Questions and Answers
- What is the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund Local Grant Scheme?
- Who can apply for funding?
- How can I apply?
- When can I register?
- Can I make more than one application?
- Can partnerships apply?
- What documents should I read before applying?
- What are the strategic prioritites for this fund?
- Are there any funding themes?
- Our organisation works across all of the four themes. How can we apply?
- What are the main principles of the Big Society?
- What is the purpose of the eligibility checklist?
- What sort of organisations will be eligible to apply for funding?
- My organisation is based and registered in Scotland. Can we apply?
- What is the maximum or minimum grant my organisation can claim per annum?
- What is the length of the grant period?
- What value of grants will be made available?
- Why have you introduced the rule that grant funding is no more than 25% of our income?
- What types of projects are we looking for?
- Who will choose the successful projects?
- Support - what will be provided?
- Who can I contact if I have further questions?
- Can my bid be reassessed if I am unsuccessful?
- How will the appraisal of applications be carried out?
- Is the money split evenly across each theme?
- Do you fund pilot projects?
- Is there an allocation per England region?
- Match funding - is there a limit?
- Pan-London organisations - are they eligible?
- How do you know what is needed in your local area?
- Is HSCVF 'clean money' for match funding purposes?
- Do State Aid Rules apply?
What is the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund local grant scheme?
The Health and Social Care (HSCVF) local grant scheme has been developed to make a positive contribution to the Department of Health's (DH) objectives. The Fund also aims to increase the DH's investment in volunteering by directly supporting the integration of volunteering into the delivery of DH priorities. This second local round of HSCVF funding aims to build on the success of the 2010 local grant scheme by reaching more local Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. In 2010 a total of £550,000 was awarded to 43 successful projects, and a similar number will be supported in this round.
Who can apply for funding?
You can apply to our local grant programme if you are:
- A constituted voluntary or community organisation
- A charitable not-for-profit company
- An organisation set up as a social enterprise – businesses that are chiefly run for social objectives, whose profits are reinvested in the business rather than going to shareholders and owners.
For a full listing of eligibility criteria please read should I apply section?
How can I apply?
The registration and application submission process will be online and accessible via our website in early April. To gain access to the application portal you must register your interest in the fund online. You will be told immediately if you do not meet the eligibility criteria. As long as you meet the fund’s eligibility criteria your registration will be accepted.
The application process is as follows:
The registration portal opens early April for 5 weeks.
Once your registration is approved (including an on-line eligibility check) you will receive a user name and password to access the application portal and complete your application.
The application deadline will be 7 weeks following the official launch in early April. We will announce the deadline as soon as it has been confirmed.
When can I register?
The registration portal will open in early April 2011. No applications can be made prior registration. Please note that acceptance of your registration does not mean that you are likely to be funded.
Can I make more than one application?
No, each applicant organisation will be allowed to submit a maximum of one proposal. However, you can be involved as a partner or sub-contractor in other project applications.
Can partnerships apply?
If you choose to work in partnership, the lead applicant for your proposed project must be a voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation. We suggest, given the size of the fund that no more than three partners be involved in your bid as the more partners involved, the more complex the management will become. Please note that there is a 5% limit on HSCVF monies going to statutory or private sector organisations even where they are partners.
If you choose to work with other organisations as partners or subcontractors please be aware that a lead applicant is responsible for:
- the audit trail of the project as a whole (including your partners / subcontractors)
- submitting monitoring data for the project as a whole
- collecting and submitting monitoring data in a timely manner to the HSCVF managing agency as it is requested
- distributing all funds to partners / subcontractors
- vouching for partners / subcontractors eligibility
- undertaking to deal with any breaches of eligibility / audit or legal requirements amongst partners/ sub-contractors, including safeguarding, compliance with equality legislation etc.
What documents should I read before applying?
If you are deciding whether to apply you should read:
Information for applicants - Local Grant
The Local Grant scheme strategic priorities
For an understanding of the context of the fund please read:
The Health White Paper – Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. To view a copy of this White paper click on the link below:
http://bit.ly/cC0MnL
The Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens. To view a copy of this White paper click on the link below:
http://bit.ly/aIXRGz
Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our Strategy for Public Health in England. To view a copy of this White paper click on the link below:
http://bit.ly/hEyL06
What are the strategic priorities for this fund?
The HSCVF programme priorities have been developed so that funded projects can contribute to:
- The Big Society through delivery within localities and communities
- DH Strategic Objectives – including the Vision for Adult Social Care, NHS strategic developments and developments in public health and mental health
- Enhancing the capacity and capability of health, public health and social care sector organisations at a neighbourhood level
- An improved volunteer experience through better recruitment and support for volunteers and
- Working alongside new commissioning arrangements in health, public health and social care.
Are there any funding themes?
The local grant scheme has four funding themes. Applicants should apply under one theme only. An overview of the themes is given below. More detailed information on the activity focus of each theme is outlined in Information for Applicants – Local Grants Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund:
THEME 1: PATIENT-LED NHS Projects that can demonstrate a step change in the contribution of volunteering in the health, public health and social care sector
THEME 2: DELIVERING BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES Projects that improve patient/service user experience and outcomes through volunteering
THEME 3: IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH Projects that improve public health through action to reduce health inequalities in health, public health and social care through active volunteering initiatives
THEME 4: IMPROVING HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE Projects that enable people to have greater choice over their care and support, leading to improvements for individuals, and compliments existing statutory and community provision through volunteering Applications that demonstrate the strongest contribution towards these themes through volunteering will be given priority in the selection process.
Projects focussed on local priorities, which aim to meet the health, public health and social care needs in their area will be given priority (see your local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment or a snapshot overview of health for each local authority and region in England at http://www.apho.org.uk/default.aspx?QN=P_HEALTH_PROFILES )
Our organisation works across all of the four themes. How can we apply?
The theme relates to the project not to your organisation. You should choose the one theme that most closely fits your project. .
What are the main principles of the Big Society?
The three principles of Big Society are:-
- Empowering communities: giving local councils and neighbourhoods more power to take decisions and shape their area.
- Opening up public services: the Government’s public service reforms will enable charities, social enterprises, private companies and employee-owned co-operatives to work in partnership with public service providers to offer people high quality services;
- Promoting social action: encouraging and enabling people from all walks of life to play a more active part in society, and promoting more volunteering and philanthropy.
More information on the Big Society can be found on the Office for Civil Society website and from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations website.
What is the purpose of the eligibility checklist?
The checklist is designed for applicants to check their basic eligibility for the Local Grant Scheme. It should be used in conjunction with the programme guidance notes
What sort of organisations will be eligible to apply for funding?
Any voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation wishing to run volunteering projects in the health, public health or social care sector will be able to apply for funding.
My organisation is based and registered in Scotland. Can we apply?
The HSCVF funding is restricted to voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations registered in England.
What is the maximum or minimum grant my organisation can claim per annum?
The maximum HSCVF grant available is £50,000 per project.
Each organisation's maximum funding limit will depend on its yearly income. The HSCVF monies cannot make up more than 25% of an organisation's yearly income. At registration you will receive guidance on the maximum amount you can apply for.
What is the length of the grant period?
The maximum term that a grant can be awarded for is 3 years, but projects can be funded for shorter periods. The grant allocation is subject to annual parliamentary approval.
What value of grants will be made available?
The successful local projects will a total grant award of up to £50,000. Maximum grant amounts for each year (subject to annual parliamentary approval) are
► 2011/2012 - £10,000
► 2012/2013 - £20,000
► 2013/2014 - £20,000
Each project will be assessed on its merits and will need to be based on realistic costs for activity, and the value for money provided in their proposed budgets. Projects that appear to be over costed may be asked to scale down or where undercosted may be asked to scale up.
The HSCVF grant should not exceed 25% (¼) of your turnover in any one year based on your last set of published accounts as per the following examples:
If you apply for £20,000 in 2012/13 your turnover must be at least 4 x 20,000 = £80,000.
Why have you introduced the rule that grant funding is no more than 25% of our income?
Our aim in introducing the 25% rule was to encourage more long-term projects and reduce the risk of organisations not being able to deliver the project outcomes. Our experience has been that if one grant is a high percentage of an organisation’s income, they may find it difficult to cover core costs through full cost recovery. As a result, it could make the project proposal more risky. Over reliance on a grant can lead to lack of stability when the grant runs out, and we want to avoid this.
What types of project are we looking for?
Types of project activities that could be funded are:
- A short term initiative / campaign
- Pilot activity
- A new facet to an existing service e.g. new target group, new geographical delivery location
- Match funding for an initiative with longer term potential
- Kick-start funding for a new service area or job role linked to new activity
- Recruitment of new pool of volunteers to work on a new initiative / in a new geographical location
- Training or awareness raising amongst existing volunteers e.g. around health inequalities / commissioning changes etc.
Who will choose the successful projects?
The projects with the best fit to the DH priorities will be funded, within the limits of the funding available in each year. The appraisal of bids will be carried out by experienced assessors, with appropriate knowledge of the health, public health and social care sector. There will be a strict quality control procedure on project appraisal, overseen by Ecorys staff who have many years of experience of appraisal of bids from statutory and third sector development funds. Feedback will be available to unsuccessful applicants. The final decisions on which organizations are funded will rest with the DH, with recommendations from Ecorys. Funding decisions will be final and cannot be appealed.
Support- what will be provided?
The HSCVF support package is delivered by nationally recognised voluntary organisations.
This package aims to build organisational capacity that will assist with longer term sustainability. Organisations should be prepared to dedicate 6-10 days to these activities per annum, and should include travel costs to activities within their project budget. Activities include: an organisational diagnostic visit; support consultancy; training in volunteer management; and accredited Action Learning Networks.
You do not have to pay for any of the activities offered in the Support Package (Organisation Diagnostic Tool; support consultancy; action learning sets, training, online forum); although it would be sensible to make financial provision in your project budget for travel and subsistence for these events.
Who can I contact if I have further questions?
You can contact the HSCVF team on 0845 172 8058 or by email on [email protected].
Can my bid be reassessed if I am unsuccessful?
The decision on each bid is final and will not be reviewed unless the applicant agency has provided concrete evidence to the HSCVF managing body that their bid has been unfairly marked or that there is concrete evidence of an error on the part of the managing agency. In this instance the evidence will be reviewed and if considered necessary the bid will be remarked by a senior member of the company's management team who has no direct involvement in the management of HSCVF.
Remarking may not lead to funding being awarded however, and is no guarantee that the bid will reach the required threshold for funding. Each bidding round is highly competitive and the majority of bids received are not funded even where they have demonstrable strengths.
How will the appraisal of applications be carried out?
The marking process for this fund is rigorous and objective. Each bid is marked by an experienced bid assessor, who has no connection with either the Department of Health or the HSCVF management team. They declare their independence from the bidding project and its staff before they proceed with their assessment of each bid. Any bid that reaches above a certain threshold that is determined by the volume of bids received and their quality is then second checked by another experienced and independent assessor. The scores are then finally checked and moderated by the core HSCVF team to ensure marking has been consistent and fair and to ensure there is a balance of health, public health and social care projects in the final list of projects recommended to the Department of Health for funding. The Department of Health considers the final list of recommended projects from this process and then funding is awarded.
Is the money split evenly across each theme?
No, but we will aim for a balanced portfolio of projects across the themes from amongst highly scoring bids.
Do you fund pilot projects?
Yes. They should integrate an element of evaluation to show how you can add value to projects in future.
Is there an allocation per England region?
No, but we will aim for a balanced portfolio of projects across the English regions amongst highly scoring bids.
Match funding - is there a limit?
No but we will make an assessment of how the HSCVF will make a difference. We need to be clear where the HSCVF money is going, and what the outputs will be. We do not want HSCVF monies to be double counted with other funding or to be lost in a much larger pot of funds.
Pan- London organisations - are they eligible?
Yes. They need to have a regional constitution, not national. Activity needs to cover the activity in one or maximum two Boroughs, not London-wide activity.
How do you know what is needed in you local area?
Please see your local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment or a snapshot overview of health for each local authority and region in England at http://www.apho.org.uk/default.aspx?QN=P_HEALTH_PROFILES )
Is HSCVF 'clean money' for match funding purposes?
Yes.
Do State Aid Rules apply?
No. State Aid does not apply to the charitable sector