The grant supports architects, interior designers, furniture and industrial designers, makers, fabricators, joiners and students pursuing a more sustainable approach to the built environment. Where so much of design is celebrated only once it’s finished and published, the Think Good Micro-Grant is about investing directly in the often-invisible process that comes before it: material research, prototyping and testing, and the rigorous thinking on which real innovation depends.

While the remit for the Think Good Micro Grant is on sustainability, the interpretation is deliberately generous. A proposal might address environmental responsibility, material longevity, circularity, waste reduction, social sustainability, ethical production or the advancement of industry practice. What matters is a clear intention, relevance to the built environment, and the ambition to try something new beyond the constraints of commercial work.

For anyone considering applying, the scope is broad. The grant can support the exploration of construction techniques, detailing refinement, refurbishment strategies, fabrication methods or new technology applications. It might fund material research and development, prototyping, or the testing of a new system, product or fitting. It also extends to documentation and knowledge-building – engaging a videographer to record a process, travelling to learn a specific trade skill, producing a physical model, or hiring workshop space to run tests. Funds can go towards materials, fabrication, specialist consultation, space hire, printing or documentation, and even the applicant’s own time. It’s just about being clear with the budget, and that the proposal highlights how the funds will support a specific task or output, even if it’s a smaller part of a bigger vision.

Crucially, the grant carries no obligation to work with timber or with Elton Group products, and the work – along with all intellectual property within it – belongs entirely to the recipient.

“The Think Good Micro-Grant is our way of putting real support behind the considered design thinking that moves the needle. We want to give designers and makers the time and permission to research, test and follow an idea through,” says Karen Elton, Director, Elton Group.

The initiative reflects values long associated with Elton Group, the Melbourne family business established in 1943 and now the exclusive Australian distributor of ALPI’s recomposed timber veneers. Elton Group has a heritage of longevity, craft and responsible material production. It also extends the company’s seven-year sponsorship of the Australian Interior Design Awards (AIDA) Sustainability Advancement Award, broadening a single night of recognition into a year-round contribution to the design community. The recipients will be selected by a jury of Karen Elton, Eva-Marie Prineas (Studio Prineas) and Katherine Featherston (Green Building Council Australia).

Applications for the inaugural Think Good Micro-Grant are open now and close at 11:59pm AEST on Friday 28 August 2026, with the recipient announced in September. 

Full details, eligibility and the application form are available at eltongroup.com/think-good-micro-grant.