Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adopt Program

To be eligible you must have an Australian Business Number (ABN), and;

• be an entity incorporated in Australia, or;
• an unincorporated entity, provided that if your application is successful you agree to form a company incorporated in Australia, or one of the other eligible entity types listed herein, prior to entering into a grant agreement.

Joint (consortia) applications are eligible to apply for this grant opportunity.

Additional eligibility requirements:

1. where you provide evidence from your board (or chief executive officer or equivalent if there is no board) that the project is supported, and that you can complete the project and meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding where you provide evidence of how you will provide your share of project costs, such as an accountant declaration, that confirms you can fund your share of the project costs, including any ineligible expenditure. An accountant declaration template is available on gov.au and GrantConnect. If you do not use this template, you must include equivalent information and the declaration in your own document
2. where you certify that you have or will have relevant intellectual property arrangements in place in order to undertake your project
3. where you certify that your activities will support:

• • the building of AI product market awareness and implementation opportunities in SMEs primarily for an overseas or interstate market; or
  • the building of capability within SMEs to responsibly implement AI to create or improve products or services primarily for an overseas or interstate market.
  • where you certify that you have or will have at least $6 million in eligible expenditure in order to undertake your project
  • where you certify that you are or will become accredited as part of the Responsible AI Network (RAIN) within three months following the execution of the grant agreement.

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

• an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’
• an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
• income tax exempt
• an individual
• a partnership
• universities
• publicly funded research organisations (PFRO) as defined in section 0 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• any organisation not included in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• a state, territory or local government body
• a non-corporate Commonwealth entity
• the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) or a subsidiary entity of CSIRO (including as part of a joint application).

If you are ineligible to apply, you can be a partner to a joint application where the lead organisation is eligible to apply.

To be eligible, expenditure must:

• be incurred by you within the project period
• be a direct cost of the project
• be incurred by you to undertake required project audit activities (where applicable)
• meet the eligible expenditure guidelines.

Other eligible expenditures for the project may include:

• costs associated with developing and delivering workshops, conferences, professional development, networking events, forums and courses for knowledge transfer and capability development directly related to the project
• capital expenditure for the purchase of IT equipment or software, that are part of a system of AI infrastructure or architecture, that enable and are directly used in the delivery of services with SMEs (eg used in demonstrations, workshops, etc), other than those assets listed under ineligible expenditure
• expenditure that supports design and development activities directly related to the project and the achievement of its outcomes
• purchase or hire of ICT hardware and software (including user licenses) directly related to the project
• reasonable hospitality or catering directly relevant to your project
• prototyping, development and testing to achieve project objectives and outcomes
• IP protection, including fees to a patent office for the cost of filing patent applications, patent searches and examination fees related to the project
• costs of acquiring IP and/or leading-edge technology where subsequent adaptation or commercialisation will contribute directly to the completion of an agreed project. There is no cap on IP and/or leading-edge technology acquisition costs
• staff training and skills development that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
• financial auditing of project expenditure, the cost of an independent audit of project expenditure (where we request one) up to a maximum of 1 per cent of total eligible project expenditure
• costs you incur in order to obtain planning, environmental or other regulatory approvals during the project period. However, associated fees paid to the Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments are not eligible.

Examples of ineligible expenditure include:

• research not directly supporting eligible activities
• activities, equipment or supplies that are already being supported through other sources
• financing costs, including interest and debt financing including the use of grant funds for any form of security for the purpose of obtaining or complying with any form of loan, credit, payment or other interest
• capital expenditure for the purchase of assets such as office furniture and equipment, motor vehicles, computers, printers or photocopiers and the construction, renovation or extension of facilities such as buildings and laboratories, that are for use in the daily operations and administration of the program
• costs involved in the purchase or upgrade/hire of software (including user licences) and ICT hardware (unless it directly relates to the project)
• costs such as rental, renovations and utilities
• non-project-related staff training and development costs
• insurance costs (the participants must effect and maintain adequate insurance or similar coverage for any liability arising as a result of its participation in funded activities)
• costs associated with registering a business and creating a governance plan for managing your project and relationship with consortia partners
• activities that duplicate collaboration and research activities already planned or in development
• expenses associated with business-as-usual activities not related to the objectives and outcomes of this grant
• costs incurred defending IP rights
• costs incurred prior to the execution of a contract for this grant opportunity
• fees for service and/or payments for activities to portfolio agencies of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources
• costs related to obtaining resources used on the project, including interest on loans, job advertising and recruiting, and contract negotiations
• depreciation of plant and equipment beyond the life of the project
• maintenance costs
• costs of purchasing, leasing, depreciation of, or development of land
• routine operating expenses not accounted as labour on-costs – including communications, accommodation, overheads and consumables, e.g. paper, printer cartridges, office supplies
• ongoing upgrades, updates and maintenance of existing ICT systems and computing facilities, including websites, customer relationship management systems, databases, the cost of ongoing subscription based software and IT support memberships, and warranties for purchases that are not directly related to the project
• recurring or ongoing operational expenditure (including annual maintenance, rent, water and rates, postage, legal and accounting fees and bank charges)
• costs related to preparing the grant application, preparing any project reports (except costs of independent audit reports we require) and preparing any project variation requests
• opportunity costs relating to any production losses due to allocating resources to the agreed grant project
• costs related to overseas travel
• costs that related to domestic travel that exceed 10 per cent of total project costs except where otherwise approved by the Program Delegate
• costs of activites not undertaken in Australia.

This list is not exhaustive and applies only to the expenditure of the grant funds.

See the guidelines for full details of expenditure eligible for AIAP support.

1. Alignment of your project with program objectives (40 points).

The extent to which your project will deliver on the objectives and outcomes in section 2, that includes (30 points):

• a program of key deliverables, and how this program achieves objectives
• identifying which NRF priority/priorities you are aligning to
• your strategy with respect to diversity and inclusion
• the operational format for your project (physical/virtual/hybrid) and relevant base location
• a proposed organisational and leadership structure identifying how this structure will support delivery of the objectives
• your strategy for national reach, with an estimated number of businesses that will be targeted
• an outline for transitioning to self-sufficiency.

Your stakeholder coordination strategy to engage and collaborate with industry sectors, research organisations, other projects, the NAIC and other stakeholders throughout the life of the project. (10 points)

2. Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (40 points).

• you and your project partners’ track record for managing similar projects, and access to personnel with the right skills and experience, with particular focus on the leadership team who will drive the delivery of the project (10 points)
• a demonstrated knowledge and experience working with SMEs within the NRF priority/priorities that you have identified (10 points)
• your strategy to manage national security considerations around AI technology and expertise in line with section 13.6 of the guidelines document (10 points)
• your strategy to project manage the grant delivery, including scope, timeframes, delivery risks, project governance arrangements, and securing required regulatory or other approvals (5 points)
• your access, or future access, to related infrastructure, capital and equipment to provide suitable services and support to businesses nationally, including in regional and remote areas (5 points)

3. Impact of grant funding (20 points).

• how your project will support positive impacts on diversity, gender equality, and the participation of First Nations Australians in the industry (8 points)
• the total investment this grant will leverage, including direct contributions and co-contributions to the project from all sources (6 points)
• how you plan to monitor the effectiveness and impact of your project services on AI adoption. (6 points)

See the guidelines for full details of the assessment criteria.

Your application will be considered on its merits, based on:

• how well it meets the criteria
• how it compares to other applications
• whether it provides value with money.

When assessing the extent to which the application represents value with relevant money, assessors and decision maker will have regard to:

• the overall objectives of the grant opportunity
• the evidence provided to demonstrate how your project contributes to meeting those objectives
• the relative value of the grant sought
• extent to which the geographic location of the application matches identified priorities
• how the grant activities will support engagement with diverse and under-represented cohorts in the technology sector (specifically in AI relevant areas) to support an inclusion goals in under-represented cohorts in technology.

Applicants must:

• Read and understand the guidelines.
• Ensure eligibility for the funding. Applicants that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not be considered.
• Deliver the project as outlined in the application and agreed project plan.
• Provide complete information requirements.

You must provide the following documents with your application:

• a detailed project plan – your plan should include the scope of the project, a timeline of activities, a plan for self-sustainment after the end of the program, and plans for how your project will pro-actively engage nationally over the course of the project. Your project plan should be a maximum of 30 pages. It should also include:

1. 1. a governance plan – including the governance model and arrangements for managing your project, a list of all key management and technical staff (including their relevant experience), and details of any contractors that you intend to engage
   2. a risk management plan – and any supporting documentation, describing how you propose to monitor, manage and report identified risks. The risk management plan should give specific consideration to risks associated with cyber security attacks and national security as outlined in section 13.6 of the grant opportunity guidelines. You should detail how you intend to address risks relating to foreign interference and unwanted transfer of technology, data or other knowledge, including your intended process to conduct due diligence on potential consortia partners
   3. a diversity plan – identifies how you propose to support the engagement of underrepresented cohorts in your AI Adopt Centre and your supply chain. For further details, refer to section 7.2 of the grant opportunity guidelines
   4. a data collection plan – and any supporting documentation, describing how you propose to collect data and manage privacy.

• a letter of support from each of the project consortia partners (where applicable)
• project budget (split over financial years) – your budget should include a breakdown of the costs that sit under each head of expenditure and detail how these costs have been determined (e.g. quotes, etc.) (template provided on business.gov.au and GrantConnect)
• accountant declaration (template provided on business.gov.au and GrantConnect)
• evidence of support from the board, CEO or equivalent (template provided on business.gov.au and GrantConnect). Where the CEO or equivalent submits the application, we will accept this as evidence of support
• trust deed (where applicable).

Each AI Adopt Centre is required to address diversity in the establishment and ongoing measurement of your AI Adopt Centre. Your diversity plan should:

• aim for 40% representation of both women and men across board, management and AI Adopt Centre staffing arrangements
• plan for development of a Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP)
• consider initiatives such as identified positions, cultural competency training
• include activities which support the progress of underrepresented cohorts in the technology sector and align with the overarching objectives of the AI Adopt grant program.

Some organisations may want to join together as a group to deliver a project. In these circumstances, you must appoint a lead organisation. The application must identify all other members of the proposed group and include a letter of support from each of the project partners. Each letter of support should include:

• details of the project partner
• an overview of how the project partner will work with the lead organisation and any other project partners in the group to successfully complete the project
• an outline of the relevant experience and/or expertise the project partner will bring to the group
• the roles/responsibilities the project partner will undertake, and the resources it will contribute (if any)
• details of Intellectual Property (IP) arrangements
• details of a nominated management level contact officer.

You must have a formal arrangement in place with all parties prior to execution of the grant agreement.

See the guidelines for full details of information requirements.

Applicants can submit their applications online via the business.gov.au portal.

Register your interest here with GrantHelper to explore your alignment with this program and how we can assist you to increase your chances of success.