Marine Fund Scotland 2023 to 2024: guidance

Annex F – glossary

Applicant means the business (including sole traders), organisation, charity, community group or other incorporated or unincorporated entity which is the intended beneficiary of an application for a grant and to whom the grant would be made.

Blue Economy means sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, while preserving the health of marine and coastal ecosystem.

Climate change mitigation means reducing human-induced climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the uptake and storage of them.

Climate change adaptation means living with, and increasing the resilience to the impacts of climate change, addressing climate risks and opportunities.

Discretionary grant means that the Scottish Ministers are free to decide whether to offer grant funding or not and are not obliged to offer grant funding in relation to any application or project, even if an application meets all of the eligibility criteria.

Economic benefits means improvements in one or more economic measures (to the local communities and/or the wider economy of Scotland). These measures could include:

• gross value added
• labour market conditions (unemployment, skill shortages, etc.)
• education
• supply chain intelligence and resilience
• price stability

Eligible project costs means the types of costs associated with a project that fit into the purposes and categories for which Marine Fund Scotland 2023-24 funding can be applied for.

Grant rate is the maximum total public funding that can be applied for towards a specific project, as a percentage of the total eligible project costs, by each category of applicant to the Marine Fund Scotland.

Innovation means new ways of combining existing and/or new resources to better address existing and/or new needs.

Natural capital is a way of thinking about nature (natural assets including geology, soil, air, water and plants and animals) as a stock that provides a flow of benefits to people and the economy. The flow of benefits and the capacity of nature to deliver those benefits both need to be maintained, including through investment in the maintenance and enhancement of the natural assets (see Box 1 on page 15 of Scotland's Blue Economy Vision document for more information).

Net zero means reaching net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases as far as possible and enhancing uptake and storage of them, so that the gas emission and uptake/storage are balanced.

Social benefits means improvements in one or more possible social measures, including qualitative measures (to the local communities or the people and/or wider economy of Scotland). These measures could include (but are not limited to):

• community cohesion
• education
• income and job security
• health and wellbeing
• access to green and blue space
• community resilience

to the extent that these fall within Scottish Ministers' statutory grant funding powers which are being relied upon, in accordance with the Scheme established by the 2022 Regulations (as explained in these General Guidance notes).

Subsidy in this context means financial assistance which is given by a public authority, is specific and confers an economic advantage on one or more enterprises, and affects international trade.

Sustainable use of ocean resources means that we use our ocean resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to use the resources to meet their needs. This means preserving and protecting the marine environment for future generations.

Value for money is the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes.