BUILDING BETTER OPPORTUNITIES QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS December 2014 1. How do I get involved? Main funding under this programme will be available from summer 2015 and details of how to apply will be available nearer the time. In the meantime Big Lottery Fund has appointed one organisation in each LEP area that intends to opt in to our main ESF programme to act as a main point of contact for queries and bring interested organisations together to discuss local need and how best to tackle local priorities. For information about who your local PDF organisation is and how to contact them to take part in these discussions please visit our website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf To receive regular e-updates about Building Better Opportunities you can register your interest on our website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT FUNDING 2. What is Programme Development Funding? We have awarded a programme development grant to one organisation in each LEP area that intends to opt in to our main ESF programme from 2015. This organisation will ensure there is widespread awareness of the ESF opportunities available, acting as a main point of contact for queries and bringing interested organisations, including the VCSE sector, together to discuss local need and how best to tackle local priorities. 3. Who are PDF organisations? In most cases PDF organisations are VCSE organisations, however we have also funded some LEPs where they are appropriately constituted and have the networks and relationships to deliver the objectives of this funding effectively. Further information about the organisations who received Programme Development Funding in each LEP area can be found at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf
4. What will these organisations do? The organisation appointed in each LEP area will help to prepare potential applicants for the main funding, having three main roles: ensure there is widespread awareness of the ESF opportunities available locally through the opt in with the Big Lottery Fund, with potential applicants fully informed of the requirements, risks and responsibilities involved, and given the opportunity to discuss the LEP s priorities and local need provide administrative support to develop positive working relationships between organisations in the LEP area, which will lead to good quality applications to the main ESF programme from 2015 provide a publicly advertised contact for local organisations to find out more (fielding queries, maintaining a database and facilitating events) and be a source of knowledge about the area, investment priorities and stakeholders. 5. Why are award amounts different in different areas? PDF grant amounts are different in each LEP area. This amount is linked to the amount of funding that will be available in the main funding. LEP area partnerships have made decisions about how much of their ESF allocation to devote to this strand of work, meaning that the amount of main funding available will vary widely across different areas. In each LEP area, one grant has been made up to the maximum amount allocated to that area. Grant amounts vary from 10,000 to 50,000. A full list of LEP areas and the amounts allocated to each for the PDF stage is available at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf 6. How do I found out who my local PDF organisation is? For information about who your local PDF organisation is and how to contact them to take part in local discussions please visit our website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf 7. Will there be future rounds of Programme Development Funding? We will analyse the impact of the PDF stage and then consider, with LEPs, whether to run another round for the second half of the programme. MAIN FUNDING 8. What sort of things will you fund?
Funding will need to fit both the LEP s and Big Lottery Fund aims, within the Promoting Social Inclusion and Combating Poverty strand of ESF. However, these are already closely aligned. The types of project we assess and fund will cover a range of activities that meet a local need related to addressing poverty and improving social inclusion. For example, we expect to see projects that seek to improve employability for the most disadvantaged, help those with multiple and complex needs, or improve financial literacy, amongst many others. Projects will need to meet local priorities. The defining of local priorities was a process LEP area partnerships undertook following direction from government in setting up this new round of European funding. Most LEPs have published their ESIF strategies online; these documents include the priorities they plan to work with the Big Lottery Fund on. Early information on these local priorities can be found on our website along with links to the LEPs own websites at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.esf 9. When will the main funding be available? Our timeline is dictated by the overall timeline of the programme, but we expect this round of European funding to be available from summer 2015. We will update our website with more information as soon as it becomes available. 10. What will the application process be like? Lottery and ESF money will be brought together into one single pot, administered by Big Lottery Fund, with only one application process and one body to report back to with monitoring information. Much of the detail is still under development and subject to change, but here are some of the things we expect to see: We will run a two-stage competitive grants process. At the first stage we will ask you to outline your approach. If you are successful at this stage you will be invited to the second stage, where we will ask you to give more detail. Award decisions will be made by Big Lottery Fund but feedback from Local Sub Committees will be an essential part of our decision making. We will be offering grants not contracts. We will pay grant money in advance rather than a payment by results approach. We expect most grants to be relatively large (from 500,000) and likely to be delivered by partnerships, possibly where a lead partner works with smaller delivery partners.
We will produce a standard set of tools and templates for grant holders to simplify reporting and monitoring requirements. We will provide support to grant holders throughout. We are looking at how to do this. It could be by offering development grants and a support service providing advice on the technical aspects of ESF. We will update our website with information as it becomes available. If you have any queries please contact the organisation that has been awarded development funding in your area, or email esf@biglotteryfund.org.uk 11. How can I apply? We will publish details of the types of projects we are looking to fund along with how to apply before we open for applications in 2015. In the meantime please contact the organisation who has been awarded development funding in your area to keep up to date with developments. You can also register your interest on our website to be informed by email of any news or announcements, www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf 12. Are PDF organisations able to apply for the main funding? Yes, PDF organisations will still be eligible to apply for the main funding. 13. Will private sector organisations be able to apply for the main funding? Yes. Under EU rules the funding has to be open to everyone therefore private sector organisations will be eligible to apply. The opportunities are likely to be in areas where the VCSE sector has great expertise and we expect VCSE organisations to be well placed to make very strong applications. However, all applications will be assessed in the same way and grants will be awarded to those organisations who demonstrate the capacity to deliver the best outcomes for communities and people most in need. 14. Can Big Lottery Funding be used as match funding for ESF projects outside of Building Better Opportunities? We support the sector in securing additional funding, including from Europe, in order to help people and communities most in need. We recognise that additional funding can often add value to existing Lottery investments. However, we must also ensure grant-holders are able to complete the activities the lottery grant is funding. We would not want the additional European requirements (which would apply to both the match and the new funding) to endanger the success of the Lottery investment. The terms and
conditions of Lottery grant agreements require existing grant-holders to discuss any changes to their project with us. This means that we want to discuss with grant-holders any potential applications for European funding that use Lottery grants (outside Building Better Opportunities) as match-funding. If we are satisfied the change will not affect the grant-holder s ability to meet our project s purpose we will issue an agreement in principle letter but the grant-holder will be required to seek confirmation of our agreement if it receives an offer of ESF funding. If this is something you are considering please contact your Funding Officer or the Big Advice line on 0845 4 10 20 30 to discuss further. If your question is not covered above please email esf@biglotteryfund.org.uk and we will respond to you as soon as possible.