New funding opportunity for Transition initiatives (UK)
By Ben Brangwyn 29th November 2011
Today sees the launch of a great new funding opportunity from the Big Lottery Fund. Called ‘Communities Living Sustainably’, it is framed as being about supporting communities in England to live and work in a more sustainable way. Grants of up to £1 million are being distributed between 10 successful projects.
It is fascinating how resilience has now entered the criteria alongside sustainability, meaning that this could be an ideal funding opportunity for Transition initiatives. You can find more information here, but below are the salient points.
Communities Living Sustainably will fund partnerships that bring together the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to build up to 10 sustainable and resilient communities to help deal with the potential impact of climate change. These communities will provide inspiration and share their learning with other communities across England. We are particularly interested in supporting the most vulnerable groups and communities who are more likely to be affected by climate change.
Proposals from partnerships must meet all of the following outcomes:
Communities are better prepared for environmental challenges and longer term environmental change and understand the improvements they can make to live more sustainably.
Vulnerable people affected by the impacts of climate change are able to make greener choices to help improve their quality of life.
Communities maximise the use of their assets and resources to create new economic opportunities and live more sustainably.
Communities have a greater understanding of and more opportunities to use natural resources more efficiently.
The programme will invest in up to 10 communities by providing:
- access to expert support and advice to help each community to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities and build on best practice among communities
- up to £10,000 to develop a project delivery plan that details the environmental, economic and social challenges affecting the community and how they can be addressed
- grants of between £500,000 and £1 million for up to five years for a range of activities and initiatives within a local community.
For this programme:
- A community is defined as people who live and work in a geographical location with a population of more than 10,000.
- Living in a sustainable way means living in a way that meets the social, environmental and economic needs of the community now and without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
We will be working with partners on this programme to:
- support you, if you are awarded funding, to learn from your work and share your learning within your community
- run a learning network of all funded projects which we’ll expect those awarded a grant to join
- help us to gather and share learning from all the communities we’ve funded, with the communities playing an active role.
What to do next
- If you have more questions, look at our Questions and Answers page
- If you are eligible go to the Apply Section
- Not eligible? Please look at our other funding programmes, or programmes from other Lottery funders
Contact
If you are unsure of anything or would like further help, please call 0845 4 10 20 30 or email general.enquiries@biglotteryfund.org.uk