UK Shared Prosperity Fund NI Programme Invites Applications for Skills Project Delivery
Funding is available to support the delivery of projects designed to help people in Northern Ireland who are furthest from the labour market into sustainable employment.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and a significant component of its support for places across the UK. It provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025, with Northern Ireland benefiting from an allocation of almost £127 million to help deliver important outcomes to improve pride in place and increase life chances for Northern Ireland’s people, businesses and communities.
In Northern Ireland, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is managing the Fund. Building on the UKSPF Prospectus, DLUHC and local partners have worked together to design the Northern Ireland Investment Plan. The DLUHC has now opened the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Northern Ireland under the programme’s ‘People and Skills’ priority and will consider applications from organisations that are competent with employment and skills programme delivery in community settings.
Prospective applicants are invited to consider working with other organisations to develop bigger projects to maximise impact and delivery flexibility, which may include integrated proposals comprised of a number of smaller projects focused on a specific need or sector. It is anticipated that successful applications will be providing support to around 250 beneficiaries or more, in order to maximise value for money.
The competition fund has been indicatively allocated £40 million (revenue), plus up to £2 million (revenue) from the Multiply allocation. Funding is available for financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25. Projects may incur spend from 1 April 2023 and must be completed by 31 March 2025.
The deadline for applications is 27 January 2023 (16:00 GMT).
(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)
