Application details

How many appendices can I include within the business plan?

All appendices supplied by an applicant should be relevant and provide...
How do I supply my business plan and appendices? Should they be uploaded as one file or multiple?

The business plan and appendices can be accepted in Word, Excel and PDF formats and you will be required to upload them at the start of your Stage 2 application form. They can be uploaded as one document or as separate files but there is a file size limit of 25MB for any single document uploaded.
As the business plan should cover the Multi-Year Funded period of April 2025 to March 2028, if other financial years are important for our organisation, should we include them as appendices?

As the Multi-Year Funding Programme will support organisations and their...
If we are an organisation which is part of a larger body, how should we address this in the business plan – do we present a business plan based only on our organisation and the activity we are seeking funding for, or do you want to see information on the wider organisation and work?

The key consideration here is to ensure that the information provided...

Are letters of support a requirement for this fund?

The supporting documents requested by Creative Scotland is detailed...
Should in-kind income/expenditure be included in the financial proforma?

In-kind costs should not be included in the financial proforma - we only want to see financial transactions. If an applicant wishes to do so, they can note any in-kind costs within the relevant sections of their main business plan.
In our financial proforma, should we include all pending/project income from other funds outside our Multi-Year Fund programme?

Yes, we expect applicants to provide a reasonable outline of projected...
Can we make changes to the layout, or structure of the financial proforma?

No, please keep the categories as listed in the financial proforma as we...

Can Creative Scotland provide financial contributions for non-salaried individuals in companies applying to Stage 2 to ensure the playing field is as level as possible?

If an applicant has access needs, they can seek support for costs to help them...
What is required from the business plan – given that organisations will have already shared certain aspects of their organisational vision and plans in the Stage 1 application. What level of detail are you expecting?

As part of the Stage 1 guidance launched July 2023, we signposted that this fund...
How detailed does the Multi-Year Funding project budgets need to be?

As outlined in the Stage 2 supplementary guidance (page 12): ‘The financial...
At Stage 1, it was noted that financial and other plans might change, but in the Stage 2 guidance, it outlines a risk that if changes are considered significant, applications might be deemed ineligible. Can clearer guidance be provided on this?

This is covered on page 10 of the Stage 2 supplementary guidance. The 2-stage...

As an organisation, we work internationally and plan to include international activity within the Multi-Year Fund period, however we were marked down for our answer to this criterion at Stage 1. Can we opt out at Stage 2?

If an applicant is not working internationally, then they have the option at...
If during Stage 1, an organisation was marked highly for international work but lower on climate answers due to its international work, how can companies balance this in the Stage 2? 

In terms of how to balance international work and environmental...
In relation to the optional international criterion, can we opt out of this at Stage 2, even if we answered it as part of our Stage 1 submission?

As outlined in the Multi-Year Fund Stage 1 guidance, the international criterion...

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