The government is seeking to appoint a civil society organisation to deliver a £11.6m fund designed to strengthen partnerships between charities and local authorities.
Announced this week, the Local Covenant Partnerships Fund will be invested over three years in 15 deprived local areas in England.
The successful applicant, which may be a partnership of two organisations, will begin delivering the fund in April this year and will be responsible for selecting the 15 local areas, which will be supported to implement new “local covenant partnership” agreements.
Through the fund, money will be invested in networks of local charities that work with councils in the 15 areas to deliver support in areas including mental health, adult social care, women’s refuges and child poverty.
The fund forms part of the rollout of the government’s Civil Society Covenant, a set of principles published last year to “re-set” the relationship between the state and civil society.
NCVO chief executive Kate Lee said the the fund was a “significant and welcome step in embedding the principles of the Civil Society Covenant into everyday practice for charities”.
“Many organisations operate primarily at a local level, making strong, fair and collaborative relationships with local government essential to their effectiveness,” she said.
“This fund will play a vital role in supporting those relationships and in enabling new, more effective ways of working that deliver better outcomes for people and communities.”
Civil society minister Stephanie Peacock said: “By bridging the gap between local councils and the dedicated civil society organisations on the ground, we are turning the principles of our Civil Society Covenant into a daily reality, delivering preventative care that doesn’t just manage crises, but changes lives for the better.”
Fund applications
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has invited civil society organisations with experience in building relationships between multiple local stakeholders and driving investment in the voluntary sector to apply to deliver the £11.6m fund.
DCMS is looking for applicants with a track record of managing onward grants, experience fostering shared learning and peer support.
The successful applicant will help to identify the 15 local areas with “double disadvantage” (high deprivation and poor social capital) this year.
The deadline for applications is 23 February, with interviews scheduled for March.
Recently, the government called for sector experts to apply for membership of its Civil Society Council advisory body, which is being set up to drive implementation of the covenant.
Also as part of the covenant rollout, the Cabinet Office launched a feedback process for charities who feel like government department funders are limiting their ability to campaign.
