a small financial contribution can also be helpful – tangible proof that a council with extremely limited resources is prepared to make a worthwhile investment.
We’re ready to help you get more grant funding.
Whether you need targeted support for a specific funding round or full project lifecycle management, we help fill critical resourcing gaps where you need it most. We’ll ensure projects are well-planned, strategically aligned, and supported from concept to acquittal, Peak Services provides the expertise, structure, and hands-on support needed to turn funding opportunities into successful projects. To discuss your next grant-funded project, contact grants@wearepeak.com.au