Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program

The Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program (the Program) is designed to support activities that enable the innovation ecosystem to connect, learn and develop.

The Program supports innovation-enabling activities that:

• Drive equitable participation in the innovation sector
• Enable opportunities for startups in regional NSW and Western Sydney
• Connect local startups with investors and venture capitalists
• Support founders and startups to commericalise ideas and scale operations

Key information

Status:  Closed

Sponsorship Funding:   As a guide, applicants can apply for a sponsorship amount from $20,000 to $40,000. Other amounts may be awarded at the discretion of the Department.

Key dates:

Sponsorship guidelines

These guidelines contain information about the Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program (the Program), including:  

• the purpose of the Program
• the eligibility criteria
• how applications are assessed
• how the Program will be monitored and evaluated
• responsibilities and expectations in relation to the Program

You must read and understand the guidelines before applying.

Download Fostering Innovation Sponsorship GuidelinesDownload File

These guidelines may be updated by Investment NSW at any time. If this occurs, the revised guidelines or any addenda will be published on this website.

Eligibility

Applications must satisfy all eligibility criteria to be considered. Evidence will be requested during the application process to confirm eligibility.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Be a legal entity
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or be registered as a not-for-profit organisation
• Have appropriate public liability insurance cover for the proposed activity to the value of at least $10 million
• Be registered for the purposes of GST
• Have a business account with an Australian financial institution

You are not eligible to apply for the Program if you are:

• Insolvent
• An individual
• A Trust
• A Partnership
• An Unincorporated Association
• A Commonwealth, State, Territory or Local Government Agency or body excluding Government Corporate Entities
• an Organisation already receiving funding under the Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program for the proposed project
• any Organisation not included under ‘Who is eligible to apply' in the guidelines

Eligible Activities

For an activity to be eligible it must:

• be held in NSW
• generate direct benefits for innovation-intensive businesses
• support the strategic objectives and priorities of the NSW Government and Premier’s Department, specifically the NSW Industry PolicyExternal Link and NSW Innovation BlueprintExternal Link
• represent value for money in achieving sponsorship outcomes and be an efficient, effective and prudent use of resources

Examples of eligible sponsorship activities:

• Awards ceremony
• Pitch event
• Panel discussion
• Festival/Conference/Summit
• Networking event
• Research and publications

Examples of non-eligible costs:

• Prize money
• Grants/investment
• Insurance
• Costs incurred in the preparation of this application or related documentation
• Covering retrospective costs
• Wages (although funding can be used for fixed term staff appointed for the duration of the activity)
• Programs or projects i.e. accelerator programs
• Costs incurred during the normal course of business e.g. rent
• Activities delivered outside the funding period

Program objectives

The Program objectives are to: 

• align with NSW Government missions of housing, net zero and energy transition and local manufacturing, and the subsectors of biotechnology, digital technologies, food and agriculture and life sciences and healthcare
• enable opportunities for startups in regional NSW and Western Sydney
• connect local startups with investors and venture capitalists
• drive equitable participation in the innovation sector
• support founders and startups to commercialise ideas and scale operations
• ensure the program monitors the appropriate and effective use of public funds

How to apply

APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PROGRAM

Before applying, you must read and understand the guidelines and the sample sponsorship agreement, which are available on this page. 

To apply you must:

• Complete the Application Form in its entirety to be eligible for consideration.
• Provide a submission addressing:
  • All the eligibility criteria 
  • All the assessment criteria, and 
  • An indicative budget for the sponsorship funding provided
• Clearly mark any information that should be treated confidentially
• Submit your application by the deadline listed on the website

All eligible applicants will be assessed on merit against the assessment criteria. However, the Department, in its discretion, may choose not to award or recommend funding to applicants under the Program.

Assessment process

The Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program has a three-stage assessment process.

Stage 1: Eligibility Assessment

Applications will be assessed based on the eligibility criteria provided in this document. Applications submitted that do not meet eligibility criteria will not progress any further. Throughout the assessment process, we may request additional information from applicants.

Stage 2: Assessment Panel

Eligible applications will be competitively assessed by a panel from Investment NSW.

In addition to the assessment criteria, the panel may also consider other factors when reviewing an application including whether there are any conflicts of interest, whether the applicant and any person associated with the applicant are fit and proper and whether there is any reputation risk associated with providing the sponsorship funding.

Stage 3: Ministerial Approval

The panel will provide a report to the Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology with shortlisted applicants recommended for funding.

Notification of application outcome

We will advise you of the outcome of your application via email by July 2025. If you are unsuccessful, you will have an opportunity to request feedback on your application.

If you are successful, we will advise you of any special conditions attached to the sponsorship agreement.

Sponsorship Agreement

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a sponsorship agreement with Investment NSW. The agreement will outline your activity outcomes, eligible expenditure, sponsor benefits, branding guidelines, data collection and reporting requirements. The sponsorship agreement template can be found hereDownload File .

You will have 10 business days from the date of a written offer to execute a sponsorship agreement with the Department. The offer may lapse if you do not sign the agreement within this time. The Department makes no binding funding commitment to the applicant unless and until both parties have signed the sponsorship agreement. Each agreement includes standard terms and conditions that cannot be changed.

If there is a change in your activities and/or expenditure after the sponsorship agreement is executed, you will need to seek approval for these changes from the Department prior to expending funds. If changes are not approved by the Department, expenditure at the acquittal stage will not be approved.

Reporting

When you complete your funded activities, you must submit a final report in line with the timeframes in the agreement.

The report captures information including:

• Activity summary – addressing how the activity delivered on the Program objectives
• Financial acquittal – expenditure of sponsorship funding per activity
• Communications and media summary – including media releases, social media and newsletters relating to the sponsored activities

Support and contact

If you have any questions regarding the Program, please contact us at https://www.investment.nsw.gov.au/contact-us/ or via phone on 02 9000 1365

Previous funding

In previous years the Fostering Innovation Team within Investment NSW have provided sponsorship support to the following ecosystem building activities held in NSW:

Startup Festivals

• Australian Climate Tech Festival & Awards
• Hunter Innovation Festival
• Plus Eight: Investing in Innovation Festival
• Spark Festival
• Spark Festival Regional Events

Conference/Events

• Australian Technology Competition 2024
• Catalyst West 
• Cicada Innovations Tech23 2024
• Climate Tech Innovation and Investment Summit
• Climate Salad Conference
• Energy Labs Going from Startup to Scale Up Climate Tech Edition
• Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific
• Innovate Western Sydney
• Liverpool Innovation Precincts - Breakfast Series and Pitch Night
• Liverpool Innovation Precincts Workshops
• Longevity Economy Innovation Ecosystem
• Macquarie Park Innovation District Industry Conference Series
• NiceTo Palette Show
• Pioneering Investors Summit
• Pitch-a-Palooza
• Quantum Australia 2023 Conference
• Startmate Demo Day
• Tank Stream Labs Startup 2 Scaleup Summit
• The Challenger Summit
• UTS Startup Summit
• Westmead Health & Innovation District Conference

Award Ceremonies

• InnovationAus Awards for Excellence
• Startup Daily Awards
• Western Sydney Diversity in Entrepreneurship Awards