Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council is seeking bids from organisations wishing to deliver activity as part of the UK Community Renewal Fund.
Please read the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and the UK Community Fund Technical Note for Project Applicants and Deliverers before starting work on a bid. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-prospectus
The Prospectus provides detailed information on the objectives of the Fund, the types of projects it intends to support and how it operates, including the process and selection criteria that will be used to assess bids.
Successful UK Community Renewal Fund bids will be for 2021/22 only and activity must end in March 2022.
The UK Community Renewal Fund is a competitive process and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and the UK Government will not enter into discussions with bidders.
Background
On 3 March, the UK Government announced further details on how replacement EU funds will be made available via the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Re-branded the Community Renewal Fund (CRF) for the 2021-22 pilot year, the fund will make £220m available UK-wide to pilot approaches to the longer-term Shared Prosperity Fund.
The CRF prospectus notes that 90 per cent of funding will be revenue and will support bids of up to £3m. The fund will focus on skills, local businesses, communities and place, and employment, and will be run on a competitive basis.
The UK Government anticipates supporting a range of projects by theme and size, but applicants are encouraged to maximise impact and deliverability through larger projects (£500,000+) where this is possible.
The UK Government has identified 100 priority places for the CRF and the fund will be led by local authorities who are expected to submit shortlists of projects to UK Government before noon 18 June. Bids will then be assessed by the UK Government’s Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, with announcements on successful bids made in late July. All projects must be completed by 31 March 2022.
What type of bids are we looking for?
Projects must deliver activity that is line with the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and align with at least one of these investment priorities:
• Investment in skills
• Investment for local business
• Investment in communities and place
• Supporting people into employment
Any legally constituted organisation can apply for funding – local authorities, public sector organisations, higher and further education institutions, private sector companies and registered charities.
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council will invite UK CRF grant proposals with a deadline for submission at 5pm on 20 May 2021.
In addition to the fund guidance set out by UK government, accessible via the link, applicants should make consideration to how their proposals align with local Blaenau Gwent priorities outlined in key strategic documents that include:
Local Priorities
Blaenau Gwent Well Being Plan – Providing the Blaenau Gwent We Want
Blaenau Gwent wants:
• Everyone to have the best start in life
• Safe and friendly communities
• Look after and protect its natural environment
• Forge new pathways to prosperity
• Encourage and enable people to make healthy life style choices
Our corporate plan priorities aim to build on a proud heritage to build strong communities and a brighter future
Economic Development and Regeneration Priorities:
• To work with partners to provide effective employment support and access to skills development
• To increase the start-up business rate, retention and growth of local businesses and attract new inward investment
• To develop digital infrastructure and improve connectivity by promoting digital participation
• To develop a portfolio of potential energy opportunities to deliver economic, business and community benefits
Our Employment and Skills Plan – Blaenau Gwent Prospers includes the following themes:
Business and Enterprise
Facilitate growth and innovation by understanding and responding to local economic need.
o To build and embed effective business relationships for locally significant sectors in order to understand future skills and build responsive solutions
o To ensure learning and Continuous personal development is aligned to support upskilling and prepare for future skill requirements of industry
Learning and Skills
Ensure that the skills provision is responsive and accessible to residents.
o The need to raise skill levels in BG to ensure residents are best placed to secure employment including skilled and higher paid roles.
o Align skills provision to known growth sectors within the region including Engineering and Advanced materials and manufacturing
o Provide innovative and responsive delivery to facilitate specific industry needs
o Encourage flexible delivery to facilitate alternative learning pathways which provide opportunities for all.
Social Mobility, Inclusion and Employability
Create a motivated and skilled community, through appropriate employment support, at every stage of an individual’s journey.
o Individuals are given the skills to succeed and support local labour requirements
o Ensure a seamless provision of employment support that caters for the needs of all residents at every stage of their journey
o Expand provision of in work support available to upskill individuals
o Promote self-employment, apprenticeships, traineeships and volunteering as alternative routes to employment
Education and Schools Raise awareness of opportunity and the aspirations of young people and support their pathway into work.
Energy Prospectus outlines a commitment to supporting Blaenau Gwent to become a local
low carbon borough through:
• Enhancing energy and carbon efficiency
• Reducing fuel poverty
• Improving the resilience of the local distribution network
• Maximising revenue generation potential
A destination of choice
Visitors will be attracted to a destination where vibrant businesses work together to provide a warm welcome to everyone exploring the rich heritage, dramatic landscape, captivating towns and wide range of events and activities that Blaenau Gwent has to offer
How Bids will be assessed
As the lead authority Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council will assess all bids submitted.
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council will manage the assessment of all bids via an independent panel made up of a cross-section of representatives from the third, public and private sectors to ensure a transparent and open process.
Bids will be assessed against:
• the gateway criteria set out in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus – bids that fail to meet these criteria are ineligible for support and will be rejected
• the extent to which they meet the objectives of UK Community Renewal Fund
• the extent to which bids would support the delivery of local growth and employment support priorities
Following assessment Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council will submit those eligible bids that most strongly meet the UK Community Renewal Fund and Blaenau Gwent’s regeneration and growth priorities, to the UK Government for consideration, up to an indicative maximum of £3m per place (this figure is inclusive of up to 3% management fees set aside to finance Lead Authority obligations).
The UK Government will assess all bids submitted by lead authorities against the criteria set out in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus.
The UK Government will announce the outcome of the assessment process from late July 2021 onwards.
Applicants should note that UK Community Renewal Fund costs may only be incurred from the point of approval onwards. Retrospective costs will not be paid.
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council will enter into a funding agreement with successful bidders.
Submitting a Bid
Bids must be submitted using the UK Community Renewal Fund Application Form, which is available here. Bids submitted in any other format will not be accepted.
Bids must be submitted to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council using this email address: business@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk
Bids must be submitted by 5pm on 20 May 2021
For information on data we will collect as part of this process please visit our webpage.