CSI Growth Fund Program / GROWTH FUND REQUEST FORM /
Version: CSI Growth Fund Program Form_ v9_1Jan16_clean.docx
1.  General information
Growth Fund Request Name*
*Please fill-in a generic name which will help identifying your request (the name should suggest the content of your request, e.g.: “Storage workshop Madrid 19-20 Oct 2015”,” z Systems Technical University Munchen 10-14 June 2015”, etc. Try to include the subject, location and period, as a minimum.
System Integrator (SI) Name
Name SI contact person
Country where requesting SI is located1
IBM Client Manager Name
CSI Growth Fund Reference Number*
1 The activity should be conducted in the same country as the SI’s country of residence; if they are different, please contact the SISC team for further guidance
2 Please fill-in the field above when the initiative is complete and you wish to claim the Growth Fund Payment.The SI Sales Centre will provide this number to you when your CSI Growth Fund submission is approved.
Is the Growth Fund request related to a Solution Business Proposal (SBP) ? / Y/N / If Yes:
1) SBP title
3) IBM SBP contact person
Creation date of this request
Start date of the proposed activity
End date of the proposed activity (any unused funds will be lost after this date)
Are your activities supporting an ‘Engagement Plan/Strategic Project Plan’? If yes, which one ?
2.  Growth Fund activity request
Please tick in the tables below the activities that you want to perform and be reimbursed for. The activities are the ones eligible under this program and you are required to mark with X those that you want to perform. Also with X please also mark if the indicated activities will be performed by 3rd party companies or by your own personnel (in-house). The “Comments” column is available for you to include additional description and/or clarifications. If you don’t find your intended activity among the listed ones, it means that our program does not cover your activity and you cannot use it. If in doubt, please contact your IBM client manager or the SI Sales Centre at the e-mail address provided further. For guidance on non-eligible activities, please see the end of this form.
Main Spending Category – 1.1. Solutions and Product Support
System Integrator activities that support a specific IBM hardware product or platform or IBM Cloud Managed Services.
Activity / Mark / 3rd party / In-house / Your comments
White paper creation for IBM value proposition (thought leadership), including production and creative fees attached to a specific approved deliverable (white papers, case studies, guidelines, technical presentations and similar)
Analysis and collection of statistical and system data in support of creating guidelines, white paper, studies, etc.
IBM Systems Lab Services and associated fees (with participation of technical advocates, architects)
Benchmarking/Design Centre activity and associated fees
Creation of customised solutions for customers and development of new solutions on IBM products and platforms (including technical architect hours spent to support development of IBM solutions based on STG IBM Systems and/or IBM Cloud Managed Services technology)
Re-engineering of IBM solution to accommodate customer's needs
Required documents at claim stage
·  Itemized third party invoices from the providers of any of the deliverables mentioned above
·  Evidence of the deliverables created in support of the enablement activities
·  Worksheets showing itemised costs for in-house activities (services were performed by the SI personnel)
·  Written confirmation from the SI’s client manager regarding the in-house activity performed, if there is not enough material evidence to prove it (e.g.: customer meetings, sales calls, etc.)
Main Spending Category – 1.2. SI Practice Enablement
Education and training provided by IBM or an approved vendor, to develop IBM product-related or business skills for the System Integrator. Certification services provided by IBM to the SI's technical staff.
Education types include:
·  IBM product marketing
·  IBM Technical
·  Solution Assurance/Quality Best Practices
·  Certification
·  Conference/seminar attendance including IBM PartnerWorld registration conference fees
·  IBM Education Cards (discount or free places on IBM Education Courses, provided by IBM Systems or GBP)
Funds’ payment is contingent upon the IBM System Integrator’s successful completion of the course or certification program. The education or training must be pertinent to eligible products.
Costs of satellite equipment or services other than the IBM Learning subscription are not eligible. This is related to having access remotely to IBM hardware and software technology, which the CSI could pay to use using a private virtual connection. IBM would not pay for this if it was being used in a Production environment, IBM would only pay for such expense for enablement / education benefits, e.g.: testing, development, etc.
Activity / Mark / 3rd party / In-house / Your comments
Education and certification seminars, dedicated to SI personnel, no customer participation
Enrolment fees
Certification testing fees
Course development and materials and their associated fees (course customised to IBM needs, especially created on-demand)
Briefing Centre services and associated specific marketing program / activities (production of newsletters, sales support materials, etc.)
Facility rental, catering and associated food expense (no restaurants)
Audio/Video equipment rentals
Related seminar materials such as:
·  Brochures
·  Specification sheets
·  Catalogues
·  Application briefs
IBM product literature
Travel to and from education event
Required documents at claim stage
·  Itemized third party invoices for tuition fees and testing fees
·  Copy of course certificate (except for courses taken with IBM education cards)
·  For conferences, a copy of the registration or online confirmation receipt
·  Evidence of successful completion of the course or certification program
·  Invoice for course development with description of course content
·  Evidence of the deliverables created in support of the enablement activities (e.g.: newsletters, sales support materials, etc.)
·  Worksheets showing itemised costs for in-house activities (services were performed by the SI personnel)
Main Spending Category – 1.3. Marketing Campaigns and Events
Marketing campaign services received from IBM or an external agency to drive sales of System Integrator products and services in conjunction with IBM Systems products and services and IBM Cloud Managed Services.
Sales events with technology content only (no pure social events), where customer participation is allowed. IBM organised technology seminars (e.g.: in Montpellier, Interchange, etc.) also fit in this spending category.
Such marketing campaigns and events would aim to create awareness of IBM hardware, to gain new customers, to drive sales in general, as a pre-sale activity.
At the time of activity approval, estimated leads and revenue must be provided.
If a seminar covers multiple vendors that compete with an IBM product or service, the IBM product or service must be the primary product marketed.
Communication materials must comply with the IBM Business Partner Program Emblem Usage Guidelines and Guidelines for Marketing Materials.
Marketing Campaigns
Activity / Mark / 3rd party / In-house / Your comments
Campaign Designer – IBM campaign offering (conceptual work)
Sales and marketing activities for creation of marketing proposition (customer meetings, presentations, videos, etc.)
Development of targeted mailing lists
Telemarketing/Internet Marketing for campaign follow-up
Direct mail including e-mail
Internal (IBM is performing) and external production costs (an external agency is performing), like design costs, printing costs, distribution costs, etc.
List of qualified prospects
Mail campaign or related collateral materials such as:
·  Brochures/Sales flyers
·  Specification sheets
·  Catalogues
·  Application and solution briefs
·  Whitepapers[1]
·  Sales Kits[2]
·  IBM product literature
Technology Seminars
Activity / Mark / 3rd party / In-house / Your comments
Events, seminars, web casts, customer briefings
Enrolment fees (Conference/seminar attendance, including IBM PartnerWorld registration conference fees)
SI's speaker (own or hired) at end-user conferences and IT fairs on IBM technology
Facility rental, including the use of restaurants, catering and associated food expense
List of qualified prospects
Audio/Video equipment rentals
Travel to and from the event
Related seminar materials such as:
*  Brochures
*  Specification sheets
*  Catalogues
*  Application briefs
*  Sales Kits
*  Sales flyers
*  IBM product literature
Required documents at claim stage
·  Third party invoices for the telemarketing, internet marketing services, direct mail, event organisation, etc.
·  Evidence of the deliverables created in support of the enablement activities (e.g.: examples of mail campaign or related collateral materials, IBM product literature, brochures, etc.)
·  Seminar invitation and agenda
·  Listing of attendees by company name and title
·  Worksheets showing itemised costs for in-house activities (services were performed by the SI personnel)
·  Written confirmation from the SI’s client manager regarding the in-house activity performed, if there is not enough material evidence to prove it (e.g.: customer meetings, sales calls, etc.)
Main Spending Category – 1.4. Demo Equipment and Solutions
IBM demonstration equipment to be acquired by the SI, in order to promote IBM product and solutions. Demo solutions and versions associated with the promoted machine and IBM Cloud Managed Services.
Activity / Mark / 3rd party / In-house / Your comments
Hardware demo equipment purchase value
Creation of demo scenarios to accommodate customer’s needs
Prototype / Showcase development
POC / POT (Proof of Concept / Proof of Technology)
Required documents at claim stage
·  IBM invoice with relevant information related to demo equipment
·  Written proof of created demo scenarios
·  Worksheets showing itemised costs for in-house activities (services were performed by the SI personnel)
·  Written confirmation from the SI’s client manager regarding the in-house activity performed, if there is not enough material evidence to prove it (e.g.: existence of the prototypes, showcases, POCs and/or POTs and their presentation to the customer, etc.)
Main Spending Category – 1.5. Dedicated Resources
SI sales or technical personnel dedicated to IBM business. Typically, a sales dedicated resource would work to create market awareness on IBM products and services, to develop IBM business, to acquire new customers for IBM products and solutions, etc., while a dedicated technical resource would work to create new IT solutions around IBM products, analyse the impact of the IBM products in various environments, would test the validity of IBM solutions for SI’s customers and propose amendments if needed, etc.
The Growth Fund initial application should contain information about the name of the dedicated resource, the scope and duration of his/her assignment.
Activity / Mark / 3rd party / In-house / Your comments
Sales meetings, account planning, business reviews, etc.
Travel incurred when attending to IBM business and scope (sales meetings, account planning, business reviews, etc.)
Cost of materials needed to conduct their work scope as dedicated resources for IBM business, such as:
§  Office supplies
§  Audio/video rentals for meetings
§  Non-alcoholic beverages and catering for business meetings, etc. (tips may be included up to 5%-10% of the meal’s value, according to local customs)
Required documents at claim stage
·  Plane tickets, hotel invoices, taxi receipts
·  3rd party invoices for office supplies, rentals, catering, etc., used for business meetings
·  Written agenda and description of the business meetings’ scopes
·  Worksheets showing itemised costs for in-house activities (typically for the technical dedicated resources)
·  Proof of deliverables from the dedicated technical resource
·  Written confirmation from the SI’s client exec that the activities performed by the dedicated resources were delivered
Note: You might be required to provide additional proofs for the performed activities in case the presented ones are considered to not be sufficient, depending on the specific of the activity you performed.
3.  High level info about the Growth Fund activity request
If funding must go to more than one country then complete and submit a request form for each country, have them refer to each other and submit as one request.
The request must be made in US$, the actual funding will be the equivalent in local currency.
IBM Products / Mark
(Y or N) / Requested funding in US$ / Expected result (see also next page) / Where and when will the activity take place and what is the completion date
z Systems
Power
Storage
4.  Summary of content (Business justification)
Detailed description of the activities for which funding is requested.
Explain what will change as a result of executing the activity.
Guidance
·  Keep it Simple. Preferably one A4 page
·  You need to be IBM brand specific
·  Please include your narrative below
5.  Claims
Please fill in the tables below and submit this form to the SI Sales Centre once the initiative has been completed to claim your CSI Growth Fund payment.
Remember that when you submit this form to the SI Sales Centre you need to:
·  attach proof that each activity has been completed
·  update the form with the CSI Growth Fund Reference Number
·  complete the tables below
I confirm that the claim(s) I submit and have detailed below do not include payments for any ineligible expenses (see Appendix A of this form for further details).
Cost split by type of spending (add lines as you need)
Type of spending1 / Cost in LC2 / Cost in US$ / Proof document3 / Completion Date / Comments
1 State what you spent the funds for (e.g.: brochures, catering, transport, etc.)
2 LC = local currency
3 State the name and identification details of the document you submit as a proof of the respective spending (e.g.: Invoice no. 2521/12.10.2013)
Cost split by supporting brands
IBM Products / Mark
(Y or N) / Cost in US$ / Actual Result* / Completion Date / Details of activity or activities completed
z Systems
Power
Storage
*Refer to generated leads, prospect contracts, number of educated or certified resources, etc., any concrete result of your funded activity
A claim (request for payment) must be submitted within 45 calendar days after the end of the quarter in which the activity was completed. If request for payment is received beyond this deadline by IBM, IBM will NOT pay any Growth Fund to SI.
Ineligible Expenses
Ineligible Expenses (not eligible for funding) are:
·  Entertainment events for IBM Business Partners, such as cruises, musical concerts, theatre tickets, sightseeing tours, etc.
·  Gifts of any kind
·  Social events not associated with an approved, focused marketing activity. This includes meals and beverages, venue expenses, etc.