Where public money is spent funders are accountable for spending it most effectively. In turn, they usually have to request large amounts of information from organisations at the application stage. Applicants often perceive this as an obstacle to applying if they have neither the skills nor the knowledge necessary for writing a quality bid.

Primetime
Recognising this, the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland commissioned us to support applicants under the Primetime programme which it is running in partnership with BBC Scotland. Primetime is about promoting the role of older people in Scottish society. It will fund six projects across Scotland which help older people feel good about themselves, contribute to their communities and improve links between older and younger people.

Our role
Following public announcements groups and organisations submitted project ideas. BIG shortlisted 36 of these and invited them to put in full applications. Our role during the months leading up to the deadline was to support all 36 applicants in developing their applications. The idea was that – although only six projects can receive funding in the end – all applicants get the opportunity to learn from the process and build capacity. Our role was not to write the actual bids but to coach, facilitate and encourage applicants to produce quality applications for the Primetime and other funding programmes.

The approach
Between the outline stage and full application deadline we worked with projects to:

• Help them identify and use individuals’ skills to develop a fundable project;
• Move their idea to the next stage by developing an effective application;
• Give advice on background research and consultation with local people;
• Plan and explain all aspects of the project;
• Identify additional and alternative funding sources;
• Link them with local and national policies and strategies; and
• Provide them with reference materials for future use.

Our approach combined workshops, project visits and clinic days with ongoing telephone and email support. We also dedicated a section of our website to the project where applicants could find useful documents and information.
We used a similar approach for supporting applicants under the Way of Life programme run by the Big Lottery Fund in Wales.  Way of Life is a programme that aims to improve health and wellbeing of children under 12 by working with them and their families in Wales.  We developed pilot models to test approaches and helped applicants to develop their bids.  29 bids have now been submitted and we will be helping those that are selected in delivering and evaluating their projects.

The benefits
We are funding experts and have many years experience of working with different types of organisations, including community and voluntary sector groups. We understand what funders want and what support applicants need. When working with projects we found that most of the time applicants had great project idea and had already secured the backing of local people but they needed support with explaining and presenting their ideas in the most effective way.
 
‘It was really helpful to have another pair of eyes dispassionately feeding back.’‘Thanks for your ongoing assistance.’‘Having a named consultant was very useful. The website was helpful.’‘Our meeting with our adviser here was very useful; it provided a good opportunity to go through the process in detail and clarified the application form and guidance which we should be using.’

For further information please contact Ute Johnston on 0141 225 5516 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .