Introduction

In regulated markets, grant funding is never just about winning a competition. It must align with regulatory expectations, internal risk appetite and long term capital plans. This article examines how a specialist Grants Advisor supports organisations in fintech, health and energy where compliance and scrutiny are as important as headline grant values.

Why regulated sectors need a different approach to grant funding

Fintech, health and energy sit at the intersection of public policy, regulation and capital markets. For CFOs and senior leaders in these sectors, grant funded projects raise questions that go beyond technical excellence:

  • Will the project structure satisfy regulators as well as funders
  • How will match funding commitments affect regulatory capital or cash buffers
  • Are subsidy control and state aid rules properly addressed
  • Can the organisation defend spending decisions under audit and public scrutiny

In this context, treating grant applications as a copywriting exercise is risky. A regulated organisation needs a Grants Advisor who understands that every funded project is also a regulatory signal, a balance sheet commitment and a potential point of reputational exposure.

Grants Advisor versus generic bid support in regulated markets

A useful way for CFOs to frame the decision is to compare generic bid support with specialist grants advisory.

Generic bid writer

  • Focuses on narrative and scoring criteria
  • Works mainly with information provided by project teams
  • Optimises for compliance with call text and deadlines
  • Limited involvement in regulatory or financial structuring

Specialist Grants Advisor for regulated sectors

  • Tests eligibility against regulatory permissions and supervisory expectations
  • Designs budgets and match funding so they sit comfortably within capital and liquidity constraints
  • Analyses interactions with R&D tax relief, other grant funding and subsidy control rules
  • Anticipates post award reporting, audit requirements and data governance
  • Works directly with finance, risk and compliance as well as project leads

For regulated entities, the second model is far closer to what boards and regulators expect when public money is involved.

Sector snapshots: how a Grants Advisor adds value

Fintech and financial services

Fintechs and regulated financial institutions operate under prudential, conduct and data rules that profoundly shape project design. A specialist Grants Advisor will:

  • Ensure funded innovation aligns with permissions, capital requirements and risk appetite
  • Structure projects so that match funding does not compromise liquidity or regulatory ratios
  • Reflect governance arrangements that satisfy both funders and regulators, for example clear accountability for model risk or operational resilience
  • Address data protection, KYC and AML considerations in digital projects from the outset

For a fintech CFO, this means grant funded initiatives support, rather than complicate, supervisory relationships and investor narratives.

Health, life sciences and medtech

In health and medtech, patient safety, ethics and regulatory pathways are central. Grant funded projects may involve clinical data, patient involvement and collaboration with hospitals or research institutions. A specialist Grants Advisor will:

  • Align study designs, endpoints and work packages with regulatory expectations and ethical approvals
  • Clarify consent, data ownership and sharing arrangements, particularly for secondary use of health data
  • Integrate clinical and translational milestones into the financial and exploitation case, not treat them as separate worlds
  • Ensure that overlaps between grant funding, charitable support and R&D tax relief are managed without double counting or compliance breaches

This approach reduces the risk of promising funders one trajectory while regulators expect another, a misalignment that can ultimately delay both reimbursement and commercialisation.

Energy, infrastructure and net zero

Energy and infrastructure projects frequently combine grants, loans, private capital and regulated returns. They are also increasingly central to national net zero strategies. A specialist Grants Advisor in this space will:

  • Interpret complex eligibility rules for generation, storage, networks and demand side projects
  • Work with finance teams on capex heavy budgets that may include grid connections, planning and environmental costs
  • Analyse subsidy control implications where grants interact with regulated tariffs, contracts for difference or regional incentives
  • Design governance and reporting structures that satisfy funders, regulators and internal ESG frameworks

For energy sector CFOs, the value lies in grant proposals that support long term investment cases, withstand public scrutiny and keep options open for future project finance or strategic partnerships.

FI Group insight on grants in regulated sectors

Consultancy FI Group observes that many regulated organisations initially approach grants as isolated opportunities, only later recognising that funding choices have regulatory, tax and capital consequences. In their work with fintech, health and energy clients, FI Group’s teams emphasise that a specialist Grants Advisor must:

  • Map grant funding opportunities against the organisation’s broader investment and compliance roadmap
  • Coordinate grants with R&D tax relief and other incentives so that support is maximised within subsidy and state aid limits
  • Embed evidence collection and KPI frameworks that satisfy both funders and internal audit or regulator reviews

Operating across the UK, Europe and the United States, FI Group supports regulated businesses in designing projects that are attractive to funders and defendable under regulatory scrutiny. Many CFOs in these sectors use funding advisers’ guidance from FI Group as a benchmark when assessing whether their current grants approach is robust enough for multi million, multi year programmes. A natural contextual backlink could sit here, for example further reading on FI Group’s funding advisers’ guidance.

Practical questions CFOs should ask a Grants Advisor

For finance leaders in regulated sectors, the critical issue is not whether a potential Grants Advisor can write a persuasive narrative. It is whether they can operate as part of the organisation’s control environment. Useful questions include:

  • How do you assess subsidy control and state aid risks before we commit to a bid
  • How will you work with our risk, compliance and internal audit teams
  • What experience do you have with regulators in our sector and jurisdiction
  • How do you coordinate grants with R&D tax relief and other incentives
  • What post award support do you provide on reporting, evidence and audits

Clear, detailed answers are usually a better predictor of long term value than headline win rates alone.

FAQs: Grants Advisors in regulated sectors

When is a specialist Grants Advisor essential in regulated markets?

A specialist Grants Advisor becomes essential when projects are high value or multi year, when they draw on scarce capital, when interactions with other incentives are complex, or when regulators are likely to scrutinise how public funding is used.

Does a Grants Advisor reduce or increase regulatory risk?

Handled correctly, specialist grants advisory should reduce risk. By designing projects that align with permissions, capital plans and subsidy rules, a Grants Advisor helps avoid structures that might later worry supervisors, auditors or funders.

How should a Grants Advisor work with internal compliance teams?

In regulated organisations, compliance should be involved from the first discussion. A good Grants Advisor will create a joint workflow, ensuring that eligibility, data, ethics and regulatory issues are signed off before bids are finalised, not retrofitted afterwards.

Can grant funded projects still benefit from R&D tax relief in regulated sectors?

Yes, but interactions are nuanced. Eligibility and claimable costs can change once grant funding is involved. This needs coordinated advice from both grant and tax specialists to avoid double counting or missing legitimate reliefs.

Is a Grants Advisor relevant for smaller regulated firms and scale ups?

For fintech, health or energy scale ups, a single strategic grant can be transformational for runway and credibility. In such cases, investing in a specialist Grants Advisor often makes sense, provided the project is material to the business.