How does the appeal process work?
The marking process for this fund is rigorous and objective. Each bid is marked by an experienced bid assessor, who has no connection with either the Department of Health or the Volunteering Fund management team. They declare their independence from the bidding project and its staff before they proceed with their assessment of each bid. Any bid that reaches above a certain threshold that is determined by the volume of bids received and their quality is then second checked by another experienced and independent assessor. They consider the bid in more detail and review the budget and policies of the bidding organisation. They can add or subtract from the original score on this basis. Finally, scores are then final checked and moderated by the core Volunteering Fund team to ensure marking has been consistent and fair and to ensure there is a balance of health and social care projects from each region in the final list of projects recommended to the Department of Health for funding. The Department of Health considers the final list of recommended projects from this process and then funding is awarded by the Volunteering Fund management team.
The decision on each bid is final and will not be reviewed unless the applicant agency has provided concrete evidence to the Volunteering Fund managing body that their bid has been unfairly marked or that there is concrete evidence of an error on the part of the managing agency. In this instance the evidence will be reviewed and if considered necessary the bid will be remarked by a senior and independent member of the company's management team.
Remarking may not lead to funding being awarded however, and is no guarantee that the bid will reach the required threshold for funding. Each bidding round is highly competitive and the majority of bids received are not funded even where they have demonstrable strengths.
Why is a new Fund required?
The new Fund is closely aligned with the strategic priorities of the DH. The Volunteering Fund will pave the way for a renewed focus on volunteering projects in the NHS and social care. It replaces the Opportunities for Volunteering (OFV) scheme which has been running since 1982, and which continues to support local volunteering projects in health and social care, and opens up the floor to national projects to improve health and wellbeing.
What are the strategic priorities for this Fund?
The strategic guidance for the programme has been developed by the Department of Health, based on their Strategic Objectives (DSOs) and Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets including:
1. Better health and well-being for all: helping you to stay healthy and well, empowering you to live independently and tackling health inequalities
2: Better care for all:
The best possible health and social care, offering safe and effective service, when and where you need help and empowering you in your choices
3: Better value for all: Delivering affordable, efficient and sustainable services, contributing to the wider economy and nation.
The Fund will also look at how the projects align themselves with the important aspects of the DH Volunteering Strategy, to encourage good practice in volunteering practice in the areas of:
- Leadership
- Partnership working
- Commissioning
- Management
- Support for individual volunteers
Why are health inequalities such a priority under the new Fund?
"Concerted action to reduce the health gap permeates our programmes within the Department of Health and is supported across Government. The Secretary of State for health has announced a new comprehensive strategy for reducing health inequalities, confirmed in the Our NHS Our future: NHS next stage review - interim report. The new strategy will challenge the NHS, as a key player, to live up to its founding and enduring values of universality and fairness addressing unjustified gaps in health status, fair access to NHS services for all and good outcomes for all." Click here for more information from the DH website.
The Department of Health's focus for reducing health inequalities is the Spearhead Group of local authorities and primary care trusts. The Spearhead Group includes the fifth of areas with the worst health (measured by life expectancy, cancer and cardiovascular disease) and deprivation status.
We will give preference to projects which target activity in local authorities and PCTs within the 'Spearhead group ' which is the DH's most up to date mechanism for prioritising activity in areas of high health inequality. See Application Guidance for a full list of the 'Spearhead group'.
How much money will be distributed by the Fund?
The grant element of the Fund amounts to almost £5 million. This will be distributed across 2010/ 11/ 12. A further amount of £450,000 will be used to provide training and other support for the projects.
What is the length of the grant period?
The maximum term that a grant can be awarded for is 3 years, but projects can be funded for shorter periods. In order to ensure projects have a sustainable future after the funding finishes, the diagnostics and support provided will prioritize putting sustainability measures in place. The tapering value of the grant is also designed to reduce the dependence of organizations on funding.
What sort of organizations will be eligible to apply for funding?
Any third sector organization wishing to run volunteering projects in the health or social care sector will be able to apply for funding. Organizations will need to demonstrate that they can sustain and grow their provision, through the take up of diagnostics, support and training offered through the grant scheme as part of the condition of funding.
What will organizations need to provide when they apply?
Organizations will be required to have audited accounts available, a constitution or be in the process of forming one, and demonstrate their compliance with policy for safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Does my organisation need to have a minimum turnover?
The Volunteering Fund grant should not exceed 25% (¼) of your turnover in any one year based on your last set of published accounts as per the following examples:
If you apply for £12,000 in 2010/11; your turnover must be 4 x 12 = £48,000 or more
If you apply for £20,000 in 2010/11; your turnover must be 4 x 20 = £80,000 or more
There is no limit on maximum turnover.
Can partnerships apply?
Partnerships with proper partnership agreements in place can apply for funding. However, one organization must take the lead responsibility on behalf of the partnership, to accept and comply with the terms and conditions of the grant. Partnerships can include statutory and private sector partners. However, they cannot include the private or statutory sector as grant recipients.
Who will choose the successful projects?
The projects with the best fit to the DH priorities will be funded, within the limits of the funding available in each year. The appraisal of bids will be carried out by experienced assessors, with appropriate knowledge of the health and social care sector. There will be a strict quality control procedure on project appraisal, overseen by ECOTEC staff who have many years of experience of appraisal of bids from statutory and third sector development funds. Feedback will be available to unsuccessful applicants. The final decisions on which organizations are funded will rest with the DH, with recommendations from the managing partnership. Funding decisions will be final and cannot be appealed.
How will the appraisal of applications be carried out?
The projects will be assessed against open and transparent assessment criteria. These will be published in the application guidance. A score will be given to each section of the application form. These are weighted towards the most important aspects of the bids, and these sections will have the potential to receive more marks.
Who are the stakeholders for this Fund?
The DH has a stakeholder reference group made up of key players from the third sector health and social care organizations who have acted as a reference group for this Fund.
What value of grants will be made available?
There will be a mix of large and small grants. The first rounds will be for local projects, followed by a strategic round later in the year that will support national schemes. Local projects can apply for up to a maximum of £35K per organisation, but tapering off over the funding period. The funding period you choose to apply for can be between 1 and 3 years as per the following examples:
You can apply for
1 year funding of £35,000; or
2 years funding e.g. Yr 1 - £20,000 and Yr 2 - £15,000; or
3 years funding e.g. Yr1 - £15,000, Yr2 - £12,000 and Yr 3 - £8,000
The strategic projects will receive in the region of £200,000 per year over a maximum funding period of 3 years. However, each project will be assessed on its merits and will need to be based on realistic costs for activity, and the value for money provided in their proposed budgets. Projects that are over costed may be asked to scale down, or where undercosted may be asked to scale up.
Support – what will be provided?
All projects will be expected to take up the support offered through the grant scheme. This will include initial diagnostics, with a programme of development put in place from this initial diagnostic assessment. The package will include: support from a specialist in third sector development activity, action learning sets and accredited training. These will be provided by staff and volunteers from one of the organizations within the partnership.
You do not have to pay for any of the activities offered in the Support Package (Organisation Diagnostic Tool; support consultancy; action learning sets, training, online forum); although it would be sensible to make financial provision for travel and subsistence for these events.
When will funding be available?
For the local projects funding application processes will open in February 2010. There will be a rolling programme of information events followed by calls for applications around the country. This will mean that projects will begin to receive funding from July 2010 onwards, following a 12 week application process. Details of the national scheme are to be announced at a later date. The previous timetable is now under review due to the election process. More detail will be released as soon as possible.
Will the Fund be managed in the spirit of the Compact?
The projects will be expected to work within the Compact guidance and principles, including non-replacement of funded posts by volunteers. The Compact guidance on funding will be followed by the managing organizations, including proportionate application processes and monitoring to the funding available, and the time available for the application process.
Who are the managing partners and how were they chosen?
The managing partners include a group of four very experienced agencies that all bring something special to the partnership. The four agencies decided to put in a joint bid to do the work, through a public procurement exercise run by the DH. The four agencies involved in the partnership are detailed below:
ECOTEC is an independent, employee-owned specialist programme management company with a network of offices throughout England and Europe.
PrimeTimers is a social enterprise that places experienced
business people into third sector organisations to bring about
organisational change.
Attend has 60 years experience as a membership organisation for
voluntary groups working in health and social care, currently
with 750 members.
CSV (Community Service Volunteers) has a track record of nearly
50 years delivering innovative volunteering support services
for people with a range of social and health care needs.
