Purpose

• This decision is required to agree a variation to the existing Grant Agreement with the Growth Company.
• The additional funding has been provided by BIST to GMCA (as the lead accountable body for the programme in the North West) via a Section 31 agreement to supplement delivery of the Made Smarter Adoption Programme in the North West for the Financial Year 2026/27 and to continue to develop and strengthen the programme in the region.
• BIST are operating the 2026/27 financial year as a ‘test and learn’ year for enhancements to the Made Smarter Adoption Programme through the supplementary funding.
• The Growth Company (GC) has been the main delivery partner for the Made Smarter programme in the North West since its inception in 2018. They have an established model?of delivering an integrated regional programme across the?North West.?They are therefore best placed to deliver the supplementary funding as part of their existing Grant Agreement and trial out enhancements to the model as agreed with BIST.

Decision

To award £816,500 of additional grant funding to The Growth Company for the delivery of enhancements to the Made Smarter Adoption North West programme in the 26-27 financial year, via a variation to their existing Grant Agreement.

The additional funding has been allocated from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) to support delivery across the North West.
The additional funding aims to support the enhanced delivery of the Made Smarter programme for SME manufacturers, to progress them further along their digital transformation journey. The enhancements will focus on four additions to the Made Smarter model as agreed with BIST:
- Larger grants for advanced adoption
- Cyber security support
- Energy Efficiency consultancy
- Digital Interns specializing in AI adoption

Alternative options considered

The Growth Company, as the delivery partner for the Made Smarter Adoption programme in the North West, are considered the only provider able to deliver the enhanced package of funding as it is intended to be supplementary to the core programme, and will provide additional support to existing Made Smarter clients.