Sector Challenge grantees
Opportunities for further Catalyst funding
March 2021
Last updated: 1st April 1pm
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Options for Sector Challenge Grantees - video link
Continuation programme
£5000 grant
Apply:
8th - 23rd April OR
26th April - 12th May
Deliver:
Up to 27th Aug
Development Programme
£5000 grant +
£30K digital partner
Apply:
26th April - 12th May
Deliver:
5th July - 10th Sept
10% fee extension for digital partner
Apply:
Submit a proposal
Deliver:
Within 2 weeks of agreement
Please note that we have changed the grant amounts to be fixed at £5,000.
1. Continuation programme
Application questions and guidance
Application questions and guidance for the Continuation programme can be found here
Continuation programme
How much is the offer?�Receive a £5,000 grant to continue what you’ve been working on in Sector Challenge. This opportunity is open to Sector Challenge grantees and also Definition and Development grantees (a total of 120 organisations will have the option to apply). We will be awarding up to 30 grants in total.
What can I use the funding for?
Am I eligible?�To be eligible you need details of how you intend to spend the money before 31st August. You need to have successfully completed Sector Challenge and submitted your reporting including evidence of spend and copy invoices / bank statements.
What if I have an underspend from the Sector Challenge programme?�If you have an underspend from the previous programme, you can include this in your budget and if your application is approved we can award you the £5k plus the under-spend.
How do I apply?�You will apply via a very short form on SMApply (you will not have to answer any questions about your organisation that you have previously given us).
We will ask you for a budget and written explanation of what you’d deliver. We will ensure this is as quick and easy for you as possible.
What is the assessment process?
If we receive a large volume of applications, then our assessors will rank the applications based on:
Continuation Programme timeline
2 application windows:
1st window:
Applications open: 8th - 23rd April
Grantees announced: week commencing 3rd May
Latest end date (when evidence of spend report submitted): 6th August
2nd window:
Applications open: 26th April - 12th May
Grantees announced: week commencing 24th May
Latest end date (when evidence of spend report submitted): 27th August
2. Development programme
Application questions and guidance
Application questions and guidance for the Development programme can be found here
Development programme
How much is the offer?�Receive a £5,000 grant + £30K incl. VAT to go to an openly procured digital partner. This opportunity is open to Sector Challenge grantees and also Definition grantees (a total of 90 organisations will have the option to apply). We will only be awarding three of these grants, so you are welcome to join forces and submit a joint bid (one organisation should submit the "lead"application, and its named "partner" organisations can also submit applications for the £5k Continuation grant).
What can I use the funding for?
Am I eligible?�You must have:
What if I have an underspend from the Sector Challenge programme?�If you have an underspend from the previous programme, you can include this in your budget and if your application is approved we can award you the £5k plus the under-spend.
How do I apply?�You will apply via a form on SMApply (you will not have to answer any questions about your organisation that you have previously given us). We will ask you for a budget and written explanation of what you’d deliver.
What is the assessment process?�If we receive a large volume of applications, then our assessors will rank the applications based on:
Development programme continued...
Can I keep working with my Sector Challenge cohort/team?
Yes. If you want to develop the solution as a collaborative alongside other charities in your sector challenge cohort, then you can. You’ll need to nominate a lead charity to complete the application. That lead charity will be responsible for submitting the reporting.
The other non-lead charities can apply for the Continuation grant. They will need to reference the lead organisation in their application. As the lead organisation, you will need to reference the non-lead organisations in your application.
What is the process for getting a digital partner?�
If successful, you will work with CAST/Catalyst to develop a brief that will be published on the Catalyst website so that digital agencies can apply for up to £30K incl. VAT to work on your project.
We want to continue working with our Sector Challenge digital partner. Can we do that?
Due to the value of the contract, we are unable to appoint the previous digital partner directly. A brief will be published on Open Projects, and any agency will be able to put in a bid for the work, including your previous digital partner. Partner applications will be scored and assessed by the lead charity and the CAST/Catalyst team. The outcomes of the assessments will be presented to the CAST Executive Team at a panel meeting where a decision will be taken on who the successful digital partner will be.
Development Programme timeline
Application window: 26th April - 12th May
Grantees announced: week commencing 17th May
Open briefs published: 26th May - 11th June
Partners appointed: 21st June
Work to be delivered between latest 5th July - 10th September
NOTE: Work will need to be delivered during summer holiday season so please bear this in mind when considering whether or not to apply.
3. 10% fee increase for the digital partner
10% fee increase for the digital partner
How much is the offer?�Digital partners can submit a proposal for a one-off 10% fee increase.
Who can apply?
This extension can be requested by any digital/data/design agency who have been involved in supporting Digital Response Fund grantees in developing a solution to their challenge and who hasn’t previously received a 10% fee increase.
What can it be used for?
This funding is for a small amount of additional work that will have a clear outcome and add value (increase reach, or improve functionality, or support greater reuse of the tool/approach) to the existing programme. The partner must submit the proposal within 2 weeks of the end of the Sector Challenge programme for work to be delivered within 2 weeks of the extension being agreed.
How does the digital partner apply?�The digital partner will need to submit a short proposal based on this template and email it to their Connector (key contact within CAST). This is a standalone proposal that is completely independent from any grant applications that the cohort grantees choose to submit.
If the partner gets a 10% fee extension, does that mean they can’t be part of the Continuation programme budgets?��No. A request for a 10% fee extension does not prevent the digital partner being included as an external cost within the Continuation Programme applications.
If the partner gets a 10% fee extension, does that mean they can’t be part of the Development programme?
No. The digital partner can still apply to development briefs that are posted through Open Projects.
What is the assessment process?
The proposals will be reviewed by the CAST/Catalyst team and a decision will be taken by the CAST Executive Team.
Any questions?
Email: support@wearecast.org.uk (grantees)
Email: partners@wearecast.org.uk (digital partners)
We will be running open Q&A sessions every Thursday during April from 9.00am - 9.30am. Feel free to join!
Link to join: Add it to your calendar
Zoom URL: Link
We’ll add FAQs to this deck which will be on your Notion board and kept up to date.
Questions and Answers - SC / Def grantees
For Development, we are really looking for evidence that the solution will benefit the not only your organisation, but also the wider sector. If you are able to evidence this through user research with your wider network, that would really boost your application for Development.
Yes, however the majority should go towards your own internal staff costs to implement and roll out the system internally. You should talk to the digital partner you’ve been working with to see how they might be able to add value to the project and what the likely costs would be. Any digital partner costs would need to be included in your £5000 budget.
You can apply for Continuation funding in the first window. If you then decide to apply to Development later then you will need to explain how you would spend the £5,000 grant differently. If you are successful for the Continuation grant of £5,000, then you can still be successful for the Development programme (to receive £30K support from a digital partner), but you would only receive the £5,000 grant once.
Questions and Answers - Continuation programme
Please can you provide the timeline details eg start date, and when does the money need to be spent by?
Round 1:
Round 2:
We’ve focussed more on sharing internally and with our own networks rather than through public blogs. Is that ok?
Yes, absolutely. Open working doesn’t necessarily mean week notes and blogs. It might mean internal stakeholder sessions or network meetup presentations. These are just as valid and important.
When will we get paid the grant money?
All grants will be paid up front within 14 days of the grant agreement being signed.
Can I apply in the first round if I haven't submitted my evidence of spend for the previous programme yet?
No, you'll need to submit your evidence of spend report before you can submit your application. Please apply in the second round if you don’t think you’ll have submitted your evidence of spend report by the deadline of round 1 (which is 23rd April).
Questions and Answers - Continuation programme
In the £5K budget template for continuation, where can i put the freelance costs? There's previously been another section below for this.
In the Continuation budget template, please add any freelance costs to the main table. You do not need to include anything in the Annual Salary column.
In the Continuation application, Question 3.1 and 4.5 are quite similar - can you clarify the difference?
Question 3.1 is asking you to explain how your work will benefit your organisation, network and wider sector.
Question 4.5 is asking what you will do to work in the open.
Questions and Answers - SC / Def grantees
4.