Despite what many people are saying on forums and discussion boards on the internet - government grants are not able to be spent on anything and everything - at least not those in most categories. Because of this confusion which seems to be rife all over the place, this article will attempt to set the record straight.
How will we do this? Basically, we will look at a number of categories, and then try to filter out which ones allow for flexibility with the amount granted, and those which are fairly rigid with their financing allowance.
Breaking It Down
Let's begin with the categories which allow the most flexibility for spending of the government grant money. Probably the most obvious areas where people can choose how they spend the money is in the area of business grants. For these, a proposal will generally be based around an idea, rather than a specific plan of how each and every dollar is to be spent. In this way, the discretion is placed in the hands of the applicant.
This works, because at the end of the day, the person who requested the grant does still have to prove that all the funding has gone towards the particular project. Hence, there is no room for fraudulent activity.
A Stark Contrast
This is in stark contrast to, say, a medical grant. If a government grant is issued based on a proposal for a medical trial or a research project for a new drug - the funds will be scrutinized right down to the last cent, to ensure that indeed the money has all been spent on a particular area of research. In this way, no discretionary spending is available, as the government is specifically sponsoring a particular project or venture - which ultimately is not up for negotiation.
Other categories where this applies may include green energy projects, food and nutrition, environmental, health and transportation ventures. Interestingly, there are the areas in which new projects are actually the most needed at the present time. Whether this is a coincidence or not remains to be seen.
One thing is for sure - you need to check whether the grant you apply for is based around discretionary spending or not. If it is, you will probably be allowed to exercise a fair bit of authority over where you spend the government grant money.
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