The UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Uttlesford District Council

Posted on: February 5, 2024

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is the replacement for European Structural Funds and supports UK government’s wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK.

UDC was allocated £1,000,000 core UKSPF to be spent over 3 years. The final year of the funding runs from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Government guidance places the responsibility for the fund on Local Authorities and asks that they work with local partners and stakeholders on programme delivery.

To access this funding the development of an investment plan was required. Meetings with local stakeholders were held to identify local challenges and priority interventions were selected that would meet these needs.

The investment plan was approved by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and a Local Partnership Group established to oversee the fund.

Applying for year 3 funding

We are now seeking applications to deliver projects from 1 April 2024 against the following interventions:

Community and Place

E6 – Support for local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities

Projects applying under this intervention must address at least one of the following:

• Projects that deliver direct support to organisations – schools, public sector, charities and businesses – who wish to deliver arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities
• Projects that establish a cultural network to improve recognition of cultural and heritage sectors at a strategic level locally, improve collaboration and increase the chances of existing arts and cultural organisations benefiting from Arts Council England and other external sources of funding
• Projects that bring cultural and health/wellbeing sectors together to develop and run programmes for the benefit of residents, especially those at risk of rural isolation

E9 – Funding for impactful volunteering and/or social action projects to develop social and human capital in local places.

• We are seeking projects that aim to boost the employability of young people and people seeking to reengage with the labour market.

E11 – Investment in capacity building and infrastructure support for local civil society and community groups

Projects applying under this intervention must address at least one of the following:

• The rural nature of the district. Priority will be given to projects that deliver activities outside the main settlements of Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow
• Projects that address health inequalities in areas of high deprivation
• Programmes for smaller places which will improve and widen the use of community buildings including village halls
• Projects that enhance the community transport infrastructure

Uttlesford District Council has been allocated £450,000 for delivery of projects under these interventions up to 31 March 2025.

Apply

Organisation wishing to apply under this scheme should email business@uttlesford.gov.uk for an application form.

Closing date for applications

Applications must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 15 February 2024.

Assessment of bids

Projects will be assessed by a local partnership group comprising key stakeholders from the public and voluntary sector.

Bids that fail to meet the criteria are ineligible and will be rejected.

Bids will be assessed against:

• the criteria set out in the UKSPF Prospectus
• the extent to which the bid meets the objectives of the UKSPF
• the extent to which the bid supports investment in the UKSPF priority intervention and the outputs and outcomes
• the extent to which bids align with the UDC Corporate Plan 2023-2027

You can find full details of the scoring methodology that will be used to assess application in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund: guidance for applicants.

Conditions of funding

Successful applicants will need to sign a grant funding agreement with UDC, provide information relating to outputs and outcomes within the specified timeframes and will also be required to participate, at a later date, in an evaluation of their project to understand whether the proposed outputs and outcomes have been met.

The Local Partnership Panel, made up of representatives from the public and voluntary sector, has being established to have oversight of delivery of the UKSPF funded projects.

Apply here. 

Author: Alliance Admin
Posted: 05/02/2024
Categories: News