Further £300m for Local Business Growth (England & Wales)

The Government has announced the allocation of almost £300m of funding for councils rewarding their efforts to boost business growth. The funding which is being made available The Local Authority Business Growth Incentives scheme (LABGI) provides for financial rewards to councils that promote economic growth in their areas, by allowing them to retain a share of increases in revenue derived from business rates. The money is not ring-fenced and is additional to the funding provided through the Local Government Finance settlement for core services. This announcement allocates a further share of the up to £1bn of funding available for LABGI in England and Wales....
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=364281&NewsAreaID=2


New £45 Million Initiative for Medical Engineering Centres of Excellence (UK)

The Wellcome Trust and EPSRC have announced that they are inviting preliminary proposals to fund centres of excellence that integrate physical, engineering, chemical, mathematical or computational sciences with clinical or biomedical research aimed at delivering innovative solutions for healthcare. Proposals can come from academic institutions, or consortia of institutions within the UK. A total of £45 million is available under this initiative which is designed as a capacity building exercise to enhance the capability of academic institutions to engage in applied research for healthcare. The centres should create an engine for innovation by promoting research and development across different disciplines and cultures with the aim of addressing unmet medical needs. Awards will normally be for a period of five years and contain parallel programmes of work at varying stages of the research and development pipeline. The deadline for preliminary proposals is 4.00 pm on Friday 30 May 2008. Successfull applicantswill be invited to submit full applications by the 28th September 2008.....
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Strategic-awards/Awards/Medical-engineering/index.htm


Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards (UK)

Community and voluntary groups whose core work is supporting children's welfare or education, elderly people and people with disabilities have the opportunity to apply for grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 through the Tesco Charity's Community Awards. The Tesco Charity Trust has been in existence since 1987 and aims to provide approximately £600,000 in grants each year. Applications are considered in two rounds. Organisations supporting children's welfare and children's educational projects, including special needs schools need to apply by the 31st January each year. Organisations supporting elderly people and people with disabilities need to apply by the 30th June 2008.
http://www.tescocorporate.com/page.aspx?pointerid=B1F541F43C1F4148B8786B476518A649


Carbon Trust's Applied Research Programme (UK)

The Carbon Trust, which is funded by the Government to help UK businesses and public sector organisations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has announced that it will launch the next call for proposals under its Applied Research Programme on the 9th June 2008. The Carbon Trust's Applied Research Programme which is open to UK businesses, the public sector, voluntary organisations and research institutions aims to support the development and commercialisation of technology with the potential to reduce UK carbon dioxide emissions. Up to £250,000 is available for projects that can demonstrate genuine innovation and the potential to contribute to substantial reductions in UK greenhouse gas emissions; that the work is a well planned and builds on previous work in the area; that the results of the work will allow a clear step forward on the path towards commercialisation; and that it represents good value for money. The closing date for applications will be the 7th August 2008....
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/appliedresearch


Cut Your Carbon Footprint (East of England)

Communities within the East of England regions now have the opportunity to apply for funding of between £5,000 and £200,000 for capital assets that will cut their carbon emissions. The funding which is being made available through the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) £2.5 million "Cut Your Carbon" competition, will support community based initiatives such as renewable / sustainable energy solutions; reducing waste or water usage; and cut carbon from transport. To qualify, a community must initially calculate its existing carbon footprint and set out how it will reduce this using a carbon reduction Action Plan. EEDA will only provide capital funding for any project. To qualify as capital expenditure the funding must be used to acquire or create an asset such as buildings or equipment that will be shown as an asset on an organisation's balance sheet. This is a three year funding programme and there is a limit of 30 applications for round one of the competition. The closing date for applications is the 12th June 2008. It is anticipated that a second round for applications will open in autumn / winter 2008..
http://www.cutyourcarbon.org.uk/Page.aspx?ID=19


Investing in Communities - Supporting 21st Century Life (Scotland)

Through the Supporting 21st Century Life, a wide variety of organisations from the community, public and private sector can apply for funding of between £10,000 and £1 million for projects that encourage communication and connections within and between communities in Scotland and by bringing different generations together. The aim of the programme is to enable people and communities to respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing world and to think and plan ahead together to match future needs and services. The Big Lottery Fund is particularly interested in supporting projects for people with the challenges of parenting especially lone-parents, step families, fathers and grandparents; that gain a better understanding of the changing needs as users of support services; that encourage people from different generations to spend more time together; and projects that give advice and information to encourage relationships, positive connections between people and contact between generations. Projects can apply for one to five years funding. There are two steps involved in applying for funding. The first step involves completing an Outline Proposal Form providing brief information about your project. Those groups invited to continue to the next stage will be required to complete an 'Investing in Communities' application form....
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_supporting_21st_century_life.htm?regioncode=-uk&progStatus=open&status=theProg&title=Supporting%2021st%20Century%20Life


Groundwork UK Launches £50 Million Community Spaces Fund (England)

Neighbourhoods across England are set to benefit with the launch of a new £50 million lottery-funded grants programme. The Community Spaces programme will provide grants and support to community groups wanting to make their neighbourhoods cleaner and greener. Community Spaces will help local people improve and create play areas, community gardens, parks, wildlife areas, ponds, courts and village greens. Community Spaces is being managed by Groundwork UK on behalf of a consortium of environmental organisations and is funded through the Big Lottery Fund. The programme will make grants of between £10,000 and £49,999 and some limited grants of up to £450,000 to community groups that want to create and improve public spaces. All Community Spaces applications will need to go through a two-stage application process. Stage 1 applications will be available via the Community Spaces website or an Advice Line and once submitted will receive a decision within 10 weeks. If groups are successful at Stage 1 they will be allocated a Facilitator who who will provide a more detailed Stage 2 application form....
http://www.community-spaces.org.uk/


INTERREG North West Europe Programme (UK)

The second call for proposals under the INTERREG North West Europe Programme will open on the 7th April 2008. The INTERREG North West Europe Programme is a financial instrument of the European Union's Cohesion Policy focusing on the North West Europe area, including the UK. The programme funds transnational projects with the overall aim of making the North West of Europe more competitive, environmentally friendly and cohesive. The programme funds activities that focus on four key themes. These are capitalising on innovation; managing resources and risks; improving connectivity; and strengthening communities. Eligible applicants include national, regional and local authorities including sector departments and related public agencies, transnational bodies, universities, research and development agencies, and non-profit organisations. Under certain conditions, private profit making organisations can participate. Between 2007 and 2013, the Programme will allocate more than ?355 million of funding to the projects. The closing date for applications is the 9th May 2008..
http://www.nweurope.org/page/onglet.php?p=1755


Cross-Cultural Schools and Youth Work Projects (UK)

Support is offered through the Gulbenkian Foundation's Education Grant programme to secondary schools, and to those agencies who work with them, to implement that part of the KS3 curriculum designed to encourage empathy and understanding between students from different cultures, both within and between schools (i.e. inter-school linking projects, involvement of local community groups etc.). Applications should indicate how the work in question will be disseminated for the benefit of other schools. Support is also offered to youth organisations, and those agencies who work with them, wishing to initiate projects aimed at fostering better relations between young people from different cultures and faiths. Grants offered by the Foundation rarely exceed £15,000. Previously grants awarded include £7,500 towards the costs of promoting cross-cultural dialogue using artistic activities; and a grants of £5,000 towards the costs of a dance residency designed to enable students from a predominantly white and a predominantly South Asian secondary school in Telford to develop a greater understanding of their respective cultural backgrounds. The next application deadline is the 23rd May 2008..
http://www.gulbenkian.org.uk/grant-programmes/education