We are seeking bids from organisations wishing to deliver activity as part of the UK Community Renewal Fund.

Before you start working on a bid, read:

• UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and the UK Community Fund Technical Note for Project Applicants and Deliverers.

The Prospectus provides detailed information on:

• the fund's objectives
• the types of projects it intends to support
• how it operates, including the process and selection criteria that will be used to assess bids.

Successful UK Community Renewal Fund bids will be for 2021/22 only, and activity must end in March 2022.

Background

To help local areas prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the UK Government is providing funding in 2021/22 through the UK Community Renewal Fund.

Oxfordshire County Council has been designated as a lead authority by the UK Government. We are responsible for:

• receiving bids
• selecting the bids that we will send to UK Government for consideration
• paying grants to successful projects and managing their performance.

You can find full details of the role of lead authorities in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus.

What type of bids are we looking for?

We are interested in bids that build on local insight and knowledge. Project proposals should:

• align with long-term strategic plans for local growth
• target people most in need and support community renewal.

In addition, projects should show how they complement other national and local provision. A focus for this fund is to:

• support innovation and new ideas in these areas
• invest in pilots that draw on local insights
• help places to prepare to introduce the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022.

Projects must deliver activity that is in line with the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and align with at least one of these investment priorities:

• Investment in skills
• Investment for local business
• Investment in communities and place
• Supporting people into employment

Revenue-based projects

As 90% of the funding available through the UK Community Renewal Fund is revenue funding and only available in 2021/22, projects should be predominantly or exclusively revenue-based.

We will not support projects that focus predominantly on the:

• construction or major refurbishment of buildings
• purchase of land large pieces of equipment.

Local priorities

We will forward selected bids to the UK Government for consideration. We will prioritise the bids that have the greatest potential to deliver against key local growth priorities, benefitting the following places:

• Cherwell
• Oxford City
• South Oxfordshire
• Vale of White Horse
• West Oxfordshire

The invitation may cover one of the above local authority areas or several local authority areas. It is important to engage with the relevant district and city council(s) before submitting your proposal. 

How we'll assess the bids

We will assess bids against:

• the gateway criteria set out in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus. Bids that fail to meet these criteria are ineligible support and will be rejected
• the extent to which they meet the objectives of the UK Community Renewal Fund
• the extent to which bids would support the delivery of local growth and employment support priorities.

We will submit the eligible bids that most strongly meet the UK Community Renewal Fund and local priorities to the UK Government for consideration. There's up to a maximum of £3m per place.

The UK Government will assess all bids submitted by lead authorities against the criteria set out in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus.

The UK Government will announce the outcome of the assessment process from late July 2021 onwards.

We will enter into a funding agreement with successful bidders.

Submitting a bid

Submit your bid using the UK Community Renewal Fund Application Form.

We will not accept bids submitted in any other format.

Sent the completed for to communityrenewalfund@oxfordshire.gov.uk 

Bids must be submitted by 5 pm on Friday, 28 May 2021. 

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a competitive process, and Oxfordshire County and the UK Government will not enter into discussions with bidders. However, if you have any questions regarding the process for submission, please contact communityrenewalfund@oxfordshire.gov.uk