Take a lesson from the Scouts and Guides and be prepared!

Now government funding is a simple concept. There is a system to collect it and a system to distribute it. Where the concept idea becomes complicated, as we all know, is in practice when a range of separate taxes, duties, rates and other circumstances are fed into the model and it’s the same on the distribution side. We don’t all receive the same benefits either as individuals, businesses, regions or councils. 

Current events mean the Treasury is far more likely to be allocating what are scarce resources on an ‘issues’ basis going forward. Here are a couple of recent examples. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund and the Green Homes Grant have been announced as significant pots of money to be bid for by local authorities to progress local schemes for non-domestic and domestic improvements respectively.

It isn’t easy to put a bid together, certainly not in the timescales that some of the funding programmes demand, and the usual pressures exist when you start. Having the time and capacity is the first problem; being used to the process is another and ticking the right boxes, another. The council that gets the funds in a competitive bidding process is probably the one that makes the best case and it is hoped that it aligns with the greatest need and best outcomes. But there’s no guarantee that it will. In other words its often the best bid that gets the money not the best scheme. S if your bid writing skills are in need of some practice, then jump to it. Alternatively, be willing to spend some money on external support.

One of the main elements of a bid is the actual scheme you plan to spend the money on. We don’t all have a shelf full of projects ready to go. There are 3 types of projects – the cookery book type – you know what you want to do and you can get the constituent parts by doing a little shopping around but you haven’t actually started yet; the oven ready type – you’re half way there, some people are on board and you have a site and have spoken to you DoF about a budget; or the Greggs type – everything is done you just have to start eating…I mean confirming a date with the installers.

The trick is to have the business plans and data analysis as up to date as possible. I realise you will know this already and don’t need another smart Alec telling you – but it’s true. You are more likely to win funding if your project is viable and can be set off soon. It fits into the ‘bidding for government money’ process.

Maybe investing some time or money in a project with a chance of not coming to fruition is worth it after all.

So, take a lesson from the Scouts and Guides, ‘Be Prepared’.