1. Delivering World Class Product: The Discover England Fund
Andrew Stokes, England Director

2. England Action Plan

3. England Division Priorities
Developing the English tourism product through the delivery of the £40m Discover England Fund
Year 1 projects and pilots launched in May
Year 2/3 large scale collaborative projects launched in July
Support for Business Visits and Events in England
- BVE Strategy for England and key associated activities
3. Additional business as usual or cross-cutting supporting activities
Brand, marketing and promotion
SME engagement and support
Quality Assessment and Assurance Schemes
Research and insights
Delivery
Dedicated Director for England
VisitEngland Action Plan sets direction and drives implementation of all VisitEngland activities
Dedicated staff deliver England activities as well as shared staff in Business Services e.g. Project Management of the Fund, Marketing, Commercial and Strategy & Communications Directorates

4. The Discover England Fund
Objectives
To grow tourism in the regions of England
To increase the competitiveness of England’s tourism offer, domestically and internationally
To develop world-class bookable tourism products in line with market trends and in response to consumer demands

5. High-level criteria
Collaborative – demonstrate that each bid has the support of a group of public/private partners, DMOs and LEPs
Integrated transport solutions are key
pricing / passes
local solutions e.g. linking attractions
technology
Match-funded
Demonstrate how products meet customer needs
bookable
tangible
Demonstrate international and domestic tourism benefits

6. Funding profile
Year 1 £6.5m
Year 2 £11.5m
Year 3 £22m
£40m

7. Staged approach Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Proposals developed & supported / Research
Year 1 Projects & Pilots
Product testing / promotion
Year 2
Core delivery
Year 1 evaluated
Year 3
Impact evaluated

8. Regional Engagement Regional Engagement events held in Feb/Mar 2016
Six locations - London; Birmingham; Newcastle; Bristol; Cambridge; Manchester
10 additional group meetings & a number of one to one engagements
Engaged over 400 representatives from Destination Organisations, tourism businesses, trade bodies, national partners and Government departments
Presented on headline Government ambition and objectives, criteria and indicative timelines
Session to discuss key questions from industry to feed into fund develop and online Q&A
Followed up with an online industry-wide survey

9. Industry Survey Results Summary
Most respondents agree that they have a good overall understanding of the main elements of the Fund. Not surprisingly, those who attended an event tend to have a higher level of understanding than those who didn’t.
Half the respondents say they are likely to be involved in developing a bid for the Fund. Interest levels are highest particularly among destination organisations.
The priorities for further support were advice about bid development and submission, research and insight, and partnership facilitation.
Partnership support and bid development were the two areas of support mentioned most frequently.
Specifically for research and insight, respondents were keen to understand more about international visitors/markets, best practice case studies, and industry or regional specific insights.
A wide range (35) of initial ideas were submitted by respondents.

10. What We Learnt Further detail and clarity requested on the following:
Criteria and success measures
Activities the Fund will and won’t support e.g. marketing
Scale of projects – funding levels and geographies/regional spread/role of London
Match-funding requirements
How and when to apply for the two rounds
Bid development support and delivery capacity
Partnership requirements including role of DMOs
Governance/decision-making on successful projects
Sustainability and legacy

11. Timeline: Round One Projects & Pilots
10 May – 30 Sept
Open for applications
31 May 2016
Deadline for first tranche of applications (monthly thereafter to the end of Sept)
By end of Jun 2016
Confirmation of tranche one successful applications (monthly thereafter for the following tranches)
Jul 2016 onwards
Delivery of tranche one commences (monthly thereafter for following tranches) 
31 Mar 2017**
Deadline for completing projects
** option for further funding

12. Timeline: Round Two Large Scale Years 2/3 Programmes
July 2016
Open for expressions of interest
October 2016
Deadline for expressions of interest
November 2016
We invite some partnerships to complete a full application
February 2017
Deadline for submitting a full application
March 2017
We confirm and announce awards
April 2017
Delivery commences
By end of March 2019
Deadline for completing projects

13. Year One Update Project Categories:1
Product testing
Do you have the right product? Do you know what international customers want and what your competitors offer? Is it being adopted by businesses? 2
Problem solving
Is the product joined up by transport corridor/theme/location/distributor to make it easy for customers to understand, purchase (i.e. bookable) or experience; and trade to access? Does the bid help get product to market? 3
Amplification
Is the product scalable e.g. domestic product that has international appeal but is not yet bookable or could be applied across other geographical areas/replicated? Is it reaching the customer in the right way i.e. digitally and through the right distribution channels? 4
New product
Does it provide new opportunities for customers to explore England’s regions? Does it address a market gap or respond to market intelligence that identifies consumer demand

14. Size of bids
Up to £250k
Different levels of support will be considered if a clear case made
Partners must contribute a minimum of 20% of the project’s value in cash
Bids which contribute more will be regarded favourably
Partners must also demonstrate they are bringing other assets and skills to the project

15. What the Fund will / won’t support
Will support
Won’t support
Project delivery resource
Core funding of partner organisations
Developing thematic and/or geographic clusters/groupings of bookable product e.g. heritage, gardens, culture
Large scale capital projects like the adaption, building and construction of roads, hotels and attractions, TICs
Passes and other pricing products
Research and product/market testing
Substantially about marketing & promotion or existing enabling activities e.g. welcome or training
Itinerary development
Integrated transport solutions/options e.g. regional gateway development, work with transport operators, digital travel planning, through-ticketing/local solutions e.g. cycle routes & buses to link up product
Business as usual costs
Some international marketing/promotion in order to test outcomes, though this should not be the main focus of the bid
Product distribution
Technology to enable the above

16. Four Criteria
A clear challenge is identified and a high quality, customer-centric solution in one of the four Project Categories is proposed
Outcomes and impacts are planned which produce lessons that can be shared across the tourism sector to stimulate and inform future product development
A clear case is made for public funding and the project partners can demonstrate their contribution
The project can move quickly from development to delivery. Support from key stakeholders should be identified and demonstrated

17. Initial Response /Level of Interest

18. Governance Operational Work Package Leads Programme Management Board
VisitEngland Advisory Board
Advice and monitoring
Operational Work Package Leads
Programme Management Board
British Tourist Authority
Board
Operational management
Progress updates
Fund processes & timeline
Overall programme management
Risk review
Monitor spend
Ratify Award Panel recommendations
Discover England Awards Panel
Discuss / agree applications
Recommend awards & funding amounts

19. Awards Panel Make-up The following sectors are represented:
Inbound Tour Operators
Business Visits and Events
Airlines
Digital/technology
Government Departments
VisitEngland/VisitBritain
Outcomes and impacts are planned which produce lessons that can be shared across the tourism sector to stimulate and inform future product development
A clear case is made for public funding and the project partners can demonstrate their contribution
The project can move quickly from development to delivery. Support from key stakeholders should be identified and demonstrated

20. For further information: www. discoverenglandfund
For further information: