Zeshi Dynamics | A Veteran Reform and Development Official Shares Practical Insights from His Work on Applying for Central Funding Projects

Funds from the central budget and ultra-long-term government bonds are not merely economic resources; they also serve as vital conduits for transmitting the nation’s strategic will. The allocation of these funds has always been closely aligned with the “major national concerns”—addressing critical shortcomings in people’s livelihoods, ensuring the security of industrial chains, breaking through bottlenecks in scientific and technological innovation, and safeguarding food and energy security. Applicants from various regions must move beyond a mere “money-seeking mindset” and instead conceive their projects from the perspective of integrating national strategy with local development.

For example, the reason why the national grain storage project in a certain city—led by me—received central government funding lies in its close alignment with the strategic positioning of the “National Grain Security Industrial Belt.” The project integrates the upgrading of storage facilities with the development of a smart logistics system, creating an integrated “storage-processing-emergency response” solution that precisely matches policy objectives with local needs.

Enterprises are the primary implementers of these projects; however, many enterprises still have gaps in their understanding of the central government’s funding priorities, application guidelines, and relevant policies. Development and Reform departments across various regions need to take the initiative to go directly to the grassroots level and, through means such as policy briefings and case study workshops, convey three key messages to enterprises:

First, there’s a window of opportunity for policy benefits. For example, phased policies such as interest subsidies for the purchase of high-tech equipment and special funds for green and low-carbon technological upgrades are highly time-sensitive.

Second, ensure compliance with the minimum standards. Strictly prohibit “piecing together and packaging” and “false or exaggerated claims,” and strengthen the completeness of prerequisite procedures such as land acquisition, environmental impact assessment, energy assessment, and project commencement.

Third is the requirement for full-lifecycle management. From the initial stage of project funding applications to the post-completion performance evaluation, a dynamic tracking mechanism must be established.

Successful project applications hinge on the application team. A professional application team must possess three key capabilities:

First is the ability to decode policies. This involves precisely understanding the latest application requirements and management procedures—down to the technical details—governing central budget funds and ultra-long-term government bonds.

Second, cross-disciplinary collaboration capability. Taking a certain science and technology innovation platform project as an example, the team needs to integrate talents from various professional backgrounds, including industrial policy, research management, financial auditing, and project construction.

Third is the capability for reusing experience. Establish a database of applications submitted over the years, and compile “common templates” from successful cases as well as a “negative checklist” of lessons learned from failures. It is recommended that localities adopt these practices when organizing application submissions. “Led by the NDRC + Industry Departments + Third-party Think Tanks” Using a consortium model, a certain city established a dedicated task force under this model, increasing the success rate of project applications by 40%.

Third-party consulting firms serve as the “external brain” for application submissions, but their capabilities vary widely. High-quality firms should possess the following characteristics:

First is policy sensitivity—being able to anticipate trends in the annual key support areas identified by national ministries and commissions.

Second is technological translation capability. This involves skillfully converting a company’s technological strengths into policy-friendly language—for example, framing a private enterprise’s energy-storage technology as a “key supporting project for the new power system.”

Third is resource integration capability. We have access to high-end resources such as our own expert database, industry data think tank, and industry technology talent workstations.

For example: The expansion project of a certain county hospital was initially rejected by the National Development and Reform Commission due to an improperly designed bed capacity. After hiring a third-party professional consulting firm to recalculate the regional healthcare demand gap and adjusting the construction plan accordingly, the project finally received financial support from the central budget.

The areas supported by central budget funds and ultra-long-term government bonds, as well as the application requirements, are dynamically adjusted year by year. Yet despite all these changes, the underlying principle remains constant— “Urgently needed to serve national strategies” In recent years, key areas of focus include:

For example: Relying on its advantages as an established industrial base, a certain region has linked its green transformation projects for traditional steel enterprises with the “dual-carbon” strategy, successfully securing central budget funding support and attracting complementary provincial-level funding to follow suit.

First, we must adhere to policy orientation. The funding application report must directly cite national plans and relevant original texts, clearly highlighting the alignment between the project and national strategies.

Second, it is essential to strengthen scientific justification. The necessity, feasibility, and safety of the project, as well as its investment estimates and construction scope, must be highly aligned with local economic and social development, distinctive industries, demographic composition, and resource and environmental conditions, thereby meeting local development requirements.

Third, we must highlight distinctive strengths and advantages. We should avoid homogeneous competition among regional projects—for example, a certain grain storage project has created a differentiated highlight by implementing an “intelligent pest-control system.”

Fourth, it is imperative to strictly control the schedule timeline. For stages such as submission of application materials, defense, and revisions, a reverse schedule must be established and adhered to rigorously, ensuring that all submissions are made precisely according to the required deadlines.

Fifth, it is essential to pre-establish risk contingency plans. Proactively develop response strategies for potential issues such as land-use disputes and funding shortfalls for supporting facilities.

First, ensure compliance fundamentals: make sure that all necessary procedures—such as project approval, land-use pre-approval, environmental impact assessment, and energy assessment—are fully completed.

Second, the technical foundation. It is best to entrust a third-party entity with Grade A creditworthiness to prepare the feasibility study report and the funding application report. The key technical indicators for the project being submitted must meet or exceed industry standards.

Third, a financial foundation. Secure proof of local matching funds and design diversified financing schemes (such as special-purpose bonds plus social capital) to reduce the risk of relying solely on central government funding.

High-quality application materials are one of the key factors for successfully obtaining project approval. Application materials should have a clear structure, detailed content, and standardized language. High-quality application materials must be built upon a three-tiered logical framework:

First, the strategic level. Clearly state from the outset and use data to demonstrate the project’s supporting role in national strategies—for example, “Once the project reaches full production capacity, it can reduce regional carbon emission intensity by 15%.”

Second, the technical level. The middle section provides a detailed description of the technology's advanced features, accompanied by supporting evidence such as patent certificates and test reports.

Third, the implementation level. The conclusion emphasizes implementation guarantees, listing documents such as letters of commitment from local governments and bank guarantees for matching funds.