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Are you eligible for a grant?

Assessment Criteria

The Industry Leaders Fund (ILF) offers grants to help industry leaders and those with industry leadership potential and aspirations to achieve their aims sooner than would otherwise be possible.

ILF funding is intended to support those who wish to undertake study or a self-improvement opportunity that they might not otherwise have been able to undertake. Grants will not be offered to an applicant who has enrolled in their course prior to a grant being offered.

If you answer YES to the questions below, you are likely to be eligible for an ILF grant.

(Please click on each of the criteria below for more information).

The ILF recognises that leadership potential is not restricted to those who have university or other qualifications, and applications are encouraged from anyone who can demonstrate leadership potential.

Demonstration of leadership capacity is likely to have been in the workplace but may have been shown through leadership responsibility in a volunteer capacity, for example in a sporting club, industry association or other community organisation.

The ILF objective is to support what we define as ‘wealth creating industry’ – that is industry that is generating employment and activity that might not otherwise need to be located here in South Australia. Looked at another way, suitable applicants will be working in organisations that export their product, or are at least competing with imports. Examples of traditional wealth creating industries include manufacturers, food processors, wine makers, miners, defence equipment suppliers and medical technology. The ILF recognises that the nature of industry is evolving, and also supports ‘new’ manufacturing, such as export oriented web designers, IT software development houses, mining services etc.

Service businesses operating outside of South Australia with a significant head office in South Australia are also likely to be eligible. As ‘new’ manufacturing is evolving, you should clarify the definition with the ILF before applying if you believe you qualify in this area.

Industries that do not fit our definition of ‘wealth creation’ are those that typically service the local populace of South Australia. Examples would include local retail outlets, health services, public servants, lawyers, bankers, financial advisers, a chain of coffee shops etc. These non-eligible businesses will benefit as ILF grant recipients create more employment in South Australia and build the size of the market for these ‘local service’ industries.

Applicants must reside in South Australia and preference will be given to those applicants who hold Australian citizenship.

The ILF wishes to encourage a head office mentality in South Australia to ensure a greater proportion of the important business decisions that impact local employment and wealth generation are made here in South Australia. Those who work in businesses with a South Australian head office will be assessed favourably.

The ILF is keen to foster a spirit of entrepreneurial endeavour and an innovative approach to ensure that business in South Australia can adapt to increasing competition and commercial reality over time.

 

The ILF is intended to benefit South Australia, and grant applicants must explain how they will ensure that the knowledge or experience they gain through ILF funding will achieve this aim.

The ILF wishes to encourage South Australian business to be equal to its competitors wherever they are, and applicants should be able to demonstrate how they can contribute to this.

Sustainable growth and success of industry in South Australia depends upon good leadership today and in the future. Applicants should be able to explain how their grant will contribute to this objective.

Contribution to the community through personal exertion provides a network that can be beneficial for you and your business and grounding for you. It has been found in certain studies to be a key indicator of likely success in study and in business. A history of community activity and support is an admission requirement at several universities in the USA.

The ILF considers that applicants who have a track record of voluntary contribution through industry associations and/or charity organisations are most likely to share their learning more widely, in turn multiplying the benefit of that learning to the business community in South Australia.

The ILF Scholar Network has been formed to assist leaders and future leaders who have received grants to support the success of the ILF and each other.

As scholars satisfy similar criteria to a Rhodes Scholar, have been successful in business in South Australia, have studied at one the of world’s top business schools, and membership is conferred by qualification and not be payment of a fee, the ILF Scholar Network is considered to be the most exclusive business leadership networking organisation In South Australia.

The ILF seeks to support those with natural leadership abilities, and these are two indicators of leadership potential, amongst others.

The longer you expect to be in the workforce the longer period you have to apply the knowledge and skills you gain from your study and the greater the likely benefits to the SA community are likely to be.

ILF funding is intended to support those who wish to undertake study or a self-improvement opportunity that they might not otherwise have been able to undertake.

Offering a grant to an applicant who will not be eligible for enrolment will prevent the ILF offering a grant or grants to other applicants.

The ILF will only offer grants to applicants who can provide assurance that they will be able to undertake the selected course or self-improvement opportunity.

The ILF does not provide 100 per cent funding and applicants, or their employers, must provide the balance. The amount of the top-up funds required will vary. A personal or employer contribution of 20 percent is a low estimate and with a maximum grant amount of approximately $20,000, for a high cost course, the percentage you need to find is likely to be much higher. You should contact the ILF to discuss the factors taken into account in assessing how much might be required.

The ILF provides grants to fund one year of study at a time. You are welcome to apply for funding support for subsequent years, but there can be no guarantee that the ILF will be able to support you at that time.

If you enrol before we have offered a grant you will not be eligible for the grant. The ILF seeks to encourage leaders to enrol for and complete a course which they might not otherwise have undertaken. If you are already enrolled then you have passed the point at which any ILF grant will be an incentive for you to enrol.   

Before applying, if you remain unsure, please contact the ILF Chief Executive on 0417 283 633 or richard.barrett@industryleaders.com.au

ILF Awards Night 2021

Additional Awards

There are a number of additional awards with extra criteria for which you may wish to apply. These include:

The Colin J Peters Award
The most prestigious award made by the ILF.

Find out more

The David B McNeil Award
Awarded to an applicant who will undertake the University of Adelaide Transformative Leadership Program and is assessed by the ILF as having the greatest potential to contribute more than others to employment and wealth generation in South Australia.

Find out more

The Seeley International Imagineering Award
A successful applicant will have demonstrated, or be assessed by the ILF as most likely to demonstrate, an innovative engineering approach in a manufacturing business.

Find out more

The Lumination State Innovator Award
The award is intended to encourage applicants who will innovatively use technology for the benefit of society and in doing so project South Australia onto the world stage in the same way that Lumination’s business of immersive educational technology is being developed.

Find out more

Applicants who are invited to submit a stage 2 online application will have an opportunity to express an interest in being considered for these awards. An expression of interest will guarantee that the applicant will be considered but does not guarantee success. The objective is for the ILF to offer each award to the best possible candidate in any year, regardless of whether they have made an expression of interest or not.