The aim of Advice for Health and the changes we want to see
Overarching aim: People experiencing financial and social disadvantage, marginalisation and discrimination, and who are not accessing advice services because they feel overwhelmed by the challenges they are facing in their lives, are able to do so - and, as a result, their health improves.
The changes we want to see are:
- people who feel overwhelmed and are therefore not accessing advice services, are able to do so
and - as a result of the advice they receive, they experience improved mental and/or physical health
and - advice providers adapt their services to better meet the needs of this group of people so they can more readily access advice.
What we expect funded partners to do and where?
Applicants to Advice for Health must show how the proposed activity meets the following criteria in terms of people, activities, place and approach:
People - funded activity should focus on specific groups of people who:
- Do not currently access advice services because they feel overwhelmed by the challenges they are facing in their lives
- and are experiencing financial and social disadvantage
- and are experiencing marginalisation and discrimination (for example people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and other groups where there is specific evidence of these experiences).
Activities – funded activity should:
- Support people to feel less overwhelmed so that they have increased headspace to seek and engage with advice services (for example, mindfulness activities, wellbeing and emotional support, activities that support social connections).
and - Result in changes to existing advice services so that they better meet the needs of people experiencing marginalisation, discrimination and social and financial disadvantage. For example, developing more culturally appropriate services (such as through translation), undertaking community outreach to groups not currently accessing advice, supporting referrals and follow up (including ongoing support, not just signposting) resulting in more people who need it accessing advice.
and - Involve measuring the changes to people’s mental and/or physical health as a result of the funded activities and the advice received.
There should be more than one engagement with an individual (it should not be a one-off interaction), to ensure both more meaningful activity and the potential to measure change.
Please note: If the applicant itself is not an experienced advice provider, then any advice-giving activities must be delivered by a suitable partner organisation. The applicant organisation must be the lead partner and should not outsource most of the delivery to the partner organisation. A partnership agreement must be in place.
Places
The activity must be delivered within an area that people would consider to be local.
The activity must be delivered in one of the following four regions of England:
- East: Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk
- East Midlands: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire.
- South East: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Isle of Wight
- West Midlands: Birmingham, Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire.
You must be able to describe how the people you plan to work with meet the Trust’s primary focus, which is on people facing financial and social disadvantage.
We recommend you include where the place(s) you plan to work is ranked according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). IMD is a widely used measure available in England, Scotland and Wales for understanding different dimensions of financial and social disadvantage. This is often also referred to socio-economic disadvantage. Our map, shows places in the most disadvantaged 30% of neighbourhoods. You should also feel able to include additional national and/or local evidence that may be more relevant in demonstrating financial and social disadvantage within your proposed participant group. Applicants might also be planning to work with groups of people whose circumstances mean they clearly meet these criteria, for which no additional evidence is required, for example as people in receipt of most types of benefits.
Approach – funded partners will:
- Involve local people who were previously distant from advice services and now want to help other people access them in the development, delivery and ongoing oversight of funded activities (such as a steering group, advisory group);
- Work with the Trust to use learning gained through the funded activity to work with decision-makers locally (and potentially regionally/nationally) to make changes that improve provision of advice services for the communities the project is aiming to support.
Eligibility criteria
All organisations applying must meet the following criteria:
Size - An applicant’s annual income must be not more than £500,000 in the most recent annual accounts, or on average over the last three years, based on published accounts.
Applicants with annual incomes higher than this will not be funded, except where the most recent year’s income was higher than usual due to a one-off event, such as a capital project. If this is the case, applicants must speak to us before applying.
Type - Applicants must be grassroots community organisations working with people experiencing social and financial disadvantage, marginalisation and discrimination.
Applicants must be able to describe their track record and experience for giving advice. If the applicant itself is not an experienced advice provider, then any advice-giving activities must be delivered by a suitable partner organisation through a formal partnership.
The applicant organisation must be the lead partner and should not outsource most of the delivery to a partner organisation. A partnership agreement must be in place.
Applicants must evidence their suitability and experience in advice-giving (such as relevant accreditation, and/or membership of relevant professional networks or advice associations).
If the applicant is not an advice provider, evidence of suitability of the advice-giving partner organisation must be provided.
Either the applicant or any advice-giving partner organisation must have professional indemnity insurance in place for any advice-giving activity (either now, or in place for the start of the activity).
Applicants and any partner organisations must be voluntary sector (non-profit) organisations that are constituted or registered in Great Britain. This list shows the types of organisations that can apply.
Leadership - We will prioritise applicants that demonstrate they are led by and for the people and communities they intend to work with. For example, the majority of its board, committee, and staff are reflective of the communities it represents.
Location - Activity must be delivered in one of the following regions of England: East, East Midlands, South East or West Midlands. (see Places section above for more details).
Track record - Applicants must have a clear track record of supporting people experiencing social and financial disadvantage, marginalisation, and discrimination.
Applicants, or otherwise any advice-providing partner organisation, must have a strong track record for providing advice.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) - Applicants must be able to describe their approach to equity, diversity and inclusion and have a strong track record. This should go beyond inclusive practice, to consider how the funded activity will achieve equitable outcomes for all.
Evidence of need - Applicants must present evidence that the people that the funded activity is for:
- Feel unable to access advice services because they feel overwhelmed by the challenges they are facing in their lives.
- and are experiencing financial and social disadvantage (also referred to as socio-economic disadvantage): this might refer to low income, insecure work or unemployment, or people experiencing issues with education, housing, crime, or their local environment.
- and are experiencing marginalisation and discrimination (for example, people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people or other groups where there is evidence of these experiences).
Measuring outcomes and impact- Through progress reporting, applicants will be expected to collect data that enables them to report on whether the activities delivered are achieving the aims of Advice for Health:
people who feel overwhelmed and are therefore not accessing advice services, are able to do so and;
as a result of the advice they receive, they experience improved mental and/or physical health and;
advice providers adapt their services to better meet the needs of this group of people so they can more readily access advice.
Grant value, length, and use
Grant value - Grants will be £20,000 to £40,000.
Length - We expect that most grants will fund activity for one to two years. It is unlikely that a one year project would receive the maximum grant amount.
Funding use - Funding is for running costs for the activities proposed, which could include staff salaries, events, venue hire, small capital items, and a small contribution to organisational overheads.
We are a Living Wage funder, and we encourage pensions and cost of living increases to be included in the budget.
The Trust supports its funded partners with capacity building and involvement in our networks.
Networks and capacity building - Advice for Health partners will be expected to participate in a bespoke network for this fund, which will meet around three times per year, usually online. There may also be targeted capacity building training as a term of grant, as well as access to our wider offer for all funded partners.
Please see full list of exclusions to our funding here.
Timetable
The decision-making process and timeline are:
- Webinar for potential applicants - Held on Thursday 6 June 12-1pm (recording of webinar available).
- Stage one application deadline - 19 June 2024 at 3pm.
- Applicants notified if they are invited to stage two - 10 July 2024
- Stage two application deadline - 7 August 2024 at 3pm
- Applicants notified if they have been awarded funding - End of September 2024
