Smart Energy GB in Communities fund Overview June - July 2017
hello Thank you for your interest in the Smart Energy GB in Communities fund. We really value your support. Smart Energy GB Smart Energy GB is the voice of the smart meter rollout. It s our task to help everyone in Great Britain understand smart meters, the national rollout and how to use their new meters to get their gas and electricity under control. Smart Energy GB s vision is that smart meters will transform the way we buy and use energy in Great Britain, paving the way to an easier, smarter future. We have a big job to do and we can t do it alone. We know that people are more likely to listen to those they know and trust, so partnerships are at the heart of our mission to engage the nation and spread the word about smart meters. We need your help to bring the smart meter experience to life and ensure people understand the benefits of smart meters and how to get one. We have created this overview and the supporting guidance documents to make sure that you have all the information and tools you need to apply for a Smart Energy GB in Communities grant. Smart meters and the rollout Smart meters replace the traditional meters (including prepay meters) we currently have in our homes. Installed by your energy supplier, they make it even easier to keep control of your energy. The smart meter rollout is an essential technology upgrade, unprecedented in its scale, to improve Great Britain s energy infrastructure. Almost six million smart meters have already been installed, and between now and 2020 every household in England, Scotland and Wales will be offered one at no extra cost. What are the benefits of smart meters? These are the smart meter benefits that we want partners to communicate this year: 1. See exactly how much energy you use in pounds and pence: With your smart meter, you ll also get an easy-to-understand hand held display that shows you exactly what you re spending in pounds and pence and in near real time. 2. An end to estimated bills: Smart meters mean that your bills will be accurate, not estimated. Once you have a smart meter, you ll get accurate bills from your energy supplier, just as you do with your telephone bill. 3. An end to manual meter readings: You will no longer need to have manual meter readings, or be faced with trying to work out your bill from your own readings. This means no more strangers coming into your home for meter readings. 4. It s even easier to keep control of your energy: Seeing how much energy you re using as you use it means you can work out which appliances are guzzling the most energy. So on those cold winter nights when you might be worried about the cost of turning up the heating, you can stay warm knowing exactly what it s costing. Please visit the Smart Energy GB website for more information about smart meters smartenergygb.org/en/faqs 1
Smart Energy GB in Communities Smart Energy GB in Communities is part of Smart Energy GB s campaign to inform and inspire people about smart meters and the benefits they can bring. Through Smart Energy GB in Communities, we are partnering with regional and local organisations from the voluntary and public sectors. This means we re able to work with trusted, expert organisations across the country to ensure people understand the benefits of smart meters and know how to get one. Smart Energy GB in Communities is being delivered by a consortium of charities; National Energy Action (NEA), Energy Action Scotland (EAS) and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). Smart Energy GB in Communities is providing a range of advice and support to our partners, including: CAF - will be responsible for processing the information on the application received on behalf of Smart Energy GB and for distributing funding to organisations delivering projects and activities that engage our priority groups with the smart meter campaign NEA/EAS will be responsible for free smart meter Champion training a one-day course to provide partners with the skills and materials to share the smart meter message Smart Energy GB will provide an online Resource centre hosting free materials and training resources The role of Charities Aid Foundation Charities Aid Foundation is the global expert in charities and giving. CAF helps people and businesses support the causes they care about and provide financial services tailored to the specific needs of charities. With 45 years experience in delivering strategic grant-making programmes, CAF is uniquely placed to manage this grant programme, providing partners with grants to support communities around Great Britain in their smart meter journey. To find out more, please visit the CAF website cafonline.org/about-us. Who is Smart Energy GB in Communities trying to reach? The programme supports those who might find it difficult to engage with the smart meter rollout. In 2017, we are targeting funding and support to people over the age of 65 who have no personal internet access. 2
Who can apply? We are seeking applications from regionally or locally based organisations that can reach and deliver support to people over the age of 65 who have no personal internet access. You will have a trusted voice in your community and will provide education, reassurance and direct support to people in our target group to help them address barriers around confidence in new technology with reference to smart meters. You will increase understanding that smart meters are easy to use. Further details are provided in the application guidance which you should consult before beginning your application. When planning projects, you should also take into account the funding rounds and when funds should be spent by, details of which are provided later in this document. If your organisation is not a registered charity, then you may be required to provide further information and supporting documentation along with your grant application. Details of the documents you will need to provide can be found in the What documents do you need to provide section. Is this grant right for you? Who can apply? What can you apply for? Grant size Regional and local organisations, charities and community groups working with people over 65 with no personal internet access. Projects which are specifically targeted at and engage people over 65 with no personal internet access to provide reassurance and handholding support to help them understand and realise the benefits of smart meters. This could involve a range of activities, including incorporating smart meter messages into existing services and events or running specific advice sessions on smart meters. 500-5,000 Monitoring & evaluation commitment During and at the end of the project Duration of delivery Projects to commence w.c. 7 th August 2017 and complete by 1 st December 2017. What we will fund Here is an example of the kind of project we might fund. Organisation Application Award A charitable organisation based in a rural community. It supports people over 65, many of whom have no internet access. 4,400 for a series of interactive workshops for 200 people over 65 with no internet access. Incorporating smart meters into information, advice and guidance services reaching 2,000 people. A launch event that other voluntary and community sector organisations would be invited to to extend the reach. The event would include a briefing about the smart meter rollout. 4,400. The application demonstrates an understanding of and ability to reach over 65s with no internet access. It also demonstrates the need for staff time due to the intensive nature of the workshops. Costs include staff costs, room hire, refreshments, printing and marketing. 3
What we will not fund There are a number of things that we are unable to fund. Please consult the list and contact us if you are unsure whether your activity falls into any category mentioned. We will not fund: activities which are not targeted at or do not engage people over the age of 65 who have no personal internet access existing activity. If your organisation has previously been awarded a grant from Smart Energy GB in Communities, please review the Applying again section below items which only benefit an individual beneficiary groups not in England, Scotland or Wales the promotion of political or religious objectives work that is the responsibility of statutory authorities organisations that are not considered charitable core funding for your organisation (e.g. general operating costs, central costs, running costs, management, administration and office costs, overheads and support costs) projects or activities that are not focussed on our programme outcomes and priority group projects or activities that will have happened or started before we have processed your application projects or activities that cannot be completed by the programme end date projects or activities which do not demonstrate additional activity to your business as usual activities and are not smart meter specific costs to produce content for radio or television costs to produce content for social media costs for the design of monitoring and evaluation surveys (as these will be provided to you by Smart Energy GB) and any costs for research costs to print any items which may be downloaded for free from the partner section of the Smart Energy GB Resource centre at smartenergygb.org/resources costs for paid advertising or production costs of existing newsletters or brochures which your organisation already produces as a part of your business as usual activities costs to undertake engagement with MPs or elected Local Authority members organisations that are a member or branch of one of our national partners, where the project would duplicate existing activity with the national partner. Please contact CAF to discuss if you think this may apply to you 4
Applying again If your application is unsuccessful, the decision letter will state if and how your organisation can reapply. If you are awarded a grant, your organisation can reapply for another project once you have returned your end of grant report and your new application either: builds on your previous work e.g. moves people further along the smart meter journey responds to new fund criteria Smart Energy GB Resource centre The Smart Energy GB Resource hosts a suite of materials and support that our regional and local partners can use to spread the word about smart meters. If your application is successful, you can register or log in and order a pre-printed pack of posters and leaflets that have been designed specifically for people over the age of 65 who have no personal internet access, free of charge. Please allow 5-7 working days for materials to be printed and delivered to you. You can also browse and download other campaign materials. A number of resources are available in alternative formats (braille, easy read, large print, audio and BSL), bilingual (English/Welsh) and our five additional languages (Bengali, Urdu, Polish, Guajarati and Punjabi). Please visit the Resource centre prior to completing your application to see what materials and support you can use to deliver your project. You do not need to be a grantee to use the Resource centre, so you can sign up now and start using the resources right away. We aim to enable any organisations to spread the word about smart meters through the materials and support available on the Resource centre. We ask that you use our materials wherever possible rather than creating your own. This ensures that information about the smart meter rollout is presented accurately and consistently, in a way that everyone is able to understand. Please note that in your application form we will not expect to see any costs within your project cost breakdown for materials that can be viewed, downloaded or ordered on the Resource centre. To find out more, visit smartenergygb.org/resources 5
Funding rounds In 2017 there will be two rounds of Small grants. It is strongly advised that you apply for round one of funding if possible. The dates for these rounds are as follows: Round one (for projects commencing after 7 th August 2017) Applications open 12 th June 2017 Applications closed 19 th July 2017 Communication of outcome Week commencing 4 th August 2017 Projects commence Commencing on or after 7 th August 2017 Projects finish Projects delivered by 1 st December 2017 Round two (for projects commencing after October 2017) Applications open August 2017 Applications closed September 2017 Communication of outcome October 2017 Projects commence Commencing on or after 16 th October 2017 Projects finish Projects delivered by 8 th December 2017 Applying for a grant This guidance document also includes information about: the application process acceptance of grant and payment monitoring and evaluation You should consult the Smart Energy GB in Communities fund Small grant application guidance document before completing your application. Check your organisation and project are eligible by completing the Pre application checklist, which can be found on the Smart Energy GB in Communities fund Small grant application form. Complete and submit your application form. 6
Decisions, acceptance and payment Once received, your application will be assessed and the outcome of this provided to your organisation within the timeframe outlined above. As part of the assessment process, we may come back to you to request further information to clarify elements of your application or to provide further supporting documentation. For those applicants who are successful, you will be contacted via the primary contact you provide on your application form. It is therefore essential that if this contact changes (for instance, if the named contact leaves the organisation) you update us so that we can amend our records. If your application is successful, you will be asked to return an Acceptance of grant form which should be signed and preferably scanned and returned to us. We are unable to make any payment to organisations until we have received this form so it is important that the form is returned promptly. This form must be returned within four weeks of the date of the award letter and failure to do so will result in expiry of the grant offer. We also request that organisations return evidence of their bank details with the Acceptance of grant form, either as a paying-in slip, cancelled cheque or a bank statement from within the last three months. This is important so that we can make payment to the correct account. Please note that any evidence of bank details (including online bank statements) should show the full name of your organisation and this should be the same as the name on your application form. Payment of grant is made via BACS transfer, and takes between 3-5 working days to reach your account once we have confirmed that payment has been made. Payment will be made in the following proportions: 80 per cent at commencement of project 20 per cent on completion of monitoring and evaluation requirements and the review of the data On receipt of funding, organisations must complete, sign and return (preferably scanned) the Acknowledgement of donation form. We are unable to make further payments to your organisation unless this has been received. All successful applicants must adhere to the terms and conditions of the grant award and failure to do so will potentially affect release of any final payments or affect future applications from your organisation. 7
Monitoring and evaluation requirements for grant applicants Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of our partnerships is crucial to us. We need to understand and evaluate the impact of the smart meter activities delivered so we can work with our partners to continuously learn and improve how we support people with the rollout of smart meters. To do this effectively, there are three types of requirements for grantees: reporting on activities delivered surveying people exposed to activities submitting to partner audits if required Where appropriate you should include budget for meeting these requirements in your application form for example any costs associated with distributing surveys to the people you tell about smart meters. Reporting on activities delivered The basic details you provided in your application form include your anticipated reach for your project activities. By reach we mean the number of people that will read, see or take part in your activities. We will use this information to track your progress. Once you have completed activities we will require you provide an update on what was delivered by submitting your end of project report. This will need to be provided and analysed before your final payment can be released. Surveying people exposed to activities Once your project is underway we expect you to distribute a consumer survey to the end users/ beneficiaries you go on and tell about smart meters this is crucial as it enables us to evaluate the impact our programme with people it reaches. When distributing this survey we will need you to make sure that you: distribute it to the people you tell about smart meters ideally to all of them but, if that is not possible, to a random sample so as to avoid bias in responses use the paper version or online version We will provide further guidance on monitoring and evaluation to successful applicants. Submitting to partner audits Grantees may be subjected to an audit at any time during or shortly after their contractual period. Grantees will be given limited notice of an upcoming audit sufficient to collate documentation and if necessary book time for interviews. Audits will comprise an interview, review of documentation relevant to the delivery of activities and M&E requirements set-out in the fund agreement. This audit will determine whether grantees have: invested the resources they committed to in their application delivered the activities they committed to their application achieved their M&E requirements 8
Contacting us If you have a query about your application, please get in touch: Telephone: 03000 123 346 E-mail: smartenergygb@cafonline.org Online: cafonline.org/smartenergygb 9
What documents do you need to provide? Activity plan Evidence of partnership funding - if being provided Safeguarding policy (which should include both Vulnerable Adults and Children if your project deals with either of these groups) 1 Description of the organisations programmes and activities Previous years account Governing document Bank details completed and original bank paying in slip Signed acceptance of grant terms Completed Grant eligibility application (GEA) Organisation type No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Charity registered with the Charity Commission, Scottish Charity Regulator No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Excepted Religious Organisation Exempt charity 5 Yes Yes 1 If you are working with any adult with a disability then these are classed as a Vulnerable Adult, as are elderly people (over 55 years old). If you project is dealing with children in any way (for instance if you are providing childcare as part of your project) then you will also need to provide details of a Safeguarding Children Policy. 2 Exempt Charities include organisations with an annual income of less than 5,000 per annum, Churches and Chapels, Charitable Funds of the Armed Forces, Scout & Guide Groups, most Universities in England, National Museums and Galleries, some School governing bodies and Academy trusts. Check the Charity Commission website at http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/showcharity/registerofcharities/registerhomepage.aspx for further details. 10
What documents do you need to provide? Safeguarding policy (which should include both Vulnerable Adults and Children if your project deals with either of these groups) Description of the organisations programmes and activities Previous years account Governing document Bank details completed and original bank paying in slip Signed acceptance of grant terms Organisation type Completed Grant eligibility application (GEA) Fully constituted association or trust- an organisation generally within the voluntary sector with its own constitution or memorandum and articles of association Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC) -an organisation registered with HMRC as a CASC Local Authority - county councils, metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities, district council and the London boroughs Local Education Authority - a local education authority on its own behalf or on behalf of a community school Other public sector statutory body- such as Parish and Town Councils Community Interest Company (CICS)- a limited company created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or activity for community benefit Other registered charitable organisation which is not registered with the Charity Commission or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (for example a Charitable Industrial and Provident Society) 11