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Case Study: Humberside Learning Consortium: Global Grants

Global Grants is an ESF Obj 3 fund directed at providing small grants to non-governmental organisations that would otherwise not be able to access European funding through co-financing or the alternative bidding system. It provides access to funds of up to a maximum of £10K per organisation.

To deliver Global Grants on behalf of the local Government Office, an organisation has to achieve Intermediary Body status. This requires an organisation to have the financial and administrative resources to act as an intermediary body:

• Meet the standard requirements which apply to all ESF applicants;
• Show that you will target grants in the way directed;
• Have a proven track record in working with the target groups and preferably have experience of European Funding;
• Satisfy Government Office that you have access to the required match funding;
• Distribute at least 80% of the ESF funds as small grants;
• Take full responsibility for monitoring the organisations you award grants to.

In response to the above requirements Humberside Learning Consortium could make a very strong case offering a tried and tested financial and administrative facility; European experience, monitoring experience and most significantly, a communications and training network that linked with a huge number of target organisations across the Humber Region.

Match funding was forthcoming from the LSC and the bid for Intermediary Body status was secured.

The project to distribute the grants was undertaken as a consortium activity involving regional partners in developing the criteria for bids, supporting the bidding process and minimising paperwork. Existing Regional Panels were trained in assessing bids and responded swiftly. The whole process was driven through close co-operation with partners and attention to the needs of small targeted organisations.

Regional Partners provided support and tracked the progress of projects with external evaluation to complement the whole process of monitoring and analysis.

A strength of the project was additional funding to provide participating organisations with an end of project strategy consultation.

The success of Humberside Learning Consortium as an Intermediary Body has been recognised by both Government Office and LSC with case studies published and presented at Central Government. Negotiations are presently being undertaken to establish Global Grants in the Humber Region for the next two years.

One of fifteen brokerages in Humberside, the Voluntary Sector Skills Brokerage has a strategic and operational role in relation to workforce development in the sub-regional voluntary sector, including:

• Identifying local sector skills priorities.
• Identifying gaps in skills provision.
• Representing and articulating workforce development issues to funders, learning providers and other brokers.
• Added-value liaison with business support organisations, e.g. Business Link.
• Signposting organisations to appropriate learning provision.
• Providing organisational development planning support.
• Providing learning opportunities.
• Curriculum & service development.

The brokerage operates on two output-funded contracts

• ESF-LSC Cofinance (January 2004-March 2005)

Funds a range of services including development planning support, a programme of non-accredited and OCN-accredited short courses, regular trainers forums, an annual conference, a web-based resource aimed at trustees, Investors in People and PQASSO mentoring training for voluntary sector workers and labour market / sector research.

• LSC Workforce Development (April 2004-March 2005)

Funds a programme of level 3 and level 4 qualifications, including management & leadership and teacher training awards.

The brokerage is effectively aimed at people in the voluntary sector working or volunteering in a role that involves organisational and / or personnel development, i.e. trustees, managers, first-line supervisors, fundraisers, development workers, volunteer supervisors and trainers.

The funding streams have further specific beneficiary eligibility criteria attached to them, i.e. employment status, age, residence and organisational status.

Five generic skills priorities inform and influence the work of the brokerage:

• Leadership & management.
• Trainer development.
• Trusteeship & governance development.
• Fundraising.
• Community Development Work.

Voluntary groups can access initial one-to-one support via the brokerage that enables production of an organisational development and training plan - and hopefully encourages them to budget realistically for workforce training.

Where gaps exist in local FE / other learning provision, the brokerage provides a programme of learning opportunities that met the 5 priorities outlined above.

This year the brokerage is bundling all learning provision funded via the ESF Co-finance contract into a published short course programme.

Progression routes are available into level 3 and 4 qualifications, funded via the LSC Workforce Development contract.

The brokerage is also mapping and developing new learning provision in each of the skills priorities, as well as additional services such as the trainers’ forums, the annual “Developing Ourselves” conference and the trustee web resource.