Catalyst Fund approval process

The approval process for the Catalyst Fund varies according to the amount of funding and the level of risk represented in the project.

Developing proposals

In all cases universities and colleges should first discuss initial ideas with their institutional team.

The institutional teams can provide guidance on funding policy and criteria and details of our approaches to assessment and approval. This will include the format for submitting formal proposals to the fund.

We require:

a business plan
a project summary
a key milestones plan.

We develop proposals with institutions iteratively to refine details, give feedback and suggest changes. These initial stages usually take some months before a proposal can be formally considered, though this depends on the nature of a proposal.

Formal assessment

An internal HEFCE Scrutiny Group will assess proposals against the fund’s policies and principles. We will also use this assessment to determine the level of risk associated with the proposal achieving its aims and objectives.

Approval will then depend on the level of risk and the value of the proposal, as follows:

Our Chief Executive (using delegated authority) is able to approve awards up to a maximum of £3 million HEFCE grant.
The Catalyst Fund panel (see below) is able to approve awards up to a maximum level of £8 million.
Projects valued at over £8 million require approval from the HEFCE Board.
Projects at higher risk levels will still need to go up to higher levels of approval even if, on the basis of their value, they could be approved at a lower level.

The Catalyst Fund Panel usually meets three times a year. It currently consists of five members and is chaired by the HEFCE Chief Executive:

Panel member	Role
Sir Alan Langlands (Chair)	HEFCE Chief Executive
Professor Shirley Pearce	HEFCE Board member; Former Vice-Chancellor, Loughborough University
Mr Anil Ruia	HEFCE Board member; Director of Wrengate Ltd; Chair, University of Manchester
Mr Rob Douglas	HEFCE Board member; Business Advisor, Douglas Associates Ltd
Mr Alastair Balls	Chair, Centre for Life