The government launched this new funding opportunity at the budget in March. The funding runs for one year and is intended to be the pre-curser to the Shared Prosperity Fund which will be launched in 2022.
SCC is the lead authority for Somerset and will be responsible for inviting, assessing, prioritising and submitting bids to government. The county has the chance to bid for up to £12m of funding. (However, this will be a highly competitive process and Somerset is not guaranteed to receive funding)
SCC will be inviting applications to the fund from partners including, but not limited to, businesses, voluntary and community groups, education and training providers, and councils. Bids must be submitted to government by 18 June 2021.
Projects can be in both urban and rural areas and should align with the government identified themes(& local priorities):
- Investment in skills
- Investment in local business
- Investment in communities and place
- Supporting people into employment
The funding is short-term with projects needing to be delivered by March 2022.
The Somerset application process will officially launch via an open call for applications on the 7th of April.
If you interested in finding out more we will be holding a series of information and workshop events throughout April.
The first event on the 7 April will be a webinar explaining the fund and application process in more detail – please book your free place here.
For more information please see our dedicated Somerset County Council webpage (which we will update regularly as more details become available)
Please cascade this information to anyone you feel may be interested in this funding opportunity.