Deadline: 23-Mar-23
Applicants are now invited to register their interest and ideas to be considered as a participant on the Community Solutions to Housing and Homelessness Programme.
Aim and Objective
- To support new or improved solutions to some of the root causes of housing and homelessness in Northern Ireland and amplify the voices of people with lived experience of the issues.
- To support the development, testing and delivery of new ideas and collaborations addressing the root causes of housing issues and homelessness, working with a range of organisations and giving voice to individuals with lived experience across Northern Ireland.
Priorities
Project teams must identify a proposed idea for a solution that will address one of the 13 priority challenge to be addressed by the programme. The 13 priority challenge areas are:
- Rented housing
- Mental health and complex needs
- Stigma & Respect
- Hostels and Emergency Accommodation
- Violence against Women and Girls
- Female Homelessness
- Services/Support for males and other victims of domestic violence
- Relationship breakdown
- Agencies not collaborating enough
- Homelessness affecting asylum seekers and refugees
- Homeless affecting LGBTQ+ people
- Homelessness affecting young people
- Early Intervention support
Stages
Programme consists of two stages:
- Stage 1: Innovation process: Project teams participate in a creative problem solving process to develop their ideas into solution that will address one of the priority challenge areas to be addressed by this programme.
- Stage 2: Seed Fund process: Project ideas that have been developed as part of the innovation process can apply for Seed Funding of between £15,000 -£25,000 to test or further develop their idea. Projects should commence on 1st August 2023 and be completed by 31st July 2024.
Outcomes
- New collaborations emerge amongst organisations working on housing issues and homelessness.
- New solutions to specific challenges within housing and homelessness are developed and tested, placing the insights and voices of people with lived experience at the centre.
- New opportunities to influence decision making and public services relating to housing and homelessness
- Enhanced knowledge and skills in creative problem solving for participating individuals and organisations
Eligible Projects
- New and/or adapted idea/s for solutions that will contrubute to the overall programme aims and outcomes, specifically addressing one of the priority challenge areas (ie not a continuation of an existing service or campaign
- demonstrate collaboration between two or more organisations and individuals working together on a priority challenge area, or demonstrates how the project will involve at least three or more team members from one organisation working together on a priority challenge area
- be open to development of the idea as part of a creative problem solving process (not a fixed solution you are seeking funding for)
Eligibility Criteria
- Charities, public sector representatives and individuals with lived experience are encouraged to form a project team addressing one of more of the 13 Challenge areas. This project team can apply for a place on the programme.
- Project teams should consist of 4-5 people.
- Collaboration is encouraged but not mandatory – so project teams can be a team from one charity/organisation.
- If you wish to apply for the Seed fund, at least one member of the team should meet the eligibility criteria for receiving a grant from the Foundation.
- If oversubscribed priority will be given to projects located outside the Greater Belfast area and to projects and organisations with a strong track record of participation and involvement.
- The lead applicant must:
- Be a locally based not-for-profit, voluntary or community group working in Northern Ireland to improve the quality of life for local people
- Have an active management committee, with no two related cheque signatories
- Submit a governing document, i.e. Constitution in the name of the applicant organisation
- Submit a current bank account in the name of your organisation, in credit
- Submit up to date annual accounts
- Have complied with the conditions of previous grants including submission of monitoring returns.
- CFNI’s standard terms and conditions will apply.
- Note: Although applicants for Seed Fund grants are not assessed at this stage, project teams who are interested in applying for a Seed Fund should be aware of the Seed Fund criteria and ensure that at least one member of your team meets the eligibility criteria to receive a grant from the Foundation.
Seed Fund Criteria
- A Seed Fund is open only to those organisations and project teams who have participated in the Community Solutions to Housing and Homelessness Stage 1 Innovation process. Attendance is mandatory at all of the workshops.
- Solutions will be new services to be delivered, or campaigns seeking policy change at statutory level, or both.
- Solutions are participative, person-centred and informed by lived experience
- Opportunities are created to influence decision making and public services relating to housing and homelessness.
- Successful applicants that comprise of 2 or more organisations /collaborations (i.e. project teams) will be required to provide a Partnership Agreement, or equivalent document signed by all participating organisations, as a pre-condition of grant funding.
For more information, visit Community Foundation Northern Ireland.