Guidance

HNIP review process

Published 28 June 2019

Introduction

This Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) review process has been developed to set out the process that is to be followed with regards to applicants who request a review of a decision taken by the HNIP Investment Committee on their application.

This document sets out which decisions can be reviewed and the process that will be followed by Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management (TP Heat Networks) when handling a review request.

Background information

This document for applicants sets out important information about the basis on which applications are considered and what to do if your application is unsuccessful. This section explains the key principles and factors underpinning the assessment of applications for HNIP funding and the Investment Committee’s decisions to award funding to such applicants.

HNIP is a discretionary fund

Applicants must bear in mind that the HNIP fund and awards from it are discretionary. There is no automatic entitlement to an award of funding.

Applications must meet the eligibility criteria

You must ensure that you, your project and your application all meet certain eligibility criteria, explained in the HNIP application guidance. It is your responsibility to make sure that all the eligibility criteria are met.

Applications will be assessed on a transparent and objective basis

Your application will be assessed by our team of assessors. The assessment process will be run on as transparent and as objective a basis as possible. However, there will remain elements of subjectivity in the assessment, although we have tried to reduce this as much as possible. All assessments will be subject to internal quality assurance.

Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria

If you submit an application that fails to meet the eligibility criteria, your application will be rejected. Explanation will be given as to why your application was rejected, but that explanation will not seek to fix any deficiencies in your application. Nonetheless, the explanation should be heeded if you wish to re-submit at a later date once you have addressed the deficiencies.

Eligible Applications are not guaranteed funding

Even if your Application meets all of the eligibility criteria and scores well, that does not guarantee an award of funding. The HNIP fund is allocated on a competitive basis. All applications submitted in a given period, relating to projects meeting all of the eligibility criteria will be considered by the HNIP Investment Committee. There, the scores awarded to the applications by our assessors will be compared, together with other factors, such as, for example, each project’s Social Net Present Value or customer detriment. The applications will then be ranked. Some will not be awarded funding because their ranking was lower relative to others, and they fell below the threshold for awards in that round. Applications that are successful will be notified accordingly. Applications that are unsuccessful will be notified, together with an explanation of why.

Visibility of your application compared to others

Every applicant’s project and their application will contain commercially sensitive information so it will not be possible to disclose other project application details to you or any other applicant to enable comparisons to be made. Instead, we will aim to draw out themes from successful and unsuccessful applications in each round to help future applicants improve the quality of their applications. These key themes may be explained via clarification notes, revisions of the Application Guidance, webinars or other published means of disseminating lessons learned.

Reapplying

We want to fund good projects that need HNIP support. If your application has been unsuccessful, we would urge you to consider working to improve your project and your application and to submit another application in a future round. You should carefully consider how you could improve your application to meet the eligibility criteria (where your application was rejected) or how you could achieve a higher score (where your application was deemed eligible but was not awarded funding). Take feedback on board from the explanations given and possibly work with a Business Development Manager if needed, on a new application. Take the opportunity to submit an improved application in a future funding round.

Scope of an application review

Only in exceptional circumstances will we review an application. We will not review a decision unless there is strong evidence that we failed to follow our published assessment process and this has had a materially adverse impact on the consideration of your application. If you feel this applies to your application, this document sets out the steps you can take.

Please note that any decision made through the decision review will be final.

Applicant review process

1. Please complete the form in appendix A and send this via email to TP Heat Networks at enquiries@tp-heatnetworks.org to request a review.

2. We will consider your request and tell you if we feel it is justified within 5 working days.

3. If, on review, it is found that your application was eligible when we previously thought it was not, or that it should have been awarded a higher score, you can request that your application is submitted, unamended into the next funding competition where it will compete with other applications in that round. In no circumstance will a review guarantee an award of funding. Your best route is simply to submit an improved application in a future funding round.

Appendix A: Review request form

HNIP Application Reference Number:

Contact name:

Contact number:

Contact email:

Organisation name:

Reason for Request for Review:

Date:

Signed:

Further information

To register for updates from Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management and to join the HNIP mailing list contact enquires@tp-heatnetworks.org.

• HNIP main scheme information
• BEIS guidance and scheme background information
• HNDU support

Throughout the main scheme, Triple Point Heat Networks Investments Management will be hosting a series of stakeholder events and application workshops across England and Wales. The Delivery Partner would also be interested in attending and speaking at relevant events, to register your interest in one of our events or if you are hosting your own event contact Events.Ecuity@tp-heatnetworks.org to discuss these in more detail.

Contacts

Heat Networks Delivery Unit:
hndu@beis.gov.uk

BEIS Heat Networks Team:
heatnetworks@beis.gov.uk

Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management:
enquiries@tp-heatnetworks.org