ESFVON
European Social Fund Voluntary Organisations Northern

ESF OBJECTIVE 3
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Latest News!
Results of 2nd Application Round
Endorsements and Appeals
Future Application Rounds
Global Grants
Co - financing of ESF
Round 1 Project Extensions
European Social Fund Logo
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2nd APPLICATION ROUND

Endorsements
Following the 2nd Application Round earlier this year, the Objective 3 Regional Committee met on 17 May 2001 and endorsed those projects which had been successful.

In respect of the voluntary sector, 72 bids were submitted with 44 receiving endorsement for an ESF value of £4,039,573.

Voluntary organisations submitted 33% of the total number of applications with 36% of successful bids being in the voluntary sector - this is a success rate of 61% for applications from the sector.
Appeals
Those projects which failed to achieve the minimum threshold score of 65 have been informed of their score by Government Office for the North East (GO-NE), and they will have 10 days in which to appeal.

However, as in the previous application round, applicants can only appeal on the grounds of bias or discrimination. Applicants should note that each application was scored independently by two people, and this was then checked by a third person to ensure that the score had been correctly awarded. It is not possible to appeal on the grounds that "you feel you should have been awarded higher points" or to introduce new information.

ESFVON will be seeking to work with those organisations which missed out on scoring a minimum 65 points to assist them in improving the bid with a view to resubmission in due course. (Those wishing to reconsider their applications should retain the scores they will receive from GO-NE as this will provide indicators of which responses the application failed to sufficiently address).
FUTURE APPLICATION ROUNDS
The Objective 3 Regional Committee has also given consideration to future bidding rounds, cognisant of the impending introduction of Co-Financing of ESF. (See below)

Proposals to introduce the Co-Financing of ESF have been debated nationally and as many applicants will know, ESFVON has contributed to this debate in view of concerns which are also shared by the sector in regions throughout England. ESFVON will shortly be publishing additional information on this issue so that all organisations are fully aware of the new developments and a major event is scheduled for September 2001.

There will in the future be bidding opportunities both to Co-Financing Organisations and direct to GO-NE. However, the routes for applications have yet to be determined, as they will be influenced by the Policy Fields in which Co-Financing organisations become involved. ESFVON will of course be providing detailed guidance and support as matters become clearer.

In the meantime, the Region is committed to meeting its spend and outputs in accord with the Regional Development Plan, as failure to do so could lead to the region losing funds if they are not expended within given timescales agreed with the European Commission.

Accordingly, the Regional Committee considered and agreed that rather than open a third bidding round, with a fixed deadline for new applications, a rolling bidding programme be introduced. This will afford applicants sufficient time to develop or revisit previous project applications. How this will, in practice, operate is still to be confirmed. Potential applicants will be notified in due course.

The Selection process would continue as at present but Selection panels would be convened at regular intervals to consider applications. The benefits to be gained will include:

Pressure will however, still remain on some Measures due to limitation of resources and ESFVON will keep applicants appraised of opportunities available to them.
GLOBAL GRANTS
Within the ESF Objective 3 Programme, 1% of resources has been allocated to a global grants scheme which is designed to provide small grants to non-governmental organisations. The aim will be to target resources on those who find it difficult to access ESF, and will build upon lessons learned during the previous Programme whereby a focus on capacity building was a principal theme.

Following the seeking of expressions of interest from organisations to run a scheme(s), which requires the organisation to provide match funding, it is now envisaged that four schemes based on Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Tees Valley will be implemented shortly. It is anticipated that the schemes will be managed by the Learning and Skills Councils with Local Authorities contributing match funding.

ESFVON will publicise the criteria and opportunities available, as soon as matters are confirmed and will support organisations wishing to bid into the schemes.
CO-FINANCING OF ESF
The Government's proposals for the co-financing of ESF, are attractive at face value in that they seek to:

However, there are still many unanswered questions, and many assumptions, and ESFVON and our colleagues in the Third Sector European Network have made detailed representations to safeguard the contribution of the voluntary sector as the largest provider of human resource development through Objective 3 funding.

It is currently anticipated that up to 75% of existing Objective 3 resources will have to be accessed through Co-Financing Organisations (CFOs) with 25% being retained for direct bidding to Government Office for the North East (GO-NE). There is a commitment by the Government for co-financing to commence in September 2001 and be operational in all regions by the end of the year, but which specific bodies will be CFOs, how much resource they will have, and in what Policy Fields, remains to be seen - hence our concerns on these and many other matters.

As indicated earlier in this Bulletin, ESFVON will be undertaking extensive advice and support to organisations as details become known and the CFOs become operational.

Co-Financing will mean that to receive funding through a CFO your project must converge with their plans, the only other option being to bid direct to GO-NE where the envisaged 25% of resources will be administered.

In addition to Bulletins, latest information will be included on our Website at www.esfvon.org.uk, seminars and surgeries will be held and a regional event is being planned for September 2001, to ensure that maximum help if available.

For those requiring further details at this stage on the co-financing proposals, then you may wish to read the Operational Framework for Co-Financing in England - Objective 3, and which can be found at www.esfnews.org.uk.
ROUND 1 PROJECT EXTENSIONS
Successful applicants from Round 1 were recently approached by ESFVON with regard to the possibility of extending projects until 30 June 2002 with confirmation sought of the amount of ESF which would be required.

A number of projects have contacted ESFVON to clarify the current position. As will be appreciated, priority has been given to the approvals of Round 2 project applications, including the appeals process, and details have yet to be confirmed of the arrangements for proposed extensions. These should be decided within the next few weeks and all organisations concerned will be notified.
EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND LOGO
There has been a small change to the ESF logo, agreed by the European Commission last year. Instead of the strapline reading "European Community" it should now say "European Union". This new edition takes effect immediately, but the European Commission have agreed to a gradual transition to the new logo. Those already using the original logo are encouraged to adopt the revised version at the next convenient point i.e. new print run or new publicity material.

You may be able to edit the original logo, but if you need a copy of the new logo this can be obtained from ESFVON or alternatively download it from GO-NE website at www.go-ne.gov.uk.

Last Updated: 4 June 2001

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