Request for review of a decision

A request for review of a decision is a remedy through which an unsuccessful applicant can challenge a decision not to approve an application for a non-repayable financial contribution. It is submitted to the provider within the deadline stated in the decision, usually within 10 working days of its delivery, and must contain specific objections – for example an incorrect assessment of whether the conditions were met, factual errors in the evaluation sheet, mathematical errors in the scoring, or a breach of the evaluation procedure. A general disagreement with the result is not enough; what is reviewed is the lawfulness and correctness of the process, not the evaluator's expert opinion as such. If the provider upholds the objections, the application is returned to the evaluation process; otherwise it confirms the decision. Following this, a submission to the provider's statutory body or an administrative action before the courts may be considered. In practice, a minority of submissions succeed, but where there are obvious errors by the evaluators, a review is worthwhile – at the very least it brings detailed feedback that can be used for the next call.