european funding - esif richard norton voluntary action leeds
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European Funding - ESIF
Richard NortonVoluntary Action Leeds
ESIF
• ESIF - European Structural Investment Funds• 2014-2020 (delivery to 2023)• Combines ERDF and ESF (+ EAFRD)• Single growth programme through LEPs• €390m (c£340m) for LCR plus equal match• Some national match (Opt-Ins) but much to be
found locally• Managing Authorities – CLG, DWP (+ DEFRA)
Role of LEPs
• Managed through Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and ESIF Local Sub-Committees (LSCs)
• Sectoral representation• Leeds City Region (exc Barnsley for ESIF)• Programme has to align with LEP’s Growth
Programmes and Strategic Economic Plan (SEP)
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Leeds City RegionFunctional economic area
Largest city region outside London
Largest regional financial centre
UK’s largest manufacturing employment base
3m population; 1.3m workforce
100,000+ businesses
£50 billion+ economy
4%+ of UK GVA
UK Investment Priorities
• Emphasis on creating jobs growing business growing the economy reducing unemployment
• 10 ‘thematic objectives’ – 7 ERDF, 3 ESF
Thematic Objectives - ERDF
1. Innovation2. ICT3. Competitiveness - Small and Medium sized
Enterprises4. Low Carbon5. Climate Change6. Environmental Protection7. Sustainable Transport
Thematic Objectives - ESF
8. Employment
9. Social Inclusion
10.Skills
Opt-Ins (National Match)
• DWP for part T8 Employment• BIG for part T9 Social Inclusion• SFA for part T10 Skills• Activities have to be agreed with Opt-In
provider but then fully matched• Will have own commissioning processes (NB
BIG will award grants)
Commissioning
• Will be done through “calls” on national websites – initial 3-year contracts mostly
• 2-stage process• Fully competitive• Decision-making between ESIF LSCs (local fit)
and MAs (technical compliance etc.)• Mainly (but not all) large contracts at
combined LA or LCR level, esp for Opt-ins
Commissioning - LSC role
• Agree ESIF spend programme and Local Implementation Plan (LIP)
• Approve draft calls – based on ESIF Strategy and Sounding Groups
• Approve final calls• Assess fit with LCR Strategic Assessment
Framework (SAF)• Role in decision-making – but variance with
different Opt-ins
Third sector opportunities
• Parts of T8 Employment and T10 Skills• T9 Social Inclusion – BIG Opt-In
– New migrants e.g. Roma – Early intervention programme
• T9 Social Inclusion – currently unmatched– Community grants type programme– Community-Led Local Development
Community–Led Local Development(CLLD)
• Delivery of small community-based projects• Delivered by small community-based
organisations• Areas with 10,000-150,000 population• Can allocate up to 5% to CLLD (LCR higher)• Recommends minimum of £1m per CLLD area (may increase)
Community Led Local Development(CLLD)
• Requires a Local Action Group (LAG)– Public, private and third sector partnership
• LAG develops a Local Development Strategy• Strategy approved by Government• Funding available for strategy development • Accountable Body required• Further guidance awaited
Engage with ESIF!
• Small BIG-funded project• January – June 2015• VAL with CVS partner/s in each district• Initial district-level engagement events• Further events in response to demand –
possibly cross-district/thematic• New web pages/site, mailing list/s
Issues
• How to access – scale of contracts• May need to work across LA boundaries• ?Lead bidders/primes to sub-contract to third
sector – LAs, colleges, large TSOs (?3sc)• Cash-flow – payment in arrears and by results• Detailed Monitoring requirements • Audit and clawback risks• “Community grants” a good option for small orgs
and CLLD if secured locally
More information
• National: https://www.gov.uk/england-2014-to-2020-european-structural-and-investment-funds-growth-programme
• LCR LEP: www.the-lep.com/our-work/european/
• Doinggoodleeds: http://doinggoodleeds.org.uk/new-european-funding.html