APPLICATION FORM
Please refer to the ‘2015 Guidance for Applicants’
before completing this application form.
The application form is split over four sections. It is up to you to decide
the content and length of each section, but your application must not
exceed three pages in total (excluding the cover pages).
Please ensure that your application covers the key criteria that we are
looking for and is effectively presented. Any questions relating to your
application or the submission process should be directed to
awards@cosla.gov.uk or 0131 474 9275.
The deadline for submission of entries is 5pm on Friday 24 October 2014.
Submitting Your Application Form
Please use our online application portal to submit this application form.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2015
APPLICATON FORM
02
PLEASE PROVIDE SOME DETAILS ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION:
CATEGORY APPLIED
FOR
Achieving Better Outcomes
PROJECT NAME
(as you wish to see it
published)
Angus Commonwealth Games Fund
LEAD ORGANISATION
Angus Council
DEPARTMENT/TEAM
Economic Development
Local Businesses
Elected Members
Local Community Groups
Angus Commonwealth Games
Steering Group (multi agency)
PARTICIPANT NAMES
OR PARTNER
ORGANISATIONS
CONTACT NAME
Shelley Hague
CONTACT DETAILS
Hagues@angus.gov.uk
CAN WE PUBLISH THIS APPLICATION FORM ON OUR WEBSITE?
YES
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2015
APPLICATON FORM
03
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
In one short paragraph please describe this project is about, what it has
achieved, and why it is delivering excellence.
Activity carried out by Angus Council’s Economic Development team aims to fulfil the community
planning vision of “Angus is a place where a first class quality of life can be enjoyed by all” and in
line with this the economic strategy priority of supporting communities is at the heart of this
submission. The aim of this project was to provide a targeted local Angus Commonwealth Games
Fund to encourage local groups, businesses and communities to carry out sporting events, dress
their business’ windows, organise festivals, support employment/training and hold events to
promote and provide a legacy of the Commonwealth Games.
PLANNING
What is your project about, and why is it important? What are you aiming to
achieve, and how does this fit with the bigger picture? Does it tackle the issues
that matter most to your community or your organisation?
This project aimed to get more people in Angus involved in their community, and work towards
our community planning vision and single outcome agreement priorities by capitalising on the
Commonwealth Games agenda and creating a legacy for communities. Working within the
framework of cross partner activity for the Commonwealth Games and recognising the
opportunity to build on the fact that Angus was a proud host venue of the shooting events, it was
identified that by offering seed corn funding (max £2,000) through a Commonwealth Games Fund,
communities and businesses could be encouraged to embrace opportunities to come together in
community focused activity, raise community and civic pride, empower communities, generate
jobs, support disadvantaged communities and leave a lasting legacy. With a successful track
record of delivering a community grant scheme, Angus Council was well placed to utilise expertise
and processes to deliver a customer focused and easy to access Fund. The planning and
development phase was supported by the Angus Commonwealth Games Board and Steering
Group who worked with economic development staff to pull together criteria and eligibility to
shape a programme that would achieve maximum impact with the monies available. The
assessment process adopted aimed to be as quick as possible to ensure applicants were able to
plan and implement their projects quickly. Decisions were delegated to the Commonwealth
Games Board to ensure alignment with Commonwealth Games activity in Angus and ensure there
was no overlap or duplication with other planned activities. A marketing plan was devised in
conjunction with Angus Council’s communications and marketing teams. A new and innovative
monitoring mechanism was developed to ensure that lasting impact was recognised and retained
by avoiding typical monitoring report styles and focusing on greater use of IT, media and social
media with successful applicants encouraged to submit video clips, photos, social media content
etc. which was published on a public Angus Commonwealth Games website and will be used in
future legacy work.
DELIVERING
T
How have you carried out your project? How did you ensure that this was done
effectively? What are you doing to continue to improve?
The programme launched in May 2014 with final applications submitted prior to the
Commonwealth Games in July 2014 although projects could be delivered up to December 2014. A
programme of publicity and promotion was implemented including distribution of publicity
materials, use of local advertising, social media campaigns, websites, newsletters etc. most of
which was at little or no cost. Initial activity was followed up by Angus Council’s External Funding
Team across Angus, attending community council, voluntary group meetings etc. and generally
promoting the Commonwealth Games message and what could be achieved through the Fund.
Community Planning partners were briefed and contributed to the overall marketing effort. From
these sessions a number of applicants came forward with innovative and dynamic projects for
example employability pipeline supporting employment opportunities for the Games which has
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2015
APPLICATON FORM
04
led to 8 long term unemployed individuals gaining sustainable employment following the events.
The continued communication with groups through the application process ensured they were
well informed and supported and has led to them seeking other funding and capacity building to
continue their activity into the future. A programme of weekly approval sessions was programmed
to allow for quick decision making. Due to detailed planning at the start we ensured that the
funding was distributed quickly and efficiently so as to offer the most impact and in a timely
fashion. Successful applicants were asked to provide feedback and report on the success of their
project by providing photos, films, social media updates etc. This way we have a record of activity,
a legacy of the engagement and material that can be used and shared with communities as good
practice. Budget spend was monitored monthly, and unused monies recycled into the Fund for
further use. To date 80% of activity has been carried out with 340 community leaders at the core
of activity.
As this Fund has proved successful, plans are already in place to target funds to complement
other proposed local and national themes e.g. 2015 is Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink - a key
priority of the Angus economy. Ring fencing funding to generate activity related to this will ensure
that communities are engaged in Angus economic activity and in turn we can support them to
develop events and activities, attract other funds, and grow their projects. Our communities are
now well equipped to plan, organise and carry out local events and projects which can be
replicated in other areas keen to start providing local services. Event Organisers in Angus are
already supported through an active network which encourages mutual learning, best practice
sharing and best value through sharing of services. This network has been boosted by new
members who were able to source funding through the Commonwealth Games Fund. The External
Funding team are keen to continue their programme of engagement to support this. On the
horizon we also have The Open returning to Angus in 2018, and the development of the V&A in
Dundee and increased cultural tourism in the East of Scotland so we are keen to continue to tailor
our support so it is efficient and effective in supporting local groups and businesses and
contributing to legacy across Scotland.
INNOVATION &
LEADING PRACTICE
Why is your project innovative? How is it helping to prepare for the future? What
is happening to help other organisations benefit from your approach?
Our project was innovative as it allowed groups and businesses the flexibility and creativity
required to deliver successful events, projects and activity in their local communities for the
greater good of Angus and indeed Scotland. Targeting funding through the Commonwealth
Games Fund has given us a good evidence base that legacy can be achieved if local communities
are engaged and supported. There are now plans to target resources at the Year of Food and
Drink, The Open in Carnoustie in 2018 and the cultural tourism linked to the V&A opening in
Dundee. . So often local funding has so many strings attached, and excludes many active groups
and in particular businesses who have some really innovative ideas on service delivery and
providing support to disadvantaged groups.
We have just completed a review of our project and have sent it to Scottish Government to share
with other areas. The report will be tabled at local partnerships and national groups for example
SLAED and the Scottish Local Authority External Funding Officers Group (SLOG). Sharing of this
good practice will be really important across Scotland and indeed within our own area where we
hope that the third sector will benefit and take on the principles of the targeted approach.
RESULTS & IMPACT
What impact are you having, or expect to have? How are you measuring this,
and what does this tell you? Are you delivering what you set out to achieve?
In total it is estimated that over 5,000 local people have been engaged through the various events,
projects and activity including many who had never taken part in sporting activity. This included
400 people at a bowling event which engaged young people in the sport of bowling and was
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2015
APPLICATON FORM
05
supported by local gold medal winning bowler Darren Burnett. The St Thomas’ Swimming
events/tournament encouraged 40 participants and over 350 people attended the fun day. DEAP
(employability provider) have supported over 50 local job seekers with 8 individuals finding
sustainable employment. The East Haven 800 Festival was funded through the project and given
ongoing support to develop their series of community events. The Commonwealth Games baton
relay passed through this area generating a lot of excitement and since being awarded funding,
the group has been successful in obtaining over £80,000 from other funders as well in kind
support and donations. They have achieved international interest in their work and developed
their community garden on the Beechgrove Garden and just recently won a VisitScotland Tourism
Award http://www.easthavenangus.com/259939996 and been shortlisted for the Herald Society
Awards for “Community of the Year”.
Just Play was a project funded under the initiative and worked to support parents, who were
struggling to engage effectively with their children, through sporting activities and this has been
one of the most successful schemes. Results have noted that through active play the fathers are
now a lot more involved in their children's lives with the long term goal of supporting them fully.
This increased their confidence, encouraged interaction between families and is increasing their
quality of life. St Thomas’ Swimming Club, who received funding, said “After a wonderfully exciting
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow we, as a club, were determined to promote the legacy the
Games within our local community and surrounding area and the award we received effectively
allowed us to achieve this and simultaneously kick start a fresh enthusiasm all round”
Enabling local groups and communities and providing the initial support can lead to significant
achievements which will be felt by communities into the future. Through providing an initial
source of funding, it was calculated that for every pound invested by Angus Council £3.20 has
been levered in through other funding bids and donations. This is still growing on a daily basis as
activity is scheduled up to the end of 2014. In terms of those gaining employment, this has
provided a benefit saving of over £27,000 per year (purely including JSA). Initial analysis and
feedback has identified that through the project, local groups have an increased sense of
empowerment, are planning on continuing with events/activity for 2015 and beyond and that they
found this support very valuable. Businesses felt more linked in to their community. At the start of
the project development in early 2014, the main aim was to engage communities by using the
Commonwealth Games. Through local engagement, it is felt that the communities in Angus are
much more active and empowered to put in funding bids to enhance local people’s lives. We
anticipated a lot from the limited funding available however the results have far outweighed our
expectations and it is believed that this is due to the flexible, proactive and supportive programme
that was put in place.
Please limit your application to 3 pages or less and use font size 11or greater
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2015
APPLICATON FORM
06
NEXT STEPS
 Have you answered the criteria set out in the guidance?
 Is your application form 3 pages or less. (Anything more, including
appendices, will be automatically rejected)
 Has your application form been authorised by an appropriate person?
 Have you indicated whether you wish the application form to be
published?
 Have you provided details for someone we can contact about your
application?
SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION BY 24 OCTOBER 2014 USING OUR ONLINE
APPLICATIONS PORTAL:
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT
YOUR APPLICATION FORM