Central Gateway
Grants
Countywide Infrastructure Support
Programme
Additional Guidance
Deadline for submission of interest: 16 May 2014, 12 noon
These supporting guidance notes are to help
you understand what the Countywide
Infrastructure Support Programme is about and
to help you submit an expression of interest to
deliver the programme for 2014/16.
If you need further guidance or advice you can contact
Jason Crausby on 01772 533544 or 07795 222801 or
you can email us at jason.crausby@lancashire.gov.uk
Contents
Introduction
1
Developing a Countywide Infrastructure Model
1
Who can apply to deliver the programme?
2
- Categories 1 and 2
2
- Falling into both categories?
3
- What we will not fund
3
Developing a programme and submitting a proposal
4
- The 5 Principles of a countywide infrastructure
support programme
Your proposal
4
5
- Principles 1 to 5
- What will happen once we receive your proposal?
6
-
Assessment of your application
6
-
Timescales
7
Monitoring of grants
8
Publicity of grants
9
Contact information and returning your proposal
10
Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
Introduction
Central Gateway Grants offer an opportunity for organisations to apply for strategic
funding in order to help deliver Lancashire County Council’s key priorities. Our
priorities focus on preparing for the future, supporting the most vulnerable and
boosting the Lancashire economy, both creating and protecting jobs.
The County Council recognises and values the contribution to public services and
wellbeing within the county which is made by third sector organisations. We are also
very much aware that in recent years, different economic circumstances have
drastically altered the playing field in terms of how organisations are funded with the
result that only well organised third sector groups can thrive and provide a valuable
contribution to the local community.
It is for this reason that the County Council is seeking to invest in the infrastructure
support that is available to existing and developing third sector organisations across
the county. As part of the 2014/16 Central Gateway Grants (CGG) programme the
County Council will seek to develop a countywide infrastructure support programme
across the whole of Lancashire. Only by being properly established and equipped to
respond to new challenges can the wealth of third sector organisations across the
county maximise the positive impact that they have on our local communities.
As the programme will be funded from within the Central Gateway Fund the criteria
which apply to applications for grants under the fund will also apply to the application
to deliver the countywide infrastructure programme, therefore please ensure you can
meet all of the criteria.
Developing a Countywide Infrastructure Support Programme
As part of our new way of working, work has been undertaken to look at developing
an approach to a countywide infrastructure support programme for the Third Sector,
to be funded by the CGF. It is anticipated that a model can be developed in terms of
infrastructure support where it may be possible to make better use of resources,
encourage the sector to work together and provide county wide support to VCFS
organisations.
The County Council is keen to support a thriving Third Sector which is able to work
with ourselves in our joint aims to provide high quality, appropriate services to the
communities we serve. We feel this can best be achieved where the organisations
which make up the third sector are linked into each other and work together to
identify and respond to the needs of the people of the county.
To this end the County Council is considering setting aside a proportion of Central
Gateway Grant funding to support a Countywide Infrastructure Support Programme
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
to ensure that community and voluntary sector groups across the county are able to
access the support they need.
We also recognise that not all groups would need, or be in a position to provide
infrastructure support across the county, possibly because they may focus on a
particular group of people, a particular need or a particular part of the county. As
such we would not want to exclude such groups from applying to the Central
Gateway Fund as we also recognise the valuable contribution they make to the
people of the county and to the aims and objectives of the County Council.
However we would expect that any successful applications which offer infrastructure
support, link into the countywide programme, at the very least to raise awareness of
what support may be on offer, but ideally to contribute to the overall programme.
The County Council feels that through such an approach we can develop a more
strategic and efficient and effective programme of infrastructure support to the third
sector across a range of issues and areas and across the county as a whole.
Who can apply to deliver the programme?
As the countywide infrastructure programme will be funded by the CGF the eligibility
to deliver such a programme will follow that of the eligibility to apply to the wider fund.
The General eligibility criteria for CGF states that your organisation must:
 have a constitution, set of rules or articles or governing code that has been
adopted by your organisation;
 have a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated authorised
signatories;
 be a 'not for profit' organisation.
Categories 1 and 2.
For the 2014/16 funding round, it is expected that applicants will fall into one of two
categories in terms of applying for CGG funding;
1. An organisation, or an organisation that is part of a Consortium that is
applying for funding to Develop a Countywide Infrastructure Model;
If you fall under Category 1, you will likely be party to a joint Expression of Interest
and you will need to evidence how your organisation, working in collaboration with
other organisations can develop a countywide infrastructure model. Organisations
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
that fall under this category are not expected to complete a standard CGG
application form. Please refer to this document and the Expression of Interest
document.
2. An organisation that delivers a service, or provides significant
infrastructure support to other third sector organisations, and wishes to
apply either to deliver a specific service or an infrastructure programme
which could add value to the wider Countywide Infrastructure
Programme;
If you fall under Category 2, we would expect you to submit an application form under
CGG. As the CGG fund is all about seeking to invest in the infrastructure of
Lancashire, we would expect all applications in someway to link back to the wider
countywide infrastructure model; at the very least to raise awareness of what may be
available through the model. If you fall under this category, as in previous years, your
application will need to evidence how you meet our definition of strategic funding.
We appreciate that there will be some organisations who feel that their organisation
is not in a position to be a part of a consortium of bids to develop the countywide
infrastructure. However should that organisation wish to deliver a specialist service to
the Sector or something which they feel would add value to the countywide
infrastructure programme then they should submit a CGG application form.
Falling into both categories?
Some organisations may be part of a consortium to deliver the countywide
infrastructure programme but may also wish to apply to deliver an activity which goes
beyond or adds value to that programme.
In such circumstances, if you have a new project or initiative in mind, then you may
also apply to CGG via the normal grants process.
If you are unsure which category you fall under or would like some advice
please contact us on 01772 533544 before completing an application form or
before submitting an expression of interest.
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
Developing the programme and submitting a proposal
The 5 Principles of a countywide infrastructure support programme.
Our model is based on 5 principles as detailed below,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The provision (either directly or through signposting) of high quality support and
services for VCFS organisations across the county
To increase the number of volunteers and volunteering opportunities and
greater participation of residents and others within local communities.
To create a mechanism for the wider VCFS to engage in the decision making
process.
Enable communities to identify and create solutions to their needs.
To create a platform to allow VCFS organisations and the Third Sector across
Lancashire to access alternative funds and resources.
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
Your proposal
Your proposal will need to outline how your organisation or consortium will approach
each of these principles. You should attempt to address each of the bullet points
under each principle in your proposal and provide any additional information which
you feel is relevant. You should also indicate the frequency and number of any
particular activity and provide a cost to each activity as well as an overall cost for the
programme.
You should also indicate which aspect / division of your organisation or which party
within a consortium would be responsible for the delivery of each activity.
Principle 1:- The provision (either directly or through signposting) of high quality
support and services for VCFS organisations across the county.
 What direct provision of support will you provide?
 What would be the broad themes of support to VCFS organisations which you
would provide?
 How will you ensure that such activities are accessible to VCFS groups across
the county?
 How will you promote such activities to the VCFS across Lancashire?
 How will you signpost VCFS organisations to support and services which you
won't be providing?
 How will you provide a programme of support that is in line with the need of
VCFS groups across the county?
 What support would you provide to create the development of new VCFS
organisations across the county?
 How would you ensure that the programme interacts with other projects
funded by CGG and other public sector funded programmes?
Principle 2:- To increase the number of volunteers and volunteering opportunities
and greater participation of residents and others within local communities
 What direct provision in terms of volunteering support will you provide?
 How would you propose to increase volunteering and volunteering
opportunities?
 How would you ensure that access to volunteering support is available to
people and organisations across the county?
 How would you promote such a service both to individuals and to
organisations seeking volunteers?
Principle 3:- To create a mechanism for the wider VCFS to engage in the decision
making process.
 What methods, structures and/ or mechanisms would you use or put in place
to engage with the wider VCFS across the county?
 How would you ensure that the views of the VCFS are collated and
represented?
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes


What proposals would you have for the long term development of the VCFS
across the county?
What proposals would you have
Principle 4:- Enable communities to identify and create solutions to their needs.
 How would you engage with communities at a "grass roots" level?
 What methods would you use to identify issues at community level and identify
solutions?
 How would you propose to develop such groups?
Principle 5:- To create a platform to allow VCFS organisations and the Third Sector
across Lancashire to access alternative funds and resources
 How would you propose to bring additional funding and resources to Third
Sector organisations across the county?
 Which main sources of alternative funding and resources would you focus
upon?
 How would you propose to engage with the private sector as a potential
source of funds and resources across the county?
 How would you propose to ensure that VCFS organisations are aware of
alternative sources of funding and resources and equipped to access them?
Additionally:- Please provide any information in terms of the programme you are
proposing which you feel has not been covered by the points above.
What will happen once we receive your proposal?
Once submitted, your proposal will be assessed against the criteria to ensure it is
eligible. Eligible proposals will then be given further guidance and be expected to
draw up a 2 year programme, with costings to deliver a service across the county.
These will then be presented before an Assessment Panel which will assess each
programme of delivery and make recommendations as to which programme will go
forward to be further developed into the countywide infrastructure support
programme. The county council may wish to work with you to make some changes to
your programme throughout this process.
The recommended programme will then be considered by the Cabinet Working
Group for the Third Sector. Following this a report will be submitted to the Leader of
the County Council for a decision.
Assessment of your proposal:
In making recommendations the Assessment Panel will take into consideration the
following:
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
-
The quality of the proposal
How well the proposal meets our key priorities
The desired outcomes of the project/activity
The benefits or impact that your project will bring
Value for money and the commitment to other sources of funding
We will also take into consideration the following:
-
If applicable, past funding arrangements with Lancashire County Council and
your ability to deliver the project/activity funding was awarded for.
Timescales
The dates below are provided to give applicants an approximate indication of the
timescales involved and may be subject to internal changes. If the total amount of
funding available is not allocated in the initial funding round then further rounds may
be incorporated either later this year or at the beginning of next year. We will notify
organisations if this happens.
Date
Activity
April 2014
Bidding for Central Gateway Grants 2014/16 to begin
16 May 2014
Deadline for expression of interest and initial proposal,
May 2014
Internal assessment of proposals
End of May 2014
Further guidance to be issued to applicants to develop a
detailed 2 year programme, deadline mid June 2014
17 & 20 June 2014
Assessment Panel meets
Early July 2014
Cabinet Working Group for the Third Sector meets
Mid July 2014
Report to be presented to Leader of the County Council
to consider recommendations
End of July 2014
Decision letters to be sent out to organisations
End of July 2014
Detailed offer letter and Service Level Agreement to be
issued to successful organisation(s)
Applicants to return documentation agreeing to funding
terms
Aug 2014
1st Instalment Payments to be made available for
successful organisations
November/December 2014
Monitoring letters to be sent to cover first 6 months of
SLA
January 2015
2nd Instalment Payments to be made based on
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
satisfactory monitoring information
June 2015
Final monitoring to be requested by organisations for
year 1
July 2015
1st instalment payments to be made for second year of
funding
November/December 2015
Monitoring letters to be sent to cover first 6 months of
SLA
January 2016
2nd Instalment Payments to be made for Year 2 based
on satisfactory monitoring information
June 2016
Final monitoring to be requested by organisations for
year 2
Monitoring of the programme
As the programme will be funded from CGF it will be subject to the monitoring
process that applies to grants as outlined in the Central gateway Grants Scheme
2014/16 Guidance notes.
To this end all grants will be monitored. The information we require from you will be:
 Copies of your invoices and receipts related to the spend
 Copies of the relevant pages of your organisation's bank statements
showing the payments going through the bank account and/or
 Copies of the petty cash sheet showing cash transactions
 Information on your outcomes as agreed following your proposal
 Evidence of whether or not you have achieved your milestones as
agreed following your proposal
 Copies of any press reports or promotional materials relating to the
funding
You may also include photographic evidence of your project/activity.
We will request this information from you at 6 monthly intervals and at project
completion.
We will visit your organisation at least once during the lifetime of your funding to meet
with you and discuss progress; we may combine this visit with collection of
monitoring evidence.
We reserve the right to view all your child protection/vulnerable adult policies and
procedures; equal opportunities policies; health and safety policies; environmental
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
policies; complaints procedures and quality assurance scheme certificates at any
time.
Normally your grant will be paid in instalments at 6 monthly intervals; failure to
supply monitoring information will delay the payment.
Once we have received all the monitoring information we will request that you fill in a
short survey/closure report on your project. On receipt of this we will send you a
closure letter.
Please note: all evidence and documents relating to this funding must be retained for
a period of seven years from the end of your project; we will outline this date in our
closure letter to you.
Publicity of grants
From time to time Lancashire County Council will want to publicise the types of
projects it has funded from the Central Gateway Grants Scheme. As a condition of
the grant, Lancashire County Council reserves the right to publicise your project in
the local media.
If you, the applicant, intend to publicise the grant yourself you must consult with
Lancashire County Council prior to making any public statement relating to the
service that Lancashire County Council is helping to fund. Any public statement must
acknowledge that the service is delivered in partnership with and funded by
Lancashire County Council and should include Lancashire County Council’s logo.
The Lancashire County Council logo and a standard template are available
electronically and can be obtained from us.
The accounts of voluntary organisations receiving funding from Lancashire County
Council should clearly indicate the level of financial support provided and
organisations are asked to acknowledge such support in annual reports and other
similar publications.
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Central Gateway Grants Scheme 2014/16 Guidance Notes
Contact Information
Jason Crausby
Third Sector Development and Commissioning Manager
Telephone – 01772 533544
Email – jason.crausby@lancashire.gov.uk
Misbah Bhatti
Programme Manager (VCFS Grants)
Telephone – 01772 530818
Email – misbah.bhatti@lancashire.gov.uk
Katie Harrison
Grants Support Officer
Telephone – 01772 533756
Email – katie.harrison@lancashire.gov.uk
Returning your proposal
All proposals need to be returned to Jason Crausby by email:
jason.crausby@lancashire.gov.uk
We will acknowledge receipt of your expression of interest and proposal ; usually this
will be within 48 hours. If you have not heard from us, either via email or telephone,
you must check to ensure we have received your application.
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