The +PLUS Fund is a funding instrument endowed with 500,000€ per year, which supports the implementation or expansion of innovative solutions with social and/or environmental impact.
In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Agenda 2030, +PLUS allows entrepreneurs, startups, and social organizations to test or increase the impact of their innovative solutions.
According to their maturity degree, solutions must fit into one of the +PLUS dimensions: Testing for solutions in the initial implementation stage and with a high impact potential or Scaling for solutions already implemented and with proven impact results.
TESTING OR SCALING?
TO WHICH DIMENSION SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR?
TO WHICH DIMENSION SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR?
>> New solutions, which are not yet implemented or have been recently implemented
>> Have already carried out a pilot project/proof of concept and can prove it
>> Are in a position to enter the market or are already on the market
>> Their business model can still be adjusted
>> Want to demonstrate their impact
>> Promoted by entrepreneurs, start-ups or social organizations
>> Need financial support up to a maximum of 50,000€
>> Solutions already implemented and with traction in the market
>> Have already achieved impactful results and can prove it
>> Their business model is validated
>> With a strategy of expansion to other geographies or publics
>> Want to increase their impact
>> Promoted by established companies or social organizations
>> Need financial support up to a maximum of 100.000€
>> Customized follow-up plan.
>> Measurement of impact through indicators defined from the moment zero.
>> Involvement in the impact ecosystem.
>> Pay for results.
>> Non-financial support by the team, experts, and partners of Casa do Impacto.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Applications
Eligibility analysis
PRE-SELECTION PHASE
INITIAL SELECTION PHASE
BOOTCAMP + MENTORING + PITCH
FINAL SELECTION PHASE
APPLICATIONS SELECTED FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT
FAQ
The +PLUS Fund is a financing instrument, created in 2020 by Casa do Impacto, with the aim of supporting the implementation and expansion of innovative solutions with different degrees of maturity and potential for social and/or environmental impact.
The investment strategy favours the production of impact over the financial return of the supported solutions. Financial support is granted through non-refundable amounts, adjusted to the needs of each solution, complemented with individualized non-financial support designed to facilitate its success.
The +Testing dimension supports innovative solutions that are already validated but have not been implemented in the market or are at an early implementation stage and intend to test their impact.
The +Scaling dimension supports innovative solutions that have already been successfully implemented in the market, have proven results and aim to scale their impact in terms of the changes they produce or the geographies or audiences they target.
No, the idea should have already been tested and validated through a prototype, proof of concept or pilot project that demonstrates that it is feasible and viable as a product, service, or process. Therefore, it is necessary to have results and evidence of the idea’s validation.
Pilot projects aimed at testing or validating ideas or concepts, scientific research, experimental studies or other initiatives to develop a technology or a product/service that is not yet ready to enter the market. Nor should applications be submitted that aim to finance the regular and usual activities or the operation costs of the promoting organizations or entities.
Under the terms of the +PLUS Regulation, all areas of intervention that fall under one or more Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations Organization (SDG 2030) are contemplated, and the supported solutions must contribute in some way to their achievement.
There are 17 SDGs which include 169 goals and 230 global indicators. As a whole, it is possible to identify the following general areas: People – referring to the eradication of poverty and hunger, the promotion of dignity and equality; Planet – focusing on sustainable consumption and production, combating climate change and managing natural resources; Prosperity – concerning personal fulfillment, economic and social progress; Peace – peaceful, just and inclusive societies, free from fear and violence and Partnerships – involving transversal integration, interconnection and joint mobilization for the benefit of the most vulnerable. You should find out more about the 2030 SDGs to check the specific framework of the solution you want to apply for the +PLUS Fund. More information at: https://unric.org/en/united-nations-sustainable-development-goals/
Entrepreneurs can apply to the +Testing dimension, individually or in teams, Social Economy entities (associations, cooperatives, foundations, and others defined in the Basic Law of the Social Economy), commercial companies, and other legal persons governed by private law.
However, for the +Scaling dimension, only the above-mentioned legal people may apply.
Yes, but only to the +Testing dimension, which allows individuals to apply. In the case of a team, it is necessary to identify the person responsible for the application and the others who constitute or will form the team.
Yes, no doubt. If the solution developed by the project fits into the +Testing dimension, it must demonstrate that it is feasible and viable. For the +Scaling dimension, it is necessary that the solution has already obtained results revealing impact and shows how these results were obtained.
The application period runs from September 30th to November 30th of 2022.
The application can only be made by completing and submitting the online form, available on the Casa do Impacto website. Submission of the application by any other means is not possible.
The online form available on the Casa do Impacto website will refer you to the F6S platform, one of the most important international platforms for supporting start-ups. This is the platform where you will make your application. Before you start filling out the form, you will need to complete two steps: the first is to register on the F6S platform. The second is the register of your organization/team or the name of the solution (for this step, we recommend accessing it through the form available on the Casa do Impacto website). Once you have completed these two steps, you can start filling out your application.
No, you can write it in English. All questions on the form are in English and Portuguese, so the answers can be in one of these two languages.
The amount of financial support requested by each application must be adjusted to its execution and real needs. It should accommodate the execution of planned activities and expected results. This adequacy is one of the selection criteria for the candidacies by the Final Jury. The amount of financial support in each dimension, +Testing and +Scaling, have a maximum value that cannot be exceeded. Therefore, although it is essential to be realistic in the amount of financial support requested, it doesn’t need to reach the maximum limits foreseen for each dimension.
No. The form asks for an estimate of different types of investment and operating costs. The detailed budget will be prepared later and included in the Financial Support Contract.
However, the estimated costs must be justified by the application’s execution and documented.
No. Financial support shall be allocated in parcels according to the payment-by-results mechanism. Therefore, for each approved application there will be a detailed plan with different phases of execution, associated with results and activities to achieve them, and the deadlines for parcels payment.
It is a mechanism based on contracting short-term (outputs) and medium/long-term results (outcomes) achieved during the period of financial support. The results to be achieved and the amount to be made available at each moment are defined in advance in a Financial Support Contract signed between those responsible for the applications and the +PLUS Fund, under the Regulation’s terms provided.
The minimum duration of financial support is 1 year and the maximum duration is 2 years for both +Testing and +Scaling dimensions However, financial support requests for less time and duration should depend on the time needed to achieve expected results. It is equally essential that the period of financial support is adequate to the execution of the activities that allow these results.
The selection process consists of 3 stages: pre-selection, initial selection and final selection. Only applications considered eligible under the Regulation terms get included in the pre-selection phase. In the pre-selection phase, the applies carried over to the initial selection phase are chosen. In the initial selection phase, the applications that best fit the pay-by-results mechanism are selected, and only these will carry on to the final selection phase and be presented to the final Jury. The Final Jury selects the applications that will benefit from the +PLUS Fund’s financial support.
No. The Pre-selection phase may request additional information, and the team responsible for the application may be contacted for clarification of doubts. The initial selection phase will carry out events and activities (Bootcamp, mentoring, pitch) that allow the adaption of the application to the payment by results mechanism and the drafting of a proposal for the implementation and measurement of results..
It is a document that specifies the type of results that each application intends to achieve as well as the associated metrics and evidence. It also includes a proposal for the parcels payment and will be used by the selected applications to sign the Financial Support Contract. This document will be prepared based on a template provided by Casa do Impacto’s team.
Yes, the person responsible for the application or at least one of the team members must participate in these events and activities to acquire relevant information for the final selection of applications.
In the pre-selection phase, the application’s general quality is evaluated, particularly concerning the solution’s characteristics: innovation, feasibility or effectiveness, sustainability, impact and contribution to 2030 SDG. In the initial and final selection phases, the application’s overall coherence of the application vis-à-vis the pay-for-results mechanism is evaluated, particularly concerning the ability to deliver the expected results through the proposed activities and the instruments foreseen to assess those results. Amount adequacy and duration of the requested financial support are both evaluated. The pre-selection and selection criteria can be consulted in the Regulation of the +PLUS Fund.
In addition to the information regularly published on Casa do Impacto’s website, promoters will be notified by email about the results in each phase of the selection process.
No, the follow-up is made to measure according to the expected results and the activities designed by each selected candidate. It includes the results monitoring, impact evaluation, and responses to non-financial needs, such as mentoring, training, or activating networks of contacts.
Casa do Impacto’s team will monitor all the applications during the agreed financial support period and ensure non-financial support. After this period, Casa do Impacto will continue to promote projects, organizations, and the respective innovative solutions in the impact ecosystem through its initiatives and programs and those of its partners.
Information on eligible applications: December 9th 2022
Pre-Selection: December 12th 2022 to January 18th 2023
Information on pre-selected applications: January 20th 2023
Initial selection
Bootcamp, Mentoring and Pitch: January 25th to February 17th 2023
Information about the selected applications for the Final selection phase: February 21st 2023
Preparation of the proposal for the implementation and measurement of results: February 22nd to March 1st 2023
Final Selection
Information about the applications selected by the Final Jury for the +PLUS Fund financial support: March 21st 2023