Department of Health Third Sector Investment Programme

The Government’s Department of Health (DoH) has launched a new funding programme in England to replace the Section 64 General Grants scheme that has run for centuries. Called the Third Sector Investment Programme, it will comprise two schemes that will support health and social care organisations in England from 2009/10. A Strategic Partner Programme will fund up to 10 organisations that will support the third sector and act as a conduit between it and the DoH to “improve understanding” between the two. An Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund will support projects of national impact that meet the Department’s objectives of improving health and well being and creating better care for all. This Fund will back organisations operating singly or in partnerships.

Background.

This new Programme replaces the Section 64 project and core funding schemes. There are five cross-cutting themes that all projects will have to relate closely to, especially at local level:

• Information, advice and advocacy;
• Personalisation of services, dignity and carer support;
• Community/user participation and peer support;
• Prevention/early intervention;
• Reducing health inequalities.

Each of the two schemes has its own guidelines and objectives that are valid for the 2009/10 funding round. These two schemes will be joined in 2010/11 by a new volunteering investment fund that will replace the now ailing Opportunities for Volunteering scheme.

1. Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund.

Applications will be welcome from voluntary sector organisations that provide a service similar to that provided by the NHS or by local authority social services or similar. Projects must take place in England and have a national impact.

There are three strands to this Fund: Innovation, Excellence, and Service Development.

The Innovation strand covers projects that offer an innovative approach to the delivery of health and social care provision within any of the DoH’s policy areas. Projects must be sustainable after the grant funding period.

The Excellence strand will support the dissemination of learning from projects that have proved that they can successfully and effectively deliver improved health outcomes. Projects will need to show the excellence relates to local needs and commissioning frameworks where the project will be rolled out.

The Service Development strand covers projects that support the capacity in the third sector to develop improved services, support the strategic capacity of the sector, and promote greater partnership working between the third sector and other providers. Activities must be sustainable, over time, without future central government funding.

Across all three strands, projects must meet the terms of the five cross-cutting objectives mentioned above, and the various priorities within those are available in the applicant guidelines.

Grants will not be given for:

• Local delivery of an existing service that is the responsibility of local commissioners based on local needs assessments.
• Proposals that duplicate existing activities.
• Routine ongoing costs of Website maintenance or telephone helplines.
• Research projects.
• Proposals for Innovation and Excellence where the funding sought is more than 25% of your annual income (based on your most recent accounts). Service Development applications may exceed this 25% limit but only when prior agreement has been granted by the DoH.

There are no suggestions as to minimum and maximum grant levels but this is a cash-limited fund. It is likely that the average grant will be less than £50,000 a year. Grants can be made for up to three years. Full Cost Recovery will be respected.

There is a two-stage application process and applications must be made online. You must register your organisational details to do this, though those who registered last year will not have to do so again. Once you start the application process, any time after 21 July, you can keep saving your online bid and make changes to it any time up to the closing date of 8 September.

Closing date: Initial applications have to be in by 8 September 2008. If invited, second stage proposals will need to be filed between 6 October and 14 November 2008.

2. Strategic Partner Programme.

The Strategic Partner Programme will support up to 10 organisations (in this first year) that will work collaboratively with the DoH to:

• Advise and inform the Department about key issues in the health and social care field affecting the third sector;
• Develop capability and capacity within the sector;
• Establish a coherent and rational framework for managing activities with the third sector at national level in a systematic and mutually beneficial way;
• Achieve shared objectives in improving health and well being and reducing health inequalities;
• Provide robust and systematic dissemination methods for information, policy developments and key programmes enabling third sector organisations to engage in the delivery of health and well being objectives.

This Programme replaces the Section 64 core grant scheme and all existing core grant holders should contact the Department to discuss the implications for them during the coming years. Some organisations may be advised to make applications under this new Programme, others might be directed towards the Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Programme. In any event all applicants to this new Programme are advised to discuss their ideas with the Department before making even an initial application.

The basic eligibility criteria for this Programme are the same as the Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Programme (see above).

Applicants to this Programme will specifically be expected to:

• Work collaboratively with other third sector organisations at national, regional and local levels;
• Support the development and capacity of organisations including small ones at a local level;
• Have a track record of working at a strategic level informing and advocating on behalf of the wider third sector to Government or other statutory agencies;
• Have a well developed understanding of the health and social care reform agenda and the roles third sector organisations have to play in improving the health and well being of people.

Full Cost Recovery will be respected and there are no minimum or maximum grant levels as such, though the Department does not expect to invest more than £200,000 in any one Strategic Partner. It is unlikely that any organisation will receive more than 25% of their total income from this source.

There is a two-stage application process and applications must be made online. You must register your organisational details to do this, though those who registered last year will not have to do so again. Once you start the application process, any time after 21 July, you can keep saving your online bid and make changes to it any time up to the closing date of 8 September.

Closing date: Initial applications have to be in by 8 September 2008. If invited, second stage proposals will need to be filed between 6 October and 14 November 2008.

More information.

More information about the whole Third Sector Investment Programme, including access to the guidelines and registration Website, is available at www.dh.gov.uk/thirdsectorinvestment

You can also call the Third Sector Funding Hub on 0113 254 5450 or write to:

Third Sector Funding Hub
Department of Health
5E40 Quarry House
Quarry Hill
Leeds
LS2 7UE