D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership: Update bulletin for the VCS - 8
Welcome to the eighth update bulletin from One East Midlands on the work of D2N2 LEP and opportunities for relationships with the VCS.
If you not fully aware of the role of LEPs then more information can be found in our policy page at www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/leps including links to individual LEP websites; including D2N2.
Update from VCS Board Member – Rob Crowder
As you all know, I have been very keen to ensure that the voluntary sector across D2N2 get an opportunity to bid for the European money for Social Inclusion. To that end I had been hoping that the sector would come together to create one strong bid that would unite the sector and provide a suitable delivery mechanism.
Whilst I have in the last few months been trying to broker partnerships to help make this happen, it is now clear that when the June call is put out for bids there will be a number of voluntary sector bidders coming forwards. As the Voluntary Sector representative for D2N2 I will be representing the whole of the sector and will be looking for the bid that best provides what D2N2 require. For that reason, in my role as representative from now on I will be distancing myself and will not be attending any further meetings of potential bidding partnerships.
However, there is progress with the bidding rounds and some projects, primarily using ERDF, have already been advertised through the D2N2 website http://www.d2n2lep.org/ and national portals. The Board met recently and agreed the timetable for a number of further bids. The most important for the Voluntary sector is:-
Big Lottery Fund Opt-in D2N2 Social Inclusion Programme
Calls for expressions of interest for this programme are due to be released in early June for all three projects.
The programme will achieve added value by:
The programme will provide:
Support and interventions to meet the needs of those who are disengaged and furthest away from employment through the development of three key programmes, outlined in the D2N2 Social Inclusion Framework, that complement and provide a ‘ladder’ of support to move people closer to the labour market; focussing on:
Programme 1 Towards Work – supporting excluded people towards employment with particular focus on women returners, older people (50 plus) and young people not engaged with other programmes. The funding allocation is £7,668,414.
Programme 2 Multiple & Complex Needs – supporting people with multiple barriers to economic activity. People with multiple and complex needs are defined as experiencing three of the following four issues: mental health challenges; substance misuse; reoffending and homelessness or unstable housing. This project aims to provide intensive support and positive interventions to those people that face multiple and complex needs and are furthest away from the labour market. The funding allocation is £4,801,836.
Programme 3 Financial Inclusion – supporting people to address financial barriers to employment by providing support and positive interventions through a holistic assessment of an individual’s needs that are tailored to help them move towards work and out of poverty. The funding allocation is £3,199,751.
All projects should demonstrate a commitment to new ways of working which will suit the diverse needs of communities and will further demonstrate simplification and integration which should help overcome past systematic obstacles. Activities must be locally accessible, be additional and complementary to all existing provision operating within the area (including national and statutory programmes) and be led by skilled front line staff. Activities should be demand driven and take a personalised approach. Best practice indicates that participant involvement in designing projects and influencing the support they receive is the most effective approach.
ESF Outputs and Results:
Indicative Outputs (from D2N2 ESIF strategy):
Total participants 3,824
Participants over 50 years of age 606
Participants with disabilities 779
Unemployed, including long-term unemployed 1,912
Inactive 1,912
Participants from ethnic minorities 472
Men 2,583
Women 1,241
Indicative Results expected:
Participants in education or training on leaving 497
Participants into employment, including self-employment on leaving 398
Inactive participants into employment, or job-search on leaving 516
Participants with childcare needs receiving childcare support 248
D2N2 also have funding through the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - allocation of £5,523,249 to support economic growth in rural areas.
The D2N2 Rural Reference Group has been involved in developing the Calls Plan and endorse the proposed activities and calls. It has also been developed in light of the recent D2N2 Rural Conference (March 2015) which attracted nearly 100 delegates.
The aim of EAFRD funding is primarily to add value and build upon the delivery of the Main ERDF/ESF Programme of business growth and support by recognising the need in rural areas, to have equitable access to the business growth services.
EAFRD CALLS
Calls for applications will be published and managed by DEFRA. The early call which opened in May closes on 19 June and it shall only be after this date that new calls can be published. These will be at set intervals directed by DEFRA to ensure sufficient capacity to handle applications and allowing LEPs adequate preparation time to assist once Expressions of Interest have been received.
The three themes that D2N2 shall put to DEFRA, to a total of £2,033,000 for our first wave of EAFRD activity in Summer 2015 are:
a. Business Investment (Measure 6, sub 6.2) – grants at 40% intervention rate for
businesses/social enterprises – (£933,000)
b. Recreation infrastructure/tourism (Measure 7, sub 7.5) with the ambition for projects with scale and impact to begin with grants of £50K minimum to include strategic cycling activities – (£750,000)
c. Tourism joint collaboration & developing marketing tourism (Measure 16, sub 16.3) for the promotion of new destinations and new marketing activity (£350,000)
The broader “first tranche” of calls is up to December 2018 and this totals £4,209,000 of the grand total £5.5m.
Building Better Opportunities – Update information
**CHANGE IN LAUNCH DATE**
Please note that following recent discussions with Big Lottery Fund we are now expecting the BBO programme to launch earlier than previously expected in the D2N2 area. Call are now expected to go live from 2nd June 2015 rather than the 8th as previously thought. Stage one applications are still expected to be invited until end of July 2015.
As announced in our recent update bulletin, Big Lottery Fund have published more detailed programme guidance for the Building Better Opportunities social inclusion programme.
The guide provides updated information regarding eligibility and definitions to be used by Big Lottery Fund, their expectations from the programme, further information about the application process and requirements of delivery under a European Funding Programme. This guide is essential reading for any organisation interested in leading or being a delivery partner within a Building Better Opportunties project.
Building Better Opportunities programme guidance
As Programme Development Fund provider for the D2N2 area, One East Midlands has been hosting a series of events to support networking a collaboration around each theme. Details of all the materials from the events and regularly updated contact details for potential lead applicants and delivery partners are now live on this page. Visit our page Building Better Opportunities to view the resources and for further information about adding your details to the contact lists.
Minutes of the Social Inclusion Advisory Group
The Social Inclusion Advisory Group (SIAG) is now a recognised sub group of the D2N2 governance structure. In the interests of transparency we make minutes of the meeting available to interested parties who may wish to follow the progress and activities of the group.
Minutes of the May 2015 Social Inclusion Advisory Group meeting
Registering Expressions of Interest with D2N2 directly
D2N2 have recently issued the following call for expressions of interest from providers. This call extends beyond ESF and social inclusion activity and may be of interest to many organisations across the D2N2 area. Please register directly with D2N2 – the message should be self explanatory:
Dear Provider,
We have been asked by a number of providers if we can set up an ‘expression of interest’ process to enable providers to collaborate in readiness for ESF rounds in D2N2.
D2N2 LEP have set up a form for providers to express their interest in leading/sub-contracting bids for ESF which can be found at http://www.d2n2lep.org/EUFunding/ESF . This is open to providers delivering in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire who would like to share details with other providers with the aim of forming collaborations in readiness for future ESF funding opportunities through D2N2 LEP. This is a free service and is designed to facilitate communication amongst providers. We are not guaranteeing the quality of any provider listed and this does not in any way replace normal due diligence procedures.
We will collect provider information through a survey, and shared through a PDF (updated each Friday) posted on the D2N2 LEP website. We do hope this expression of interest process will be useful for our local providers.
To have your organisation listed, please click here to complete the form.
If you have any queries please contact me.
Kind regards
Hannah Gamble
Business Admin Apprentice,
D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership
0115 9578757 Ext: 2176
Next steps
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