The European Social Fund

European Social Fund (ESF) Community Grants are financed through the European Union and are designed to develop the capacity of the community and to meet local needs. Part of this strategy is to help people increase their chances of finding work. Applications are open to organisations based or working within the county of Staffordshire. A full criteria can be found below along with a breakdown of the grants application process, which must be read and fully understood before making your application.

Grants of up to £20,000 are available.

About ESF Funding

The aim of the programme is to move people closer to employment, education or training. Whilst we understand that not all of your participants will be able to make this immediate transition, we expect to see you working hard towards this goal. We will expect to see some clear progression from some of your participants, and this will form part of the monitoring process.

We expect you to have appropriate policies and procedures in place, detailing regard to equalities and sustainability. If you do not have these policies, we can help you to develop them.

We will provide you with a suite of document templates that must be completed during your project. This will include a document to evidence that you have checked identity and right to work in the UK of all your participants.

The Grants Application Process:

Stage 1:

You may submit your application and supporting documents for assessment through our online application system. If you are unable to use the online application system, we will still be able to accept a hard copy application, but we would like to see evidence of digital skills. Only applications that are fully completed and have all necessary supporting documents will be considered.

Stage 2:

If your application is complete and meets the criteria for the fund, it will progress to the next stage of the application process, the panel meeting. A group of individuals who have the skills and knowledge of employment, learning, training and wider community development will review the applications and make decisions about whether they should be funded.

Stage 3:

If your application is successful, you will be notified and advised of a ‘contract signing event’. In order to receive a grant from this scheme, you must attend the contract signing event. This event will last for half a day and will allow us to give you details of the requirements of the programme, including monitoring requirements and expected outcomes.  This event forms part of the offer of the grant, and if you are unable to attend an event such as this, we will not be able to offer a grant.

Stage 4:

Grants will be paid following the contract signing event. They will be paid in three stages – the first will be available immediately and will cover the costs of setting up your project. Once you have confirmed and provided evidence to show that this is complete, the second payment will be available, which will cover the cost of running the first half of your project. Once the first half of your project is complete you will need to submit monitoring and returns to us to show that this portion of the funding has been spent appropriately. Once this monitoring has been submitted and accepted, it will automatically trigger the third payment, which will pay for the running costs of the last half of your project.

Stage 5:

Throughout your project we will expect monthly returns of Individual Learner Records (ILR’s), showing the engagement and progress of your participants. We will show you how to fill these in and the sort of information required at the Contract Signing Event.

Stage 6:

You should expect to receive at least two monitoring visits over the course of your programme. These are designed not only to showcase the work you are undertaking with your participants, but also to help if you experience difficulties. We are here to support you and will do all we can to make sure that your project is a success.

How To Apply

To apply for a grant of up to £20,000, please submit an application using our online application facility.  You can attach your supporting documents to the application.

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