Market Improvement Fund

The Booster Fund is an additional fund that enables successful projects to apply for an additional sum of money to continue work on their projects after completion. 

Applicants are able to apply for up to 50% of their initial funding allowance and will be eligible to apply for the fund within two years of their contract being signed.

The fund is available to successful round four projects only, and requires a separate application. More information will be available in the round four governance document, with full details available in early 2025.

The application window for the fourth round of the Market Improvement Fund is as follows: 

• December 2024: Application documents reviewed and updated 
• 17th - 28th February 2025: Application window
• March 2025: MOSL review 
• April 2025: Selection Committee shortlisting, shortlist presentations and Strategic Panel ratification
• May 2025: Successful project announcement.

Please note that this timeline is subject to change.

The Market Improvement Fund Expression of Interest Form is an opportunity for potential applicants to let us know whether they are interested in or intending to submit a bid, whether you are looking to seek MOSL sponsorship or require MOSL involvement in your bid (e.g. data sharing), and if you have any questions regarding a potential application or the fund.

Please note that providing information in this form is not considered a formal commitment - all applicants must submit an application as per the application process.

If you would like your project to be sponsored for consideration by MOSL, please contact MIF@mosl.co.uk, providing the following information:

• A high-level summary of your bid, the delivery timeline and the amount being requested
• A rationale for why MOSL (and not a trading party) is your preferred sponsor for your bid
• What level of involvement you expect MOSL to have throughout the project. For example, is there an expectation of MOSL to help deliver the project or will resources from MOSL be required, or are you asking that MOSL sponsor but not have any other involvement?
• How your bid will adhere to the eligibility requirements - enhance market functioning and benefit non-household customers, not considered 'business as usual and does not confer any competitive advantage to any trading party or group of trading parties
• How far you are in the process of submitting your bid.

If all information is provided, we will endeavour to respond to your request within a week with an initial view. However, the time required to make a final decision on MOSL sponsorship will depend on the size and complexity of the bid and level of expected MOSL involvement. We therefore strongly advise you to engage with MOSL as early as possible.

Alternatively, you can submit an Expression of Interest form and we will be in touch.

Please note that if successful, your bid will still need to pass the outlined eligibility checks: an initial eligibility review by MOSL, review by the independent Selection Committee and if successful, final approval by the Strategic Panel.

MOSL is facilitating the Market Improvement Fund on behalf of the Strategic Panel.

As part of this responsiblity, MOSL will assist the independent Selection Committee by ensuring that all applications that are submitted meet the eligibility criteria. However, MOSL will present all applications, those who are both eligable and uneligable, to ensure that the Selection Committee has full visiblity of the applications.

As part of the eligbility criteria, MOSL is allowed to submit or sponsor a bid. These bids will undertake the same eligibility assessment as other bids, and the Selection Committee will be made aware that it is a MOSL bid. 

Please note that MOSL does not provide PMO or marketing functions, therefore it is important that you ensure your project is properly resourced when proposing activities and milestones.

The Market Improvement Fund (MIF) is a fund that will provide money to projects that benefit the non-household market. It has been designed to compliment Ofwat's Innovation Competitions. We are currently awarding up to a total of £1million to the successful projects. It is owned by the Strategic Panel, but facilitated by MOSL.

In January 2020 an official code change was implemented to allow Market Performance Standard (MPS) and Operational Performance Standard (OPS) charges to be used to create the Market Improvement Fund - this will enable charges to be redirected to better benefit customers and the market. Due to COVID-19 the Market Improvement Fund launch was delayed until 2021. The money that will be distributed to the winning bids will be made up of MPS and OPS charges accumulated throughout the year.

Applicants can bid for a minimum of £10k and a maximum of £200k.

In order to apply to the Market Improvement Fund, the project must: 

• Enhance market functioning and benefit non-household customers
• Could not be considered 'business as usual'
• Does not confer any particular competitive advantage to any trading party or group of trading parties.

Alignment with the Strategic Panel's Roadmap to a Flourishing Market is also strongly encouraged.

Third-party applicants are welcomed, however, the project must be sponsored by a trading party or MOSL.

For a full list of criteria, please see the governance document available on the Market Improvement Fund webpage.

The application window for round four opens from Monday 17th - Friday 28th February 2025. Applications close at 12pm on the final day.

If the winning bids equate to less than the agreed total amount, all monies will be redistributed to trading parties as per the usual process.

All applicants will receive an email to say that their application has been received, as well as a notification of the result of their application. If your application has been shortlisted you will receive an invitation to present your project to the committee. Unsuccessful applications will be given a brief summary as to why their application was rejected.

Following the presentation round, you will receive an email notifying you of your result. Final award of funds will take place once the Funding Agreement has been signed by MOSL and the successful applicant(s).

A list of successful applicants and a brief summary of their project will be published on the MOSL website.

Yes. However, you will need to provide sufficient information to prove that funding has been secured by Ofwat's fund.