Do consortia have to appoint a lead partner?
Basically, we don’t want to be bossy about the form collaborations take. I don’t think it undermines the spirit of partnership to name a lead partner, but equally I am very happy to receive a bid from an equal set of consortium partners (and I understand why that would be more appropriate in some cases). However, it would be helpful to have a named individual on the form as a first point of contact. Also, further down the line, in the event of granting any money, we would need a named organization to manage, which takes responsibility for managing those funds, although it would be up to you whether or not to recognize that, informally or formally, in a consortium’s governance arrangements (i.e., by making them a lead partner).
What on earth do you mean by ‘third sector’?
We use the definition used by the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office, who are the primary funders of the Innovation Exchange. That definition is as follows:
The third sector is a diverse, active and passionate sector. Organisations in the sector share common characteristics:
• non-governmental
• value-driven
• principally reinvest any financial surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives
The term encompasses voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives, community interest companies and mutuals both large and small.
Can the Next Practice programme support third sector organisations working in England to engage in work outside of England?
No. This Fund is to support third sector organisations working in England to do work in England. However, there may be elements of a project that involve work in another part of the UK or beyond, and we would not want to exclude that. However, the expressions of interest should primarily focus on work to be done in England.
Can this money be spent on capital projects?
Technically, there are no rules in the way that the Innovation Exchange is funded to prevent resource being spent on capital. However, this is not intended in the criteria for the fund and should at most form only a very small part of any plans in your expression of interest for the programme.
What do you mean by ‘young people’?
We are trying to be as broad as possible with our definitions of concepts like ‘young people’, because the nature of innovative proposals is that they may come at an idea from a surprising direction or challenge our pre-conceptions. Our guide would be that young people could be anything up to 24, but it is more important that you don’t make artificial distinctions among your users and simply give a clear picture of what you’re doing and where you plan to take it. If you feel your work is meaningfully focused on young people but would like to challenge our understanding of this category, please say so in your expression of interest.
How long will the funding last?
The Next Practice programme funding will last for 18 months.
What kind of ’support’ will be provided in the Next Practice programme?
This depends on what you think the project requires in order to develop and grow. Question twelve on the expression of interest form gives you the chance to indicate the kind of support you think would be most beneficial in the development of your project during the Next Practice stage.
Do I need to include our accounts or other supporting documentation?
We don’t need any supporting documentation at this stage. We may do at a later date if you are selected to join the programme.
