Te Pūtea Whakamauru Para Waste Minimisation Fund

The strategic outcomes and investment signals for this year's round  

Projects typically focus on at least one of these areas

• Research, development and innovation including feasibility studies
• Development of waste minimisation infrastructure
• Information, education and behaviour change 
• Data and evaluation
• Community activity.

Any legal entity can apply for funding 

We welcome expressions of interest (EOIs) from a wide range of organisations including:

• businesses
• iwi
• hapū/community groups
• local government
• non-government organisations
• industry bodies 
• research organisations.

Requirements your expression of interest (EOI) must meet to be considered

• Submitted by legal entity
• Within the purpose and scope of the fund
• Be either for a new initiative or a significant expansion in the scope or coverage of existing activities
• Funding sought is not for ongoing financial support or running costs
• Funding sought is above minimum grant sizes. See funding section below for details
• Your proposed project is not longer than three years
• Your proposed project is co-funded.

Key factors we will consider in assessing your EOI

• Benefits, outcomes and strategic value
• Effectiveness (eg, feasibility, value for money)
• Extent to which investment signals are addressed
• Ability to deliver (eg, resources, financial viability)
• Clarity - objectives logically set out and simply worded
• The extent to which proposals involve Māori, benefit Māori, and/or reflect kaupapa Māori.

If your EOI progresses to the application stage more detail will be required (eg, specific objectives, a budget and detailed project-plan). You will be advised about these if you are invited to submit a full application.

Full list of eligibility and assessment criteria [New Zealand Gazette website]

The minimum grant for feasibility or scoping studies is $10,000 and for other projects $50,000. Funding requests over $3 million are unlikely to be considered.

If your application is successful you might be awarded a lower amount than you applied for.  

This will depend on: 

• how much is available
• whether your budget is realistic
• how much you can contribute
• other factors.

Your expected contribution

The amount you’re expected to contribute depends on the nature of your organisation. The ranges below are guidelines rather than strict criteria. Check with the WMF team if you’re unsure about how they apply to you.

Large- scale well-established organisations

You are expected to contribute at least 40 per cent. This must be either cash or other forms of direct financial support (eg, specialist skills invoiced to the project).

Small organisations such as community groups or hapū

You are expected to contribute 5–20 per cent. The fund will consider allowing this contribution to be 'in-kind' (eg, your time) rather than direct financial support.

Explain your project, tell us how much funding you’re seeking and provide information about your organisation. 

EOIs must be submitted through our online portal between 30 April to 21 May. You can access the WMF Client Portal here. 

Please note you must have a RealMe user account.  If you don’t have one, click the link and select “Create your RealMe Login”.

Need help?

• For RealMe help refer to RealMe.
• If you’re not sure if an existing account exists for your organisation or to link your user account to an existing organisation account, please email our team at wmf@mfe.govt.nz
• For IT technical issues with the Client Portal, email support@enquire.cloud

Please note Microsoft will no longer support Internet Explorer. Alternative browsers include Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

Support available to help your application

Use these tools to make sure your applications hit the mark. 

• If you missed our webinar on 19 April, here are the slides and the collated Questions and Answers. 
• Another webinar was held on Wednesday 28 April 2021. If you missed it here is the video link [Youtube]
• Frequently asked questions.

Common themes of successful proposals

• All eligibility criteria are met.
• The outcomes of the project will have high strategic value.
• The proposal is clearly explained.
• The proposal demonstrates good value for money.
• The proposal demonstrates how your project involves Māori, benefits Māori and/or reflects a good understanding of kaupapa Māori.
• The proposal gives confidence in the applicant’s ability to deliver the project successfully.

Common mistakes

• The goals, scope or approach of the project are not clear.
• The benefits of the project are low and/or the funding requested is too high.
• There is no co-funding.
• A business applicant does not contribute enough co-funding.
• A community group applies for funding for normal running costs.
• The organisation does not have adequate resources to manage the project.

June — Assessment of EOIs

EOIs will be assessed by MfE and an independent external panel. The panel will produce a shortlist of EOIs to be invited to lodge a full application.

Early July — EOI decisions

Those who submitted EOIs will be either invited to lodge a full application or provided feedback on why their EOI will not be taken further.

Late July — Applications close

Final date for successful EOIs to submit full applications. 

July/August — Assessment of applications

The independent panel will assess each application and make recommendations on:

• which projects to fund 
• how much funding to provide
• any conditions that need to be met.

Mid/late September — Application decisions

Approved applicants are invited to proceed to Stage 2 which involves:  

• confirmation of intention to proceed
• due diligence
• project planning 

The dates above are subject to change.