EforA Research and Development Fund

Application Form
Thank you for taking the time to complete an application form. The information you provide here is
confidential and will not be shared with any third parties unless agreed upon with you.
Please note the character count and be brief and concise in your response. Bullet points are
encouraged.
Section 1: R&D Project Information
1.1 R&D Project Title
(max. 100 characters)
1.2 R&D Project Summary
Please provide an executive
summary of your proposed project.
Your answer should concisely
articulate:
• the project idea;
• the problem or opportunity
it addresses;
• Your project’s aims and
objectives;
• your project approach or
methodology;
• an overview of your
organisation, or
partnership, and its
capacity to deliver the
project; and
• justification for why you
think the project will
succeed.

Please bear in mind that, should

your application be successful, this
summary may be made public, for
example in press releases.

(max. 3000 characters)

1.3 Alignment with EforA
Objectives and Scope
Please state how your project
aligns with:
1. EforA’s aim to accelerate
the availability, affordability,
efficiency and performance
of appliances used in off-
and weak-grid settings; and
2. the scope detailed in the
Guidance for Applicants.

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(max. 2000 characters)
1.4 Stage of R&D Project Early stage for feasibility studies
Please ensure the stage selected Mid-stage for industrial research
meets the definition given in the Late stage for experimental development
Guidance for Applicants.
1.5 Project Cost ($)
Please ensure your project budget
submitted in Section 8.1 to 8.4
matches this amount.
1.6 Grant Funding Requested ($)
Please ensure your project budget
submitted in Section 8.1 to 8.4
matches this amount.
1.7 R&D Project Locations
Please specify every region and
country where the R&D project will
be conducted, including the
locations of R&D facilities, labs,
field research and testing
locations, and management team.

Section 2: Technical evidence

2.1 Technical evidence
Please provide citations for, or
attach, relevant studies, reports,
third-party project references, or
other material, as evidence of the
need for, and likelihood of the
technical success of your R&D
project.

(max. 2000 characters)

Section 3: Impacts, benefits, and product market fit

3.1 Project Stakeholders and
Impacts
Please provide the following
information:
• Who may be impacted and
benefit from the results of your
project? Your answer should
include the potential number of
people, the geographical
location and the profile of

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 people that may ultimately
benefit from the results of the
R&D project (e.g. poorer
consumers, disabled people,
gender, age groups, income
levels, minorities, etc.).
• How will they benefit?
• How is the technology/product
adapted for the context of the
beneficiaries?
• Will women and men
experience these benefits
differently?
• Where available, please attach
relevant studies or reports as
evidence for your answer.

(max. 2000 characters)

3.2 Innovation and Additionality
Please state how the project
demonstrates innovation and adds
to, rather than duplicates, other
R&D activity. How would the
results of your R&D project test,
challenge, or improve on business
as usual? Where available, please
attach relevant studies or reports
as evidence for your answer.

(max. 2000 characters)

3.3 Market for Technology or
Product
Please describe the market for the
technology or product you are
conducting R&D on (e.g. potential
size, geographical reach, customer
segmentation), and how your
technology/product will be
competitive against similar,
existing technologies/products in
the market. What is your value
proposition? You need to
demonstrate that you understand
the market your R&D is aimed
towards. Where available, please
attach relevant studies or reports
as evidence for your answer.

(max. 2000 characters)

3.4 Scalability

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Assuming your R&D project is
successful, please describe the
next steps you will take to scale up
the solutions from your project to
reach your target market – taking
into consideration your current
position in the market and
including the resources and
funding you would require and how
you could secure this. If there is an
opportunity for other companies to
also replicate your solution to
reach a larger market, please
describe this.

(max. 2000 characters)

Section 4: Social inclusion and sustainability

4.1 Social Inclusion
Please describe how social
inclusion (including gender,
poverty, disability, age, minority
status, and location) will be
integrated into the management
and implementation of your project,
and how the results of the project
will be used to improve social
inclusion.

If your team is not gender-

balanced, please describe your
plan for building your team’s
gender capacity. Teams are
gender balanced where not more
than two-thirds of the members are
of the same gender (between one-
third and two-thirds of the project
team are women).

(max. 2000 characters)

4.2 Circularity, Sustainability and
Environmental Impact
Please describe how sustainability
and e-waste considerations will be
integrated into the technology or
product you are conducting R&D
on and further, demonstrate how,
beyond the product itself, your
innovation can have a positive
environmental impact. Your

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answer should take into
consideration recyclability,
reparability, durability, modularity,
interoperability, and/or circular
economy principles. Please also
demonstrate how you have
considered your innovation will
have a positive impact on the
environment.

(max. 2000 characters)

Section 5: Capacity and Qualifications

5.1 Partners, Sub-contractors Name:
and Supporting Parties Organisation type:
Please list any other organisations Role:
that will support your project as Location:
partners, sub-contractors or
Confirmed (Y/N):
supporting parties, including their
organisation type (e.g. business, Name:
non-profit, local authority, Organisation type:
government agency, research Role:
organisations, co-operative, etc.), Location:
and role. Where possible, please
Confirmed (Y/N):
attach letters of support from
partners, sub-contractors and Name:
supporting parties to demonstrate Organisation type:
their willingness to participate in Role:
your project. Location:
Confirmed (Y/N):
(max. 200 characters per field)
Name:
Organisation type:
Role:
Location:
Confirmed (Y/N):
Name:
Organisation type:
Role:
Location:
Confirmed (Y/N):
Name:
Organisation type:
Role:
Location:
Confirmed (Y/N):

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5.2 Relevant Experience and
Expertise
Please provide details that
demonstrate that your organisation
or partnership has or will access
the technical expertise and
relevant experience to successfully
deliver the R&D project. This may
include details of relevant work or
relevant projects in the same
technology area of focus. Where
possible, please attach evidence
for your answer.

(max. 2000 characters)

Section 6: Project team

6.1 Project Team Team member role:
Please provide the following details Team member name:
of the key personnel involved in Team member location:
the project (including any Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):
contractors or consultants) –role,
name, and relevant qualifications
and experience that demonstrate Team member role:
their track record in research and Team member name:
innovation in the project area. Team member location:
If you are applying as a Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):
partnership, include which
organisation each role is based in
in the “Role” field. Team member role:
Team member name:
Team member location:
Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

Team member role:

Team member name:
Team member location:
Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

Team member role:

Team member name:
Team member location:
Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

Team member role:

Team member name:
Team member location:

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 Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

Team member role:

Team member name:
Team member location:
Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

Team member role:

Team member name:
Team member location:
Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

Team member role:

Team member name:
Team member location:
Relevant qualifications and experience (max. 1000 characters):

6.2 Resources, Equipment and

Facilities
Please describe the resources,
equipment and facilities required
for the R&D project and how you
will access/procure them.

(max. 2000 characters)

6.3 Referees
Please provide up to three past
performance referees who can
speak to the ability of the applicant
organisation – including contact
information such as email and
phone number. Personal referees
are acceptable if a professional
referee is not available.

(max. 2000 characters)

Section 7: Project Implementation and Budget

7.1 R&D Project Implementation Timeline
Please specify the milestones within your project that you will work towards in order to achieve the
project’s aims and objectives – including the tasks for each milestone, milestone start and end dates, and
the specific and quantifiable deliverables for each milestone. Please note that milestones may overlap
but each milestone’s end date should occur after the previous milestone’s end date. You may specify a

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maximum of 7 milestones. At the end of each milestone you will be required to submit a milestone report
before grant funding is disbursed for that milestone.
Please assume the project starts no later than 1 October 2023.

(max. 500 characters per cell)

Milestone Milestone tasks Location Start End Deliverables
date Date

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7.2 VAT Yes
Is your organisation able to reclaim No
VAT?
7.3 Funding Sources
Please provide details of your
funding sources –
• Where are your match
funds coming from and are
they approved?
• Is the project supported by
any other external sources
of funding, or are there any
other factors that may
affect implementation of the
project?
• Can the project go ahead
without EforA funding?
• If so, what difference does
EforA funding make (e.g.
faster to source funding,
increased scope, more
partners, reduced risk,
etc.).
• What would happen if your
application is
unsuccessful?

(max. 2000 characters)

7.4 Monitoring and Evaluation
Please describe the M&E
methodology, and outcome and
impact metrics you will use to
evaluate the success of the
project. Please include an

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explanation of how these will be
collected and assessed, and any
assumptions made. Note: we
understand that these indicators
may change.

Should your application be

successful, the EforA Research
and Development Fund M&E team
will work with you to develop an
M&E plan using the template prior
to commencing your project and
will need to be included in the
grant agreement.

(max. 2000 characters)

7.5 Project Management
How will the project be managed
effectively? Please describe your
approach to project management,
including management reporting
lines, and key tools and systems
that will be used to ensure
successful project implementation
and value for money. How does
your management promote social
inclusion awareness and trainings
for your team?

(max. 2000 characters)

7.6 Project Risk Assessment
Please describe the risks and challenges associated with your R&D project and how these risks will be
managed – including, where appropriate, technical, gender, commercial, intellectual property,
organisational, social, cultural, political, regulatory, environmental, and health and safety risks.

(max. 500 characters per cell entry)

Risk description Likelihood Impact Risk mitigation strategy
(Very unlikely, Unlikely, (Low, Medium or High)
Possible, Likely, or
Very likely)

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 Section 8: Project Budget
– 8.4 Project Budget Tables
Please download the project budget spreadsheet, complete the budget tables, and upload the completed
budget below. Please note the following:
Value for money is one of the main categories by which your application will be scored.
Your budget figures entered in the spreadsheet must match with the project cost and grant
funding request that you entered for questions 1.5 and 1.6.
The grant amount requested in your final milestone must be at least 10% of your total grant
request. This final milestone grant disbursement will only be made after we have received,
reviewed and are satisfied with your project’s final report.

Section 9 – Important Information and Signature

Name of Application Contact:

Email address:

Telephone:

Data Protection

Application Form

Energy Saving Trust coordinates the Efficiency for Access Coalition together with CLASP. Energy Saving
Trust manages the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund. We will use your information for
the purpose of assessing and administering your funding application. We may need to contact you for
further information to support your application.

Your information will support the monitoring, analysis, and targeting of this programme, and we may contact
you in the future to request your feedback. Please see our full privacy statement downloadable from the
online portal or write to dataprotectionofficer@est.org.uk.

By signing this form, you confirm and agree that:

• The information provided in this application form is true, accurate and complete;
• You will advise the Energy Saving Trust of any changes to the information or circumstances that
may impact on this application;
• You will provide strong and effective leadership and management of this R&D project;
• Your organisation has the financial capacity to carry out the intended activities;
• There is no conflict of interest present between your organisation and the Energy Saving Trust or
Efficiency for Access Coalition;

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 • Your organisation and its key individuals are not involved in civil and/or criminal litigation;
• You have fully read, understand and agree to the Guidance for Applicants; and
• The Efficiency for Access Coalition and Energy Saving Trust accept no liability in respect of any
claim or cause of action arising out of, or in relation to the project that is the subject of this
application, and you will indemnify the Efficiency for Access Coalition and Energy Saving Trust for
any claim or liability arising out of or in relation to the project that is the subject of this application.

Authorised Signatory for Organisation

Print Full Name:

Position in Organisation:

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