2. What are the outcomes you expect from this programme? 4. How long is this programme open for and how many grants do you expect to award?

Transcription

1 Q&As about the Empowering Young People Programme 1. What is the aim of the programme? 2. What are the outcomes you expect from this programme? 3. Who can apply to Empowering Young People? 4. How long is this programme open for and how many grants do you expect to award? 5. Are there any closing dates for applications? 6. What type of projects will the programme support? 7. Are projects expected to tie into Government policies and strategies? 8. We have identified an issue that affects young people but falls outside of the three focus areas of need you identified. Can we still apply? 9. How do we evidence the need for our project? 10. I m a young person and I have an idea to help young people address a specific need in my area. What do I need to do to get funding? 11. I m a young person and I have a project idea in mind. Can you let me know of any locals groups I could contact to start a project? 12. I m a young person who has a project idea. I have approached my local youth group and they have asked me to contact you to get funding. 13. What is the application process? 14. How much money can we apply for and what costs can be included in an application? 15. Can I apply more than once to Empowering Young People? 16. I have a grant under the Reaching Out Empowering Young People programme. A. Can I apply for a grant to continue this project? B. Can I apply under the new programme for a different project? 17.Will there be any development and support for grant holders? 18. Will you require grant holders to monitor and evidence the impact of their project? 19. Who can I contact for more information about Empowering Young People?

2 Q&As about the Empowering Young People Programme 1. What is the aim of the programme? Empowering Young People is a revenue focused grants programme delivered and funded by Big Lottery Fund Northern Ireland. The aim of Empowering Young People is to give young people in Northern Ireland the ability to cope with challenges in their lives. 2. What are the outcomes you expect from this programme? We want to fund projects that will achieve at least one of the following outcomes: More young people are ready for education, work and training. For example, young people will have the confidence, self esteem and social and communication skills to get involved in education, work and training. Young people have better relationships with their support networks and communities. For example, young people have improved relationships that give them more confidence, security and flexibility to be involved. Their support networks could include peers, their wider family, educators, youth workers, social workers and mentors. Young people have improved health and well being. For example, young people feel more able to connect with people around them and/or be more actively involved in their community. 3. Who can apply to Empowering Young People? Voluntary or community sector organisations can apply as well as organisations working in partnership. By working in partnership we mean working with other organisations to plan and carry out your project. You might work with organisations from another sector or organisations that have specialist knowledge. Only voluntary or community sector organisations may apply as the lead organisation in a partnership. Statutory organisations working with young people can consider working in partnership with a community or voluntary organisation to provide a youth project. However, the community or voluntary organisation will need to take the lead and complete the application form. More guidance on who can apply can be found in the Empowering Young People stage one application and guidance.

3 4. How long is this programme open for and how many grants do you expect to award? The programme is open for six years ( ). We have 50 million to spend over 6 years, in grants between 100, , Are there any closing dates for applications? This programme will be open for applications for six years from 12 March Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis. 6. What type of projects will the programme support? The programme will support work with young people aged 8 to 25 and we've identified the following groups: Young carers Young people with learning disabilities Young people facing barriers to learning and employment We will also consider funding applications for projects that want to support young people that are outside of these groups, but we would expect organisations to be able to show us that there is a definite need for funding for the particular group and that the project can meet the programme aim and outcomes. The projects we fund will connect with and add value to existing work supporting young people in Northern Ireland. Projects will help young people face challenges in their lives such as depression, poverty, substance abuse, disability, social isolation, homelessness, physical and/or emotional abuse, unemployment, exclusion from school, caring responsibilities. We will support a wide range of activities that will help young people gain the confidence, self esteem and social and communication skills to get involved in education, work and training, improve relationships that give young people more confidence, security and flexibility to be involved in support networks and communities and improve mental health and wellbeing. 7. Are projects expected to tie into Government policies and strategies? Your project should complement existing provision and not replace something that the state has responsibility to provide. There are a lot of programmes delivered for young people, for example, young people with a learning difficulty or disability, therefore to be successful in getting funding through Empowering Young People your project will need to demonstrate that it adds value to and is distinct from current provision. 8. We have identified an issue that affects young people but falls outside of the three focus areas of need you identified. Can we still apply? Yes, we will consider funding applications for projects that want to support young people that are outside of these groups.

4 We will expect organisations to be able to show us that there is a definite need for funding for the particular project and that the project can meet the programme aim and outcomes. Successful projects must clearly show that they have involved young people, their support networks and communities in the development and design of their project. They must also outline how these groups of people will be involved throughout the project. 9. How do we evidence the need for our project? We would encourage you to consider the following questions when evidencing the need for your project: What is the problem you have identified? How do you plan to address this problem? How do you know there s a need for this? How do you know people want this? Is there other providers offering a similar service in their area? If so, how does their project compliment this or fill a gap. Is your project additional to current statutory provision? Priority will not be given to projects targeting our specified three focus areas so your project idea will have the same chance of being successful as other applicants do. In addition to this, successful projects must clearly show that they have involved young people, their support networks and communities in the development and design of their project. They must also outline how these groups of people will be involved throughout the project. 10. I m a young person and I have an idea to help young people address a specific need in my area. What do I need to do to get funding? We won t fund young people directly therefore if you have identified a need for a project in your area we would advise you to discuss it with a local group who works with young people. Discuss your idea with them and help them to develop a project based on your identified needs. The Youth provider could then contact us to discuss applying to Empowering Young People. 11. I m a young person and I have a project idea in mind. Can you let me know of any locals groups I could contact to start a project? If you think your project is relevant to your local area, you should start by contacting the groups (eg. Local Council, schools, community groups, youth clubs\) that you know already operate in your area. If your project idea is NI wide or targeting a specialised need, contact us and we will try to help you. 12. I m a young person who has a project idea. I have approached my local youth group and they have asked me to contact you to get funding.

5 Please note we won t fund young people directly. We can only fund community and voluntary organisations. The community group you are working with will need to complete a stage one application form although you can be involved in this process. Please visit our website to get information about Empowering Young people, and to download application materials. 13. What is the application process? The Empowering Young People programme has a two stage application process. You will need to complete a stage one application and send it to us. We will review it and send you a response within 30 working days. We will tell you if you have been invited to submit a stage two application. If invited to apply, you will have up to four months to complete the application and send it back to us. If we don t invite you to apply, we will write to you to tell you why. Being invited to submit a stage two application does not guarantee that your project will be funded. If your application is unsuccessful at any stage, you can apply straight away. However, we do recommend that you wait for two months before submitting a new application to give you time to take our feedback on board. 14. How much money can we apply for and what costs can be included in an application? We will make grants of between 100,000 and 600,000 for projects running between three to five years. The costs of the project you want us to fund can include revenue, capital and overhead costs. Empowering Young People is primarily a revenue programme although up to 10% of your budget (inclusive of VAT) is available for capital funding related to the project. More detailed guidance on eligible costs can be found in the Empowering Young People application form. 15. Can I apply more than once to Empowering Young People? If your application is successful, each lead organisation can only hold one grant from this programme but could be involved in other projects as a partner. We will consider the capacity of organisations to successfully deliver multiple projects during our assessment. If your application is unsuccessful at any stage, you can apply straight away. However, we do recommend that you wait for two months before submitting a new application to give you time to take our feedback on board. 16. I have a grant under the Reaching Out Empowering Young People programme. A. Can I apply for a grant to continue this project? Yes you can apply to the new programme for a grant to continue your project. We would expect you to wait until the final year of your current project before you apply. We would also expect you to provide strong evidence of the impact of your current project and to demonstrate the need for the project to be continued.

6 B. Can I apply under the new programme for a different project? Yes, you can apply to the new programme for a distinct project that does not duplicate your current project. We will assess your organisation s capacity to manage both projects during our assessment process. 17.Will there be any development and support for grant holders? We will be providing extra help and support for projects awarded funding at stage two. 18. Will you require grant holders to monitor and evidence the impact of their project? If we award you a grant it will be based on the outcomes that you said you would achieve with our funding. We must monitor the projects we fund to make sure they are meeting our terms and conditions and delivering the outcomes we agreed together. For us to do this, you will need to provide us with information at various points in the project. If you receive funding from this programme, you will be required to monitor the progress towards your project outcomes during the life of the grant. We also encourage you to monitor the performance of your project and gather evidence. This will let you see whether your project is working well and whether you need to make changes that will improve your services. It will also assist you in reporting your progress to your stakeholders. There is more information on measuring impact on our website. 19. Who can I contact for more information about Empowering Young People? For further information, contact our Outreach team: T: F: Textphone: enquiries.ni@biglotteryfund.org.uk Information is also available on our website at