3 CASO SCOZIA INGLESE low - Rete Pari Opportunita

Gender Equality in Local Economic Development in ScotlandThe grants ranged from £2,000 (new businesses)to £5,000 (existing businesses) during the periodFebruary 2002-February 2005, and subsequentlyfrom £1,000 to £3,500 for new and existingbusinesses respectively. The scheme is administeredthrough an open call for tender.Eligible for the grant are women start-ups andexisting SMES for which the female applicant isthe owner or the principal partner, located in theGlasgow area. Interestingly, and this is consideredone of the main innovative elements of thescheme, applicants do not need to be located inbusiness premises and pay business rates toGlasgow City Council: businesses working fromhome are also eligible for support. Some sectorsare excluded from support, e.g. the retail sector(e.g. hairdressers, beauty salons etc.). This wasdecided because it was deemed that retail has acertain capacity in Glasgow and giving a grant toone operator would mean detracting businessfrom another (displacement effect). Other thanthis, all industry sectors are eligible, withpreference accorded to businesses operating orthat intend to operate in cluster industries suchas electronics, biotechnologies, food and drink,creative industries, financial and business services.Eligible expenses include equipment, trainingcosts, minor property alterations, marketing expensesetc..Project applicants for the grant have to submit thefollowing:• Application form (downloadable from theCouncil’s website)• Business Plan• Financial forecasts (one year for start-ups , twoyears for existing companies)• Quotations for the expenses for which the grantis requested• Existing companies must also supply evidencefor the previous year’s trading (cash flow,profit/loss account, balance sheet).The selection process is done in-house in theCouncil and two members of staff are devoted tothis. The aim of the appraisal is to look at: whetherthe project is viable and whether there is a realneed for money (if the investment would happenanyway, then the view is that there is no need forpublic funding). If the proposal is made from awoman who is long-term unemployed or otherwisedisadvantaged, the assessment on the previouscriteria may be somewhat ‘softened’. The selectionprocess always entails a meeting with applicants,and this is considered extremely useful to be ableto gauge the real potential and value of projects.The preparation of the business plan can be arather daunting task for women with no businessbackground and, outside the “Start it rightprogramme”, the project team also often refersprospective applicants to the Business Gatewaysto get professional support to develop thebusiness plan. Applicants can also be referred toanother project funded by Glasgow City Council,“Enterprising Women”, which provides fundingfor early project development stages (up to amaximum of £200 e.g. for market research andsimilar).The scheme was advertised in various ways, forexample via the magazine of one of the biggestcinemas in Glasgow (Odeon cinema’s “OdeonAddict”) and also in the City Council’s Magazine“Glasgow - The Magazine of the people ofGlasgow”. This has a distribution of over 300,000copies, as it is delivered to all Glasgow privatehomes and most business premises. The disseminationwas made to raise awareness amongstpeople who are not aware of the scheme: not allof the women who read the advertisement maysubmit an application - but at least they mightbegin to consider self-employment as a possibility.Additionally, an award ceremony was organisedat Glasgow City Chambers. This was at a timewhen the Lord Provost (the equivalent of an Italianmajor) was particularly keen to raise the profileof the equal opportunity agenda in Glasgow and34