Funding to support innovation within the local Voluntary and Social Enterprise sector was unveiled today as the next round of the £1 million LEP Prize Challenge opened for bids including the West Norfolk area.
The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is encouraging charities and social enterprises to help people furthest away from the workplace to gain the skills they need to become job ready and ultimately get back into work.
Grants of £40,000 are available for charities and social enterprises to develop and deliver projects that will tackle worklessness and skill shortages in our area. The funding will support up to seven projects throughout 2016, with the strongest three organisations receiving a further £50,000 to scale up their projects in 2017.
Launched in May 2013, the LEP Prize Challenge has invested £360,000 into the local community, which has so far helped 110 people to gain paid employment and has supported over 300 people to become work-ready. In Round 2, we aim to reach our target of helping 1,000 disadvantaged people and get 250 people back into work.
Jane Darlington, LEP Prize Challenge Panel member and Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation who administer the scheme, said:
“I’m pleased to see the second phase going live to build on the great work already achieved by projects funded under the LEP Prize Challenge. There have been some changes to this phase to build on what was learned in the earlier round.”
For more information visit https://www.gcgp.co.uk/2015/08/1-million-to-help-local-people-get-back-to-work/
