Our $980k PGF Application - a challenging journey

We lodged our application for funding via the MBIE website back in February of 2018 after the Ministerial launch announcement of that month.

MBIE invite us to file an Expression of Interest for funding to determine whether or not our funding case was acceptable.

MBIE responded with an approval of the EOI submitted on behalf of a Related Affiliate (Grower-Producer) member of the Co-Op and invited us to prepare and lodge a formal funding application.

Over a period of three months, we received three rounds of questions following our application lodgement with the PGF Advisory Panel for their clearance / recommendation to submit for ministerial approval.

In October of 2018, our application was cleared by the Panel for submission to the Ministers for their final approval and sign off.

In November, 2018, we received a letter stating that the Ministers had declined the application for two (incredibly contradictory) reasons that had absolutely no bearing or relevance whatsoever to the social impact kaupapa of the application which ticked every box. A totally unexpected ministerial refusal.