Dorset businesses focused on commercial innovations in either healthy ageing or net-zero infrastructure could in the future be in line for funding worth up to approximately £10 million.

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has launched an appeal for outline business cases in order to have a ready pipeline of priority projects to offer if more government funding comes on stream to help tackle critical global challenges. Capital funding is not currently linked to this call.

Successful applicants will follow in the footsteps of a growing list of companies and public sector organisations supported by Dorset LEP through loans, grants, advice, and mentoring.

Cecilia Bufton, chairman of Dorset LEP, said: “We are offering our resources to help applicants write outline business cases now so that together we can act quickly as funding opportunities arise.

“We’re calling for transformational projects that align to the Dorset Local Industrial Strategy, with its focus on growth, productivity and resilience.

“We appreciate the huge amount of work that goes into developing investment proposals.

“That’s why we stand shoulder to shoulder with businesses and organisations, bringing our expertise and knowledge to help them succeed in today’s highly competitive national funding environment.

“Ideally we’re looking for proposals that excite, disrupt the norm and have the potential to generate productivity and create and maintain jobs.”

Business cases for a wide range of healthy ageing innovations could be supported by the project pipeline.

They include products or services concerned with physical ageing, disease, mental illness and wellbeing, and digital solutions focused on age-friendly urban and rural planning.

Priority net zero projects could involve direct renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar power or other innovations contributing to low-carbon technology or infrastructure.

To help potential applicants understand the process and what to include in their proposals, Dorset LEP is running two online workshops. These include an introductory session on Thursday 2 September and a writing masterclass on Wednesday 8 September, with a deadline for receipt of outline business cases of 9am on Tuesday, 5 October.

Successful applicants will benefit from Dorset LEP support to develop a full business case as government funding becomes available.

Recent help for the low-carbon economy provided through Dorset LEP includes an approximately £300,000 investment in £3 million state-of-the-art agritech glasshouse growing facility at Stewarts Garden Centres.

And to support healthy ageing, Dorset LEP recently allocated £2.7 million towards new diagnostic and treatment services at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and £1.4 million to the Institute for Medical Imaging and Visualisation at Bournemouth University.

For full details on how to submit proposals for the new project pipeline, visit www.dorsetlep.co.uk/project-proposals