The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a £500 million ten-year commitment that will support projects in the North East and Moray which contribute towards the region’s transition to net zero.

The fund aims to help diversify the regional economy away from carbon-intensive industries and to capitalise on the jobs, prosperity and other opportunities that the transition to net zero can bring.

For the financial year 2022-2023, up to £19 million is available for competitive bids. The fund will offer 3 funding streams: grant funding, capital financing (final recipients must be in the private sector – public sector organisations cannot directly receive capital financing) or a blend of grant and other capital financings.

This is a capital-only fund. Projects that do not meet the definition of a pilot scheme must be able to show they can meet delivery and staff costs without government support, for example through funding from project partners.

Applicants must be headquartered in or have a strong connection to Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray. If bidding jointly, at least one partner must be based or mainly operate in one of these regions.

Timescale

You must submit an expression of interest to apply before 15 July 2022.

Eligibility

Individuals cannot submit bids directly to the Just Transition Fund. Bids must be led by an organisation such as a registered charity or business, or public sector body.
There are no limitations on the type of organisation, or sector that can bid into the Fund. Consistent with the relevant public finance risk management procedures, these can be joint public-private sector bids. We will work with the organisations who bid for funding this year to develop proposals that make the best use of a mix of grant and investment financing.

In the event of equally well-scored projects, preference will be given to those who can show how they have engaged or collaborated effectively with others.

Your organisation however must be:

• headquartered in or can demonstrate a strong connection to Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray and most of your project activity and benefits will occur in these regions
• in any sector that is aiming to achieve Just Transition Outcomes and make a positive impact through decarbonisation
• able to demonstrate that the project is able to receive and spend the total amount of the bid in the 2022-2023 financial year

Application Process

1. All potential bids must first submit an Expression of Interest.
2. If required, further work will be undertaken with you to ensure that the appropriate application information can be met and additional documentation (including relevant commercial documentation) will be required.
3. Bids will then be assessed against the published criteria by the Scottish Government, with advice from relevant experts.
4. An advisory board of regional stakeholders will consider scored bids and make recommendations to Scottish Ministers.
5. Projects selected for the award will be submitted to an external due diligence process as necessary.

Expressions Of Interest

As above, applicants will initially need to provide an Expression of Interest (EOI), which should include the following information:

• A narrative summary of the proposal
• Demonstration of eligibility
• Demonstration of alignment with the impact objectives
• Provide evidence of where the assessment criteria have been met (NB: if there are gaps it will not disqualify a bid and action to work towards providing information, in the event it is not yet available, will be considered favourably).
• The type of funding requested and indicative timeline for delivery, including high-level annual timelines if a multi-year proposal.

Early applications are strongly encouraged and proactive approaches to seek further guidance are welcome. The final deadline for submission is 15 July 2022, to: justtransitionfund@gov.scot.

For full detail of guidance, please read more here.