Pathways Fund: form and guidance

Funding criteria

The project must be fully delivered by 31 March 2025.

Business stages

We welcome projects targeted at the following business stages:

• pre-start
• pre-growth
• pre-investment

Key criteria

Your application will be assessed against the following key criteria:

• widening participation
• advance greater inclusion, equality and diversity
• support for wider Scottish Government priorities
• community involvement
• working in partnership
• Fair Work framework

Widening participation

Projects must demonstrate ability to increase participation in entrepreneurship.

This includes people who might not otherwise consider entrepreneurship, start-ups and/or groups who historically have not benefited from investment, mentoring and business support services available.  

It is essential for projects to actively work towards closing the gender gap in entrepreneurial participation.

Advance greater inclusion, equality and diversity

Applications should demonstrate how the project will advance greater inclusion, equality and diversity.

Particular attention should be given to encouraging entrepreneurial talent from people in groups and/or locations historically under-represented or under-supported in entrepreneurship.

Support for wider Scottish Government priorities

Applications should support wider Scottish Government priorities, such as growing Scotland’s economy and supporting fair work principles.

Community involvement

Applications should demonstrate the clear demand for the project amongst the people it would serve, or evidence of the impact the project may have.

The project should evidence how this is responsive to community and ecosystem needs.

Working in partnership

Applications should demonstrate how their organisation (and, where relevant, partner organisations) and project sits within Scotland’s entrepreneurial support landscape.

Fair Work framework criteria

Fair Work First (2023) is part of our commitment for Scotland to be a fair and equal society.

You will be asked how your organisation will commit to the Fair Work Framework criteria over the period of funding.

Fair Work First is the Scottish Government’s policy for driving high quality and fair work and workforce diversity across the labour market in Scotland.

This can be achieved by applying fair work principles to grants, other funding and public contracts.

Through this approach we are supporting employers who adopt fair working practices, specifically:

• payment of at least the real Living Wage
• provide appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice, such as trade union recognition
• investment in workforce development
• no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts
• action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace
• offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of employment
• oppose the use of fire and rehire practice

The Fair Work First criteria seek to address particular challenges in Scotland's labour market, to make a real difference to people and their communities, business and other organisations and the economy.

For public sector grants awarded on or after 1 July 2023, the default position is:

• Fair Work First criteria for paying at least the real Living Wage.
• providing appropriate channels for effective workers' voice will be mandatory while the other criteria will continue at this stage to be encouraged

The Scottish Government asks that organisations accessing grant funding provide a short statement on their own website highlighting their commitment to advancing Fair Work First criteria.

This statement should include the real Living Wage and effective voice conditions.

The statement should be agreed jointly by the employer and an appropriate workplace representative.

This representative should be from the relevant trade union(s) where one or more is recognised, alternatively where there is no union recognition, it should be another appropriate workers' representative.

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria

If your organisation does not meet the eligibility criteria, then we cannot consider an application from you.