 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Spotlight on St Helens
back to the contents page
Key agencies have come together in the north west to pilot a new funding approach. Sheldon Phillips explains
Make sure you receive your fair share of lottery cash - take out a no-obligation trial subscription
today.
In the light of Tessa Jowell’s recent remarks about the need for Lottery distributors to work more closely together, it is perhaps worth highlighting that they are already doing so on a number of different projects and at various levels.
One good example is in the north west, where the regional arms of the Lottery distributors have been meeting regularly to develop joint working which has resulted, among other things, in joint publicity material and joint working at seminars and conferences.
The north west distributors are undertaking a new pilot project to work more closely with the community. We have decided to work in St Helens (recently included in Fair Share) for this pilot on the basis of collective priorities of the distributors, levels of deprivation and Lottery take-up to date. We hope to target more areas following an evaluation of this pilot.
The objectives of the pilot are:
-
to develop ways of communicating Lottery funding opportunities to groups in St Helens
-
to set up and work alongside a ‘campaign action group’
-
to develop and deliver a programme of community-based workshops, training and awareness-raising sessions
-
to establish mechanisms for long-term support for groups in St Helens seeking Lottery funding
-
to increase understanding by the Lottery distributors about the barriers, issues and obstacles that groups in St Helens may experience when applying for funds.
The key partners in this pilot are Sport England, Community Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, North West Arts Board, New Opportunities Fund, St Helens CVS, St Helens MBC and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The project will primarily target wards with the highest levels of deprivation and will particularly work with specific groups: ethnic minorities, people with a disability, women and girls, older people, young people.
The ‘campaign’, to be launched in June, will be called ‘Spotlight on St Helens’ and will consist of the following:
a series of generic workshops (project planning, project budgeting and Awards for All)
- specific clinics relating to sport, arts, heritage, community projects
- training for CVS staff
- the setting up of community support groups
- community feedback sessions
- evaluation report.
While the Lottery distributors cannot guarantee that applications will be successful, we hope the project will result in better community information about Lottery funding opportunities and an on-going support framework in St Helens to help people submit good-quality applications.
Sheldon Phillips is regional director for Sport England in the north west