Youth Music’s
Open Programme
Applicant Guidance
Revised March 2011
This guidance has been written to help you complete your application to Youth
Music’s Open Programme. Please read it before you start your application.
If you have any special requirements relating to any of our Open Programme
documents, please contact us on 020 7902 1060.
Contents
About Youth Music ..................................................................................................................2
About Youth Music’s Open Programme ..............................................................................4
Open Programme Goals and Objectives............................................................................5
Are you eligible? ......................................................................................................................6
Open Programme project requirements .............................................................................7
What costs do we fund? ........................................................................................................8
Exclusions ..................................................................................................................................8
What are the chances of success? ......................................................................................9
The Open Programme grant process – how to apply and what happens to your
application .............................................................................................................................10
What information do you need to provide with your application? ...............................10
Additional information ......................................................................................................11
Project budget guidelines ....................................................................................................12
When to apply .......................................................................................................................13
Support available to help your application ......................................................................14
Regional Executive Officers (REOs) .................................................................................14
Glossary of terms ................................................................................................................14
Application form and hot tips ..........................................................................................15
Example project budget ..................................................................................................15
Top tips for a good application .......................................................................................15
How to use our online application form .........................................................................15
MusicLeader and the Music Education Code of Practice..............................................15
The Open Programme buddy scheme ..............................................................................16
The number of applications you can make - advice for repeat applicants ................17
The assessment process ........................................................................................................19
Unsuccessful applications ....................................................................................................19
What happens if you are offered a grant? .......................................................................21
Successful applicants - what happens if you need to make changes to your project?
..................................................................................................................................................22
Who to contact at Youth Music ..........................................................................................23
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts .........................................................24
Youth Music’s official complaints procedure ....................................................................25
1
About Youth Music
Youth Music - National catalyst for development and change
Unleashing the power of music
Youth Music aims to improve access to high quality music-making activities for
children and young people. We will continue to evaluate, learn from and share the
experiences of those working with children and young people. This will enable us to
identify broad national challenges that need to be addressed, to develop and
disseminate good practice, and to allocate funding where it will have the most
impact.
Who do we aim to support?
We believe that all children and young people should have access to high quality
music-making activities. We strive to raise funds to cover as much music-making
activity as possible, but will target our resources on the following:
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Early years – children between the ages of 0-5
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Children and young people in challenging circumstances
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Children and young people showing musical talent or potential
Providing opportunities for children and young people in challenging circumstances
continues to be at the heart of all of our work. Therefore, when working in early
years' settings or with children and young people showing musical talent or
potential, we aim to ensure those in the most challenging circumstances receive
focused attention.
Our approach . . . how we work:
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listening to the voice of children, young people and communities
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learning from experience to ensure that our advocacy work and the
development of innovative practical approaches to music making have a
sound evidence base
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making the case for participation in high quality music making as a powerful
force in the development of young lives and a means of effecting social
change, working with others to address current challenges
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focusing our programme development activity on particular areas of
concern, collaborating with others and forming partnerships to build
national, regional and local programmes, initiatives or infrastructures as
required
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developing resources, disseminating good practice, providing practical
support to ensure maximum impact, and celebrating success
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raising funds and targeting funding to areas of particular need, specifically to
children and young people that would otherwise not get the chance to
benefit from the power of music making
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What are the current challenges that need to be addressed for children and young
people? We want to:
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unleash the power of music making to help tackle social, economic and
cultural deprivation
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ensure that children and young people are engaged in long term musicmaking activity, and that this is recognised as a key tool in supporting
learning and development, both musically and more generally
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explore and create effective ways of enabling children and young people
to progress and deepen their engagement in their music making beyond first
access, including moving between primary and secondary education and
at other crucial transition points
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facilitate the general learning and development of children and young
people not currently in mainstream education by engaging them in high
quality music-music making activities
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re-engage children and young people who are not fully participating in
mainstream education, using music-making activities as an effective catalyst
for personal development and a means of helping them reach their full
potential
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broaden the horizons of children and young people by supporting music-led
activities which explore different genres and styles, embracing musical and
cultural diversity
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encourage musical talent and nurture potential
What ways of working do we believe will have the greatest impact?
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building and supporting progression routes so that children and young
people have clear paths to develop their musical skills within their chosen
genre
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collaborative working and the development of innovative cross sector
partnerships which result in more co-ordinated and complementary
approaches, including linking in-school and out-of-school activity
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working across art forms and ensuring alignment with curricula where
appropriate
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investing in workforce development to ensure that music leaders are skilled
to deliver high quality music experiences
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using technology creatively both in communicating with young people and
in music-making itself
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listening to, respecting and taking account of the views of children and
young people
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giving children and young people the tools and power to shape their own
musical journeys
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About Youth Music’s Open Programme
Youth Music’s Open Programme provides grants of between £5,000 and £30,000. It
aims to increase the number of children and young people with access to high
quality, sustainable music making activities across England.
Our Open Programme targets nearly £2m annually of Youth Music’s funding towards
projects that support our goals of:
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Early Years – advancing the learning and development of all children in their
early years (0-5) by aiming to ensure universal access to high quality music
making in England
Challenging Circumstances* – improving the life chances of children and
young people in the most challenging circumstances by supporting them to
achieve their full potential through engagement and progression in music
making
Encouraging Talent and Potential – realising the musical talent and potential
of children and young people by ensuring opportunity for all to develop their
talent regardless of background or chosen genre
Workforce Development – enabling the highest quality music making by
developing a diverse, highly skilled and inspirational workforce
We expect Open Programme projects to focus on one of our goals of either Early
Years, Challenging Circumstances or Encouraging Talent and Potential. We fund
workforce development within these goal areas rather than by itself.
We are keen to fund projects which clearly progress the musical skills of children and
young people and provide them with pathways for further progression. We are also
interested in projects which are particularly distinctive or innovative in their
approach.
*What are ‘Challenging Circumstances’?
Children and young people in challenging circumstances are those who are
marginalised by society, vulnerable, often hard to reach, and who have the fewest
opportunities. Examples could include young people who are carers, young parents,
looked after children and young people, those at risk of offending or young
offenders, children and young people with disabilities or long-term ill health. This is
not an exhaustive list by any means and we would ask that you make clear to us the
case for how the children and young people you are proposing to work with are in
particularly challenging circumstances.
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Open Programme Goals and Objectives
Early Years
If your project focuses on Early Years, you must deliver both of the following objectives to
be considered for a grant:
1. To encourage a culture of high quality music making activities in Early Years
settings
2. To support Early Years practitioners to deliver high quality Early Years music making
Challenging Circumstances
If your project focuses on Challenging Circumstances, you must deliver at least one of the
following objectives to be considered for a grant:
1. To deliver high quality music making activity in place(s) of disadvantage where
provision is patchy or low
2. To deliver high quality music making activity which supports mainstream
education in meeting the needs of children and young people in challenging
circumstances
3. To deliver high quality music making activity which facilitates learning and
development for children and young people who are out of mainstream
education or who are NEET (not in education, employment or training)
Encouraging Talent and Potential
If your project focuses on Encouraging Talent and Potential, you must deliver at least one
of the following objectives to be considered for a grant:
1. To deliver high quality music making activity to develop the musical talent and
potential of children and young people and provide links to further opportunities
for progression
2. To deliver high quality music making activity to develop innovative ways to ensure
that children and young people can progress to musical excellence in genres
where there is little or no support
3. To deliver high quality music making activity to support and develop the musical
talent and potential of children and young people who would otherwise not have
the opportunity
Workforce Development
We encourage applications from projects that will deliver one or more of our Workforce
Development objectives. However, we cannot fund Workforce Development by itself.
The workforce development objectives we would like you to meet are:
1. To facilitate the sharing of good practice and the transfer of skills and knowledge
in music leadership
2. To support the development of young music leaders, particularly those in
challenging circumstances
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We understand that not all projects will fit neatly into one goal. You may decide that your
project will also meet some objectives listed under one or more of the other goals. In that
case, you may also select other objectives as appropriate.
For example, your project is working with children aged 0-5 and supporting Early Years
practitioners to deliver high quality music making activities (Early Years). But you are also
working in a place of disadvantage where provision is patchy or low (Challenging
Circumstances). In this case you should select:
 Early Years Objectives 1 and 2
and
 Challenging Circumstances Objective 1.
This would show us that your main focus is on Early Years, but that you will also deliver one
of the Challenging Circumstances objectives.
We want to fund projects that deliver the main objectives well, to a high standard and
with a clear focus on quality. More is not necessarily better. If you are successful in your
application we will ask you to report on your objectives, so it is important that they are an
accurate representation of the work of your project.
In addition to meeting the Open Programme goal objectives, our application form will ask
about your overall aim and your intended outcomes. View our outcomes guide.
Are you eligible?
We can accept applications for between £5,000 and £30,000 from:
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Companies limited by guarantee
Registered charities
Local authorities (in partnership with at least one external organisation)
Schools (in partnership with at least one other school) or universities
Sure Start/Children’s Centres
Government/public bodies (for example a PCT or Youth Offending Institution)
Registered community interest companies
Voluntary and community organisations (including registered and
unregistered charities, co-operatives, friendly societies, industrial and
provident societies, and unincorporated associations)
We cannot accept applications from companies limited by shares or limited liability
partnerships.
To be eligible to apply, you must:
 Be a not-for-profit organisation
 Have been legally constituted for more than one year
 Have at least one year’s set of accounts, that demonstrate that your
organisation has provided activities to its user groups for at least one year
 Be based in England
 Have a child protection policy and equal opportunities policy
6
 Have employers and public liability insurance to run your project
We expect all organisations in receipt of Youth Music funding to ensure that their
organisation is fit for purpose, including adherence to the legal requirements of the
Charity Commission and Companies House (where relevant).
We also expect all organisations to have good governance practices in place.
Governing boards should be composed of persons who are informed and active in
overseeing a charity’s operations and finances. Successful governing boards
include individuals who not only are knowledgeable and engaged, but selected
with the organization’s needs in mind (e.g. accounting, finance, compensation, and
ethics).
It is Youth Music’s opinion that irrespective of size, a governing board should include
independent members and should not be dominated by employees or others who
are not, by their very nature, independent individuals because of family or business
relationships.
Open Programme project requirements
Your project will need to:
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Run for between 6 and 24 months. NB if you are applying to the June funding
round (closing date 27th June), your project must run for between 6 and 18
months
Provide structured, regular music-making activities that ensure children and
young people can progress their musical skills. This activity must be based in
England. As a guide, we expect around 80 per cent of the project activity to
be focussed on music-making
Work with children and young people who are 0-18 years old (or up to 25 if
they have special educational needs (SEN), disabilities, or are in detention)
Involve the children and young people you work with in the decision making
Provide activity outside school hours (up to 25 per cent can be within school
hours for recruitment etc., but this must be justified in your answer). This does
not apply to projects working with children and young people in their Early
Years, with special educational needs (SEN), disabilities, in pupil referral units
(PRUs) or in detention
Raise at least 10 per cent of the amount they are requesting from Youth Music
in match funding from non-Lottery sources (at least 5 per cent must be cash
match funding). Cash match funding refers to money raised from an
alternative source, such as another funder or through earned income from
your project. In kind match funding relates to goods or services that have
been donated to help run your project (i.e. not a physical cash contribution)
Work with at least one other partner (if you are a school, one partner must be
another school. If you are a Local Authority Department, one partner must
be external to the Council)
Provide performance (live or recorded) and/or sharing opportunities
Have at least one paid trainee
Involve at least two members of staff in addition to the trainee (e.g. one
person employed as a music leader and another person delivering the
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project management or one project manager/music leader and an
additional music leader), unless you can justify why this may be unrealistic or
not possible for your organisation. This is to avoid projects being overly reliant
on one member of staff
What costs do we fund?
We will fund costs associated with your project delivery including:
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Promoting your activities to children and young people
Actively encouraging children and young people to have a voice and say in
all aspects of the project
Structured volunteering opportunities for young people (up to the age of 25)
Monitoring and evaluation
A project manager
Music leaders
Visiting musicians
Trainees
Support workers
Continuing professional development needs of your project staff
Musical instruments and equipment
Performance costs
Core costs necessary for the delivery of your project (up to a maximum of 15
per cent of the project costs)
The cost of producing resources to support the delivery and on-going legacy
of your project, so long as the resource doesn’t duplicate something that
already exists (if you are successful in your grant application and have
requested money for resources, we will ask you for further information about
your proposed resource as a special condition of your grant)
Accreditation costs for qualifications undertaken by children and young
people, project staff and volunteers
Exclusions
There are a number of costs and activities that we will not fund. This includes, but is
not limited to:
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Applications from individuals
Applications from companies limited by shares, limited liability partnerships or
any other for-profit organisations
Activities or organisations outside of England
Work that is normally covered by local education authorities or the Music
Standards Fund
Activities that promote political or religious beliefs
Projects that start more than 3 months after the date we confirm our grant
Activities that take place before we confirm our grant (3 months from the
closing date)
Activities and practitioners of art forms other than music (e.g. visual arts and
dance)
Costs incurred in making your application
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Land, building, refurbishment, landscaping or property costs
Contingency costs
Reserves
Loans or interest payments
VAT costs that can be recovered
Applications with match funding that is less than 10 per cent of the grant
amount you are requesting from Youth Music
Applications with match funding from other Lottery funds
Organisations that hold a current Youth Music Action Zone, MusicLeader, National
Youth Music Organisation or Powerplay grant are not eligible to apply to the Open
Programme.
What are the chances of success?
Youth Music’s Open Programme is heavily oversubscribed. In 2009/10, we funded
just over one-third of the applications we received. However, the number of
applications submitted is ever-increasing, and in the first funding round of 2010/11,
we funded less than one-third of applications received. There are many good
projects that we would like to fund, but are unable to. Whilst we hope this
information will not deter you from applying to Youth Music, we are aware of the
work involved in making an application, and want you to have realistic expectations
of your chances of success.
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The Open Programme grant process – how to apply and
what happens to your application
1. Read the applicant guidance - check that you are eligible to apply, that your
project meets one of our goal areas and that we can fund what you want to
do. Also look at the application questions and corresponding ‘hot tips’ to
give you an idea of the kinds of things we are looking for in a good project.
2. Contact your Regional Executive Officer for advice on your application.
3. Start your online application. Pass the eligibility questionnaire and you will be
able to access the online application form. Complete the form and upload
your supporting information.
4. Submit your application form prior to the deadline date.
5. The Open Programme team will pre-assess your application, to ensure that
you are eligible to apply and that the project meets the Open Programme
eligibility and project requirements as detailed above.
6. If you are eligible and the project meets the requirements, your application
will be forwarded to one of our external assessors.
7. The completed assessment is returned to the Open Programme team for
moderation. Meanwhile, our Regional Executive Officers provide comments
on your application.
8. The assessment of your application, together with the comments from our
Regional Executive Officers, are forwarded to the grants assessment panel.
9. The grants panel meet to decide which applications to fund.
10. You will be notified of the outcome of your application - this will be around
12-14 weeks from the closing date.
What information do you need to provide with your
application?
In order to make an application, you must complete and send us the following
information:
1. Application form (completed electronically – click here to start an
application. Applications can be saved and returned to at a later stage by
going to the account log in page and clicking ‘I am a returning applicant’.
Click here to download a hard copy of the application questions (for
reference purposes only)
2. Project budget – download the project budget form. See also our example
budget template.
3. Declaration form - download the declaration form
4. Equal opportunities form - download the equal opportunities form
5. Session details form – download the session details form. Tell us about the
sessions you plan to offer, and demonstrate how these will progress the
musical skills of the participants.
6. Letters of support from your formal partners, demonstrating that they agree to
work with you on your project and outlining their role in the partnership (see
the ‘hot tips’ for question 5.2; also section 9 of the application form).
7. Your most recent accounts, unless you are a statutory organisation. These
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should not be more than 18 months old. If your accounts you send are more
than 18 months old, you should also supply draft accounts which provide a
more recent update. The level of detail required from your accounts varies
according to the annual income of your organisation.
a. If your annual income is more than £250,000, we would expect to
receive externally audited accounts. This is likely to be a document
with a detailed Trustee report and notes to accounts.
b. If your income is between £10,000 - £250,000, we would expect to
receive accounts that have been reviewed by an appropriately
qualified person (this is not deemed an audit). We would expect them
to be similar to the accounts produced by a large organisation, but a
slimmed-down version.
c. If your annual income is less than £10,000, we would expect a
document that highlights income and expenditure and any balance
sheet items.
Please note that this does not supersede any legislation or independent
legal advice you have received about the appropriate accounts for your
organisation.
8. CVs of your proposed music leaders
9. A copy of your governing document, unless you are a registered charity,
company or statutory organisation.
Please note: we do not accept incomplete applications. We must receive the
application form AND all the supporting documentation on or before the closing
date. If any of your supporting information is missing, your application will be
withdrawn.
If you have any special requirements relating to our Open Programme application
form and guidance, please contact us on 020 7902 1060.
Additional information
We accept paper copies of your additional information, but only if these are not
available electronically. If you need to send these to us, please clearly label them
with the name of your organisation, the main contact's name and a contact phone
number. You can post the information to:
The Open Programme
Youth Music
One America Street
London
SE1 0NE
Alternatively, you can fax it, clearly labelled, to: 020 7902 1061
Documents sent by post or fax must be received by us on or before the closing date.
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Project budget guidelines
We ask that you complete and send us a project budget with your application.
Download the project budget form and full guidance. We have also developed an
example project budget to help you write your budget. In addition to the exclusions
above, the main regulations are as follows:
 Projects cannot spend more than 15 per cent of the Youth Music grant on
core costs
 Projects cannot spend more than 10 per cent of the Youth Music grant on
capital purchases (this allowance increases to 25 per cent for music
technology projects We define music technology projects as those projects
that use computer technology software as the main vehicle for the
production of music, rather than vocal or instrumental projects)
 Projects must raise at least 10 per cent of the Youth Music grant amount
through match funding, with a minimum of 5 per cent cash
 The equivalent of at least 5 per cent of your Youth Music grant must be spent
on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – this can be paid for either
from your Youth Music grant, or from your match funding
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When to apply
You can apply at any time, but the closing dates for the 2010/2011 grant rounds are:
Closing date for applications
10 December 2010
10 March 2011
27th June 2011
We will notified you of the outcome by:
End March 2011
By mid June 2011
End of September 2011
We recommend you take these closing dates and our processing times into account
when planning your project. Allow plenty of time to put your application together –
some applicants take up to six months to develop their project. Try to submit your
application well in advance of the closing date, especially if you need to send us
any documents by post.
Incomplete applications (i.e. those missing any of the required supporting
information) will be withdrawn. If your application is complete but reaches us after
the closing date, it will be carried over to the next funding round. This is to help us
ensure that all applications are considered fairly and equally. We will notify you
within two weeks of the closing date if your application is not eligible or is not
complete.
There is no published closing date beyond June 2011 as Youth Music is currently
undertaking a review of its funding model. The purpose of the review is to ensure we
are delivering the best possible service and value for those we fund, those that fund
us and, most importantly, the children and young people we aim to serve. Through
this review, we aim to produce a forward-thinking funding model that facilitates
efficient and flexible grant giving. We also want to ensure that Youth Music and our
partners make a significant contribution to the Government’s proposed National
Plan for Music Education.
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Support available to help your application
Regional Executive Officers (REOs)
Youth Music has a team of Regional Executive Officers (REOs) who work in each
region in England. REOs can offer support and advice to help you develop your
application. We strongly advise that you contact your Regional Executive Officer
before you put in your application.
Your REO can support you in the following ways:
 Advise you on potential partners that will extend the scope of the activity
and legacy or your project
 Assist you in developing your project so that it meets our goals and
regional strategies
 Assist you through the application process
 Point you in the direction of other support in your locality
 Some of our REOs hold Open Programme surgeries throughout the year,
the dates of which will vary between regions.
Our REOs work for Youth Music on a part-time basis and spend much of their time
out 'in the field'. If you try and contact one of them, an immediate response will not
always be possible, so please allow enough time in your planning for
correspondence to take place.
We strongly recommend that you contact your REO by email to discuss your
application, as soon as you decide to make an application. We recommend that
you contact them at least one month prior to the closing date, but preferably before.
We cannot guarantee the level of support they will be able to give if you contact
them after this date. The reason why we ask you to contact REOs well in advance of
the closing date is two-fold:
 Our REOs only work on a part-time basis, and are very busy in the run up to
the Open Programme closing date. If you contact them at an early stage,
they will be able to offer a higher level of support
 By knowing which organisations are likely to submit bids at an early stage, our
REOs are able to offer the most constructive and helpful advice. For
example, if there are three potential applicants working in close proximity, all
hoping to run similar kinds of music activities and projects, it would make
sense to work together on an application rather than go it alone – or at least
to develop some kind of partnership arrangement. However, if REOs only
become aware of this a short time before the closing date, it is too late to
develop any meaningful partnerships between the applicants.
Glossary of terms
Don’t know your ‘outcome’ from your ‘objective’? Confused by the difference
between ‘capital’ and ‘revenue’ funding? Then check out our glossary of terms.
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Application form and hot tips
Download a hard copy of the application form that details all of the application
questions and our ‘hot tips’ for your answers.
Example project budget
If you’re not sure how our budget template works, what costs to include, or what
level of detail we require, then download our example project budget.
Top tips for a good application
This form tells you all the basics that we’re looking for in a good funding application.
Unfortunately it can’t guarantee success, but it should help you to improve your
application. Download our top tips.
How to use our online application form
Visit the Open Programme downloads section of our funding website for advice on
how to access and navigate the online application form.
MusicLeader and the Music Education Code of Practice
It is a requirement of all Open Programme projects that at least 5 per cent of the
Youth Music grant should be spent on Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
CPD refers to activities undertaken to support people to build their skills, knowledge
and experience to help them in their professional lives. It can include training
courses, seminars, skills-sharing and shadowing opportunities.
MusicLeader is well placed to support the CPD planning of your project, as the
support service dedicated to the professional development of UK music leaders.
Regional Networks are located around the country and provide:
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Information, advice and guidance
Training and networking opportunities
Online resources
Youth Music would like all project managers and music practitioners to become
members of MusicLeader. For additional support in developing your workforce
development strategy and accessing professional development opportunities we
recommend that you contact your nearest MusicLeader Regional Network.
Youth Music is a proud supporter of the Music Education Code of Practice, a best
practice framework designed by the profession for the profession. It is a useful tool
that will help you to ensure that your music leaders aim towards providing a quality
service. We recommend that you encourage your music leaders to sign up to the
Music Education Code of Practice. Should you have any questions about the Code
or wish to find out more about training opportunities that may help your music
leaders achieve the principles set out in the Code, contact your nearest
MusicLeader Regional Network.
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The Open Programme buddy scheme
A report written by Sound Sense in 2003 stated that “Youth music-making could be
better supported if the wide range of formal and informal music education providers
shared opportunities for training and continuing professional development (CPD)”.
The report recommends that the sector adopts a pluralistic approach: “a way of
threading together all learning experiences and ensuring they have validity and
acceptance”
Youth Music’s Open Programme funds around 200 active projects at any one time.
We work with a wide variety of organisations, from community music organisations to
nurseries to music services to youth clubs. Amongst the organisations that run Open
Programme projects, there is a vast amount of experience and expertise. The Open
Programme runs an optional buddy scheme for successful applicants. If you opt into
this scheme, we will match you with a fellow Open Programme project, so that you
can swap ideas, approaches, contacts and knowledge.
This scheme is non-compulsory, and your choice to opt in or out will not inform the
assessment of your application.
Your buddy relationship can develop in any way that you and your buddy see fit. As
well as supportive and problem-solving phone calls and emails, Youth Music
envisages some travelling/exchange of music leaders and/or managers and/or
trainees between the two projects to share their practice. You might even want the
process to culminate in a trip for all staff to see the other project in action. The
buddy scheme is your oyster!
While we will endeavour to match you with an organisation that fulfils the areas you
identify for receiving support, we cannot guarantee the particulars of your buddy
project. Youth Music cannot guarantee any learning outcomes from your
participation in the buddy scheme. Please approach the buddy scheme with an
open mind.
This is a new approach to CPD for your project staff. If you want to include expenses
for your involvement in the buddy scheme (such as travel to your buddy’s location)
as part of your application budget to Youth Music, these must make up no more
than 2 per cent of your total grant amount. They can count towards your 5 per cent
minimum CPD requirement.
If you would like to become part of this scheme, please tell us on the application
form. There is space to tell us both what you could offer and what you are looking
for in a buddy.
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The number of applications you can make - advice for
repeat applicants
If your organisation has previously received a grant from Youth Music and is
considering another application please read the following guidelines carefully
before completing your application.
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You can only hold one Open Programme grant at any one time. This is
because Youth Music wants to distribute the money available as widely as
possible. There may be certain exceptional circumstances where we allow
organisations to apply for more than one grant. In such cases, the request to
make a repeat application must be approved by both the Regional
Executive Officer and Youth Music’s Open Programme team. If you would
like to make a request for an additional grant, please contact your Regional
Executive Officer in the first instance.
If you have received funding from Youth Music before, your application must meet
at least two of our repeat applicant criteria. All applicants must meet repeat
applicant criteria 1:
1. Your project will be working with new or additional groups of children and
young people from those involved in your previous Youth Music project.
In addition, it must also meet at least one of the following criteria:
2. Your project activities will help children and young people to significantly
improve their music-making skills and expand the types of music making they
have started.
3. Your project will reach new communities by expanding or changing the
geographical area it serves.
4. Your project will provide significantly different types of music-making
activities to provide new experiences for the same children.
5. Your project will offer greater responsibility or professional development to
your trainee(s) or apprentice(s) or it will employ new ones.
6. Your project will collaborate with other groups or organisations in your area
that you have not worked with before.
You must also confirm in your application that:
 Your previous Youth Music project is finished, you have submitted the final
report and received confirmation from us that the grant is closed.
 The legacy plans (also known as your ‘What Next?’ plans) for your previous
Youth Music project have been implemented, or a suitable alternative sought
with good reason.
We would be unlikely to fund a project that looks like a continuation of a previous
project. If you are using a similar project model to the previous Youth Music project,
we would like to see how you have applied the learning to develop, expand or
improve your offer. Please make this explicit in questions 8.4 and 8.5 of the
application form.
We will refer to your previous application and monitoring reports in our assessment of
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your application and we will look at how efficiently the grant was administered by
your organisation. We will also look at how your project fulfils the repeat applicant
criteria in your application.
Organisations that have already received a grant from Youth Music will not be given
priority. Any new application is judged according to the objectives and criteria for
the programme.
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The assessment process
Your application will be assessed by one of our independent assessors. They will
score it against the criteria as set out in the hot tips of the application form, and
identify key strengths and weaknesses. The assessor may ask you for more
information to help their assessment of your application.
The assessor writes a report and makes recommendations to the assessment panel,
taking into account:
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How your project meets Youth Music’s Open Programme goals and
objectives
Whether the budget and match funding is appropriate and within the fund
guidelines
Your project outcomes, and whether these are likely to be achieved by your
project plans
The children and young people you will be working with, and how they will be
involved in all aspects of the project
The partners you are working with, and how your project fits with the work of
other local organisations
The legacy your project will leave behind
Your monitoring and evaluation plans
The quality of management and leadership for your project
Your plans for your trainee(s) and young volunteers
Your plans for the CPD (continuing professional development) of your project
staff
The overall value for money your project offers, taking into account the target
participants and the project outcomes
All assessment reports are moderated by the Open Programme team. This ensures
that they are an accurate reflection of the original application. It also ensures
consistency across the scoring and recommendations made by the different
assessors.
Assessment panel members receive copies of every assessment to read prior to the
meeting. They also receive comments from our REOs about the strengths and
weaknesses of the project in relation to regional priorities.
During the panel meeting, the applications are discussed (sometimes at great
length!), and decisions made accordingly. Where a decision cannot be reached
through debate and discussion, it may go to a vote. Members of the panel with
voting rights comprise Youth Music’s Chief Executive, Directors and Senior Managers.
Unsuccessful applications
Youth Music’s open access programmes have always been oversubscribed so
inevitably, some applications are unsuccessful. All complete and eligible
applications go through the same assessment process and they all go to the same
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assessment panel. If your application is unsuccessful you will be notified in writing
within 12-14 weeks of the closing date.
Unsuccessful applicants are eligible to reapply, however, applicants must wait at
least one funding round before resubmitting an application (i.e. they cannot apply
at the next closing date).
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What happens if you are offered a grant?
Timescales on first payment
Please note that successful projects do not usually receive their first payment until
four to five months after the closing date. Please take this into account when
planning your project start date.
Offer pack
If you are successful, we will email you to notify you of the outcome of your
application. We will then send you an offer pack which includes:
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Your formal offer letter
Your funding agreement
Your payment schedule
Guidance on monitoring and evaluation (see our interim and final report
requirements)
Guidance on our claims process
Guidance on any special conditions you are required to complete (see
below)
You then need to return the information requested in the offer pack within eight
weeks. Your first payment is contingent on the satisfactory receipt of these
documents.
Special conditions
All Open Programme projects are required to provide specific information as part of
the special conditions of your grant. These include standard special conditions plus
any additional requirements that are specific to your project. As a minimum, we
require the following within eight weeks of sending out your offer letter:
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A signed copy of your funding agreement
Confirmation of bank details
A copy of a bank statement or paying in slip for the account that we will be
paying your grant into
An authorised signatories form
Confirmation of the partnership funding listed in your application, this may be
from other funders, reserved funds or income generated through the project
A timetable of sessions showing dates, venues, time and content
A job description and training plan for your trainee
Names and CVs of all your music leaders
A copy of the volunteer role description and agreement
Should certain areas need further clarification from your application form, Youth
Music may ask you to submit additional documents. These can include:
 Developed progression plan for participants
 Plan for disseminating findings from the project
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More detailed monitoring and evaluation plans
Clarification of uncertainties around elements of the budget
And other information as highlighted by the external assessor or assessment
panel
It is your responsibility to send us the required information within the given deadlines
and we will not chase for information. We process claims on a quarterly basis, so if
you miss your claim deadline, you will have to wait until the following quarter. If you
miss your deadline by more than six months and do not contact us to discuss your
claim, we may close your grant without further notice.
Successful applicants - what happens if you need to
make changes to your project?
We realise that things do not always run to plan, and that projects sometimes need
to be adapted to ensure success. You may need to work with different partners,
alter your budget, or change your workshop structure to accommodate the needs
of the children and young people you have recruited. We are quite flexible
regarding project changes, so long as they support achievement of the original
project aims and objectives. However, we would prefer to be kept informed of any
changes you plan to make. If you have some project underspend and know how
you want to spend it, we ask you to email the Open Programme team with your
proposal and a revised budget. Similarly, if there is something about your project
structure you propose to change, please email us first. We prefer to know about any
changes before you implement them, so we can check that they are eligible under
our funding guidelines.
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Who to contact at Youth Music
Reception
Telephone: 020 7902 1060
Email: reception@youthmusic.org.uk
(Please write Open Programme in the subject heading)
Youth Music’s receptionists are fully trained to help Open Programme applicants
with:
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General enquiries
Accessing and completing the Open Programme application form
Directing you to the right member of Youth Music staff to help
Youth Music’s REOs (Regional Executive Officers)
Our REO contact details can be found on our website www.youthmusic.org.uk or by
contacting reception on 020 7902 1060.
They can help with:
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Advice on potential partners to extend the scope of the activity and legacy
of your project
Assistance in developing your project so that it meets its goals and objectives
Assistance through the application process
Pointing you in the direction of other support in your locality
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Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts
Data Protection
We will use the information you give us on the application form and supporting
documents during assessment and for the life of any grant we award you to
administer and analyse grants and for our own research.
We may give copies of this information to individuals and organisations we consult
when assessing applications; when monitoring grants and evaluating the way our
funding programmes work; and when disseminating information to partners about
our funded projects. These organisations may include accountants, external
evaluators and other organisations or groups involved in delivering the project. We
may also share information with other Lottery distributors, government departments
and other organisations and individuals with a legitimate interest in Youth Music
applications and grants, or for the prevention and detection of fraud. We may use
the data you provide for our own research. We recognise the need to maintain the
confidentiality of vulnerable groups and their details will not be made public in any
way, except as required by law.
We are fully registered under the Data Protection Act and no personal data
(including images) will be shared with any other organisation without prior consent.
In the case of our research, any personal details will also be made anonymous
before sharing or publishing our findings.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives members of the public the right to
request any information that we hold. This includes information received from third
parties, such as, although not limited to, grant applicants, grant holders, contractors
and people making a complaint. If information is requested under the Freedom of
Information Act we will release it, subject to exemptions, although we may consult
with you first. If you think that information you are providing may be exempt from
release, you should let us know when you apply.
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Youth Music’s official complaints procedure
Youth Music is committed to being open and accessible and welcomes all
comments on its work and the services it provides. Suggestions as to how our services
might be improved should be sent to the Chief Operating Officer.
There may be occasions when you are unhappy about the service we provide. If
you wish to make a complaint please follow the procedures below, bearing in mind
that Youth Music is not able to consider complaints against a funding decision itself.
Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with the service we provide or the way that you have been
dealt with please make an official complaint in writing to the Chief Operating
Officer. Within five working days of receipt it will be investigated by the appropriate
member of Youth Music’s Senior Management Team. You will receive a written
response to the complaint within four weeks.
If you are still not satisfied with the response to your official complaint, you may write
to the Chief Executive. You may only write based on procedural grounds and not on
the funding decision itself.
This letter must be sent within one month of the response provided under the initial
complaint and you will receive an immediate written acknowledgement from the
Chief Executive.
Within six weeks of receiving such a request, the relevant material will be considered
by the Chief Executive together with the appropriate Director of Department, the
Chair of Youth Music, a Trustee and an adviser who was not involved in the original
application in any way
Their conclusions and recommendations will then be submitted at the earliest
opportunity to a Trustees meeting, whose decision will be final and will be
communicated to the complainant within seven days of the Trustees meeting
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