Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision

Grant funding to community groups was a core component of the council’s approach to community wealth building, with funding of approximately £2m available annually to support the community and voluntary sector.

The Council Grants Team managed most of these grants and had a reputation for providing an exemplary service to community groups across the city.

The current grant management approach relied heavily on manual data entry systems, and there were fragmented grant streams available across the council, with different systems and processes for applicants to navigate to be able to access funding.

There were some risks and constraints with the current management approach for the council and applicants, and a comprehensive options appraisal had been completed to assess alternative approaches the council could consider.

Having assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and risks for a range of options detailed at Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report, the appraisal recommended that the council considered implementing a digital grant management platform. This would help to minimise risk, maximise efficiency and improve the applicant experience.

The appraisal further recommends completing an end-to-end systems audit and considered managing all community and voluntary grant funding streams included in the matrix at Appendix 2 of the Officer’s report, via a digital grant’s platform, which would effectively become the new Grants Gateway.

Decision of Leader

      i.          Agreed to implement a digital grant platform.

     ii.          Agreed to delegate responsibility to the Director of Communities to oversee the procurement of a digital grant’s platform and a smooth transition to implementation.

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Community Funding and Voluntary Sector Manager.

The Community Funding and Voluntary Sector Manager said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.          Measurements on the impact of grants had to be proportionate to the amount of funding awarded such as fewer measures for smaller grants. There was no one size fits all approach. Officers could look at different types of measures such as pictures not just written records.

     ii.          The expected timeframe was to undertake procurement in the autumn then make a decision in spring 2025 on the successful digital platform candidate.

   iii.          Two meetings had been held, one with the Digital Lead, and one with the Procurement Officer regarding the procurement process. They agreed the timescales were reasonable and offered advice on how to undertake the procurement.

   iv.          Grant Officers would offer support to grant applicants online and in person to help them with the application process and ensure funding goes to appropriate recipients.

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

The Leader  approved the recommendations.

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Leader (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Leader.