Overview
To secure quality public services that are fully engaged with local communities, that recognise community assets and respond to community need in order to bring value to the Programme for Government. Maximum £250,000. Only for public sector organisations.
It was developed, with a high degree of cross-departmental and cross-sectoral collaboration, in recognition of the fact that some communities have not been able to readily influence and access public services.
The Outreach Programme is designed to assist public sector organisations put the principle of working in partnership with communities into practice by providing up to 3 years financial assistance to a select range of innovative, demonstration projects.
The Outreach Programme's overall mission is to secure quality public services that are fully engaged with local communities, that recognise community assets and respond to community need in order to bring value to the Programme for Government and provide a template for wider learning. An important element of the Outreach Programme is the evaluation of these projects and the dissemination of learning from them.
The Outreach Programme will provide financial assistance to a maximum of 15 demonstration projects. These projects will be designed to pump prime and test new approaches to meeting community need by building stronger partnerships between statutory organisations and local communities without supplanting other major sources of assistance. Priority will be given to applications from areas of social need where community infrastructure is regarded as being weak.
A small steering group that includes representatives from government departments and voluntary and community sector organisations with relevant experience will oversee the Outreach Programme.
Programme outcomes
The following outcomes are sought as a result of the Outreach Programme:
- Greater animation of community based activity, particularly in areas where the community infrastructure is generally considered to be weak.
- Increased public confidence in participating public sector bodies' programmes and services.
- Increased public knowledge of, access to, and use of participating statutory bodies' programmes and services.
- More community oriented services in areas of disadvantage.
- Barriers to community engagement with public services are identified, investigated and removed, consistent with the objectives of Partners For Change - Government's Strategy of Support for the Voluntary and Community Sector.
- Further refinement of public sector policies with respect to social inclusion, targeting social need, modernising government and partnership working with the voluntary and community sector.
- New skills and processes in participating public sector organisations that strengthen working relationships with the community sector and generate greater understanding of community development needs and approaches.
The Outreach Programme is targeted at public sector bodies. For the purposes of the Programme, these include but are not confined to bodies such as district councils, government departments and agencies, schools and colleges, National Health Service Boards and Trusts, etc.
They also include Local Strategy Partnerships within the list of eligible bodies.
Eligible activities
Eligible activities will cover both programmatic and capacity building activities. They may include, for example:
- "One stop shops" to address the full spectrum of community information needs.
- Co-ordinating local public sector and community action to address complex policy issues.
- Training employees in community development approaches to work with local communities.
- More effective use of premises, equipment and associated salary costs to meet community need.
- Inward and outward secondments.
- Joint training initiatives delivered in partnership with community based organisations.
- Costs associated with the development and implementation of a policy environment that encourages the creation of partnerships with local communities and with voluntary and community sector organisations.
- Introducing new consultation/participation arrangements.
- Increasing inter agency collaboration to improve community access to services.
Given the demonstration nature of the Outreach Programme and the need to ensure meaningful impact it is unlikely that projects with a grant element of below £50,000 will be supported. Projects with a total cost including grant sought of over £100,000 capital or £200,000 revenue will require an economic appraisal in accordance with HM Treasury guidelines. The maximum grant for a single project is £250,000 over a three-year period. Funding in excess of £250,000 will be considered in exceptional cases where a project is likely to have major impact and generate extensive learning across the public sector.