Apply Now: Collaboration and Innovation Fund (Ireland)

Deadline: 7-Feb-25

The Collaboration and Innovation Fund is a great opportunity to fund projects and activities that support adults with unmet literacy, numeracy, digital and financial literacy needs.

Focus Areas

• Family Life
  • Have the confidence and ability to read a bedtime story help with maths. English or Irish homework or even fill out a form required to register or enrol in school.
• Employability
  • Read job advertisements, fill out application, be able to search for vacancies, apply online and communicate clearly in Interviews.
• Good Health
  • Arrange a follow-up appointment with your doctor online, read the label on a medicine bottle and understand the diet and lifestyle needed to be healthy.
• Living Safely
  • Be able to understand safety warnings and instructions. understand situations to make sound judgements and decisions.
• Services
  • Access Government services and other online services required. Understand rights and eligibility. be able to apply online. provide the necessary evidence. deal with follow up correspondence and complain about poor service.
  • Be able to read safety signs at work, complete health and safety courses, work with and use technology and conduct online meetings.
• Shopping
  • Be able to shop and purchase things online, know your consumer rights and entitlements, assess value for money.
• New Skills
  • Be able to learn new skills online. complete online assessments, read theory and do coursework as part of a course.
  • Manage finances, budget effectively. Pay bills, use an ATM and online banking, access essential financial services and be able to identify a scam.
  • Help people learn to live together, have the language and social skills to integrate within their communities, be healthy and thrive. irrespective of their economic. social or cultural background.
• Security
  •  To identify phishing, protect your personal information and data and avoid other forms of scams. targeting and manipulation online.
• Digital
  • Have the technology and be able to use it to complete many of the functions outlined above. To access news and information to use social media and other tools to interact with others.

Types of Projects

• A local or regional project has an impact in one area, county or ETB catchment area. In a local project, the lead organisation is any public, not for profit organisation.
• A national project has an impact in more than one county or happens in more than one Education and Training Board region. In a national project, the lead organisation is a public, not for profit national representative body or an organisation that provides a service in more than one location.

Funding Information

• The total funding available in the Collaboration and Innovation Fund is €1 million. The funding will be divided into two strands as follows:
  • €750,000 for local and national projects that provide innovative and collaborative ways to:
    • Support adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs,
    • Create a more literacy friendly and equal society.
  • €250,000 for local and national projects that support innovative and collaborative ways to:
    • Improve financial literacy skills for adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy need,
    • Create a more literacy friendly approach to accessing financial services.
  • Local or Regional Project:
    • The minimum amount of funding available for a local project is €1,000 and the maximum amount is €25,000.
  • National project:
    • The maximum amount of funding available for a national project is €50,000.

Eligible Projects

• Projects should address the needs of adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs, specifically the groups identified in the all strategy:
  • Older Adults (55+)
  • Low-paid Workers
  • Incarcerated Persons and Ex-Offenders
  • Members of the Traveller Community
  • Carers
  • Persons Recovering from Addiction
  • International Protection Applicants
  • Persons with Disabilities
  • One-parent Households
  • Long-term Unemployed
  • People with Language Needs

Eligible Costs

• These costs will include direct costs, programme costs and indirect overhead costs for example rent, light, heat and so on. Indirect costs should not be more than 10% of the direct cost of the project.
• Where appropriate and necessary, please make sure that the cost of preparing materials for courses is included in programme costs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Organisations that work in the public, not-for-profit, community and voluntary sector can apply for the Collaboration and Innovation Fund. Individuals and private sector organisations cannot apply for the Fund.
• You need a minimum of two organisations working in partnership to apply for the Fund. One organisation is the lead applicant, and the other organisation or organisations are the partner applicants.
• The lead organisation must provide:
  • A tax clearance access number
  • Tax reference number
  • Charity number, if applicable

Application Requirements

• There are four additional documents to be completed as part of your application. These are part of the online application and can be downloaded and submitted through the platform:
  • Designated Signatory of Lead Organisation
    • As part of SOLAS funding requirements, all funding documentation must be signed and dated by a designated signatory. The designated signatory is the CEO/Principal and/or a staff member who has the authority to sign funding documentation and reporting returns. SOLAS recommends at least one additional signatory is nominated, where appropriate.
  • Declaration by Lead Organisation
  • The designated signatory for the lead organisation must fill in and sign this declaration on behalf of their organisation.
  • The declaration covers the terms of the application including:
    • Confirmation that the information in the application is accurate and complete
    • Confirmation that making the application does not guarantee funding
    • Consent to the ALL Office / SOLAS making enquiries to a third party about the funding application.
    • Acknowledging that information in the application may be made available on request under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 or under the 2018 EU General Date Protection Regulation.
    • Agreeing that any funding unspent in 2025 must be returned to SOLAS.
    • Agreeing with the terms and conditions of funding.
  • Declaration by Partner Organisation
    • Each partner in the project must fill the declaration and it must be signed by the person(s) authorised to sign funding documentation on behalf of their organisation.
    • In signing this document the partners are agreeing that:
    • They have read the 2025 Guidelines for ALL Strategy Collaboration & Innovation Fund
    • They have agreed to act as a partner organisation for this project
    • The information in the application about their organisation is accurate and complete.
  • SOLAS Bank Authorisation Form
    • The bank authorisation form provides the bank details for your organisation This can be completed either:
      • In full by an authorised Bank Official and must be stamped by the bank,
      • By an Accountable person (see note below) in the organisation and a top copy of your bank statement, confirming the bank account details given, should be sent in along with the form. The bank statement must be dated within the last six months.

For more information, visit ALL.