Questions & Answers - The Innovation Fund

Innovation Fund projects must contribute to the achievement of WRAP’s retail programme targets, supporting the objectives of the Courtauld Commitment to:

•  Design out packaging waste growth by 2008
•  Deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste by March 2010 
•  Identify ways to tackle the problem of food waste

• R&D - support is available for projects up to the point of commercialisation (e.g. development, testing and trials)
• Innovation - demonstrate a novel approach, material, application or design
• Reduce household waste - demonstrate impact on consumer waste at home through packaging reduction and/or reduction of food waste
• Impact - demonstrate both potential for and a route to achievement of wider take up across the retail sector to deliver a substantial tonnage reduction in household waste
• Environmental benefit - to demonstrate a net environmental benefit (material reduction, recycled content, recyclability, reduced carbon impact and so on)
• Demonstrate value for money with regard to the above requirements, the quality of the proposal and strength of the delivery team.

Proposals are assessed against the following criteria to determine if they represent good value for money in respect of WRAP's objectives and, if successful, at what level of contribution from WRAP:

• Demonstration of the need for and level of WRAP support for projects to be realised.
• Impact of the innovation on the tonnage of household waste.
• Project partners (track record, ability to bring to market and scalability for adoption of innovation).
• The route map and barriers to wider take-up (scale and pace of adoption across the sector, potential limitations on application, complexity of sector, etc.).
• Innovation (the technical, design and other novel aspects of the proposal).
• Robustness of approach.
• Fit with the requirements of the tender (eligibility, compliance with state aid).
  

The results of supported projects will be made publicly available through reports and case studies on WRAP's website.  Individual plans will be developed with project partners to disseminate findings and encourage replication across the sector.

For further details and to explore how the Innovation Fund may be able to support your R&D activities, please contact Jane Curry by email or phone 01295 819686.

Visit www.wrap.org.uk/tenders for details of any Innovation Fund tenders being advertised.  They will also be mentioned on www.wrap.org.uk/retail.