Uttlesford Your Essex Community Support

Infrastructure support includes a wide range of activities and refers to the organisations and systems that sit behind our voluntary and community organisation to help them grow, strengthen and deliver impact.  

It includes things like good governance, planning for the future, training, partnership brokering, core and administrative support and giving the sector a strong voice within the wider system. 

Just as important, through funded infrastructure support, we are aiming to build capacity within VCS organisations so they can become more resilient in their own right. By strengthening relationships, developing collaboration across partners and supporting groups to build the skills and confidence they need, we can reduce their long‑term reliance on infrastructure support. The goal is to help local organisations stand on their own feet, work together more effectively and have the foundations in place to thrive sustainably. 

The long term aim of Your Essex Community is to move to a community led model across Essex.

We have heard loud and clear that local is better for VCS organisations accessing support and we know that whilst there are consistent needs across the VCS and we want to create conditions for all VCS organisations to thrive, investment and support services will need to meet the specific needs of VCS organisations working in different communities across Essex. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, insight-led Your Essex Community Place-Based support will be available in all 12 district and boroughs across Essex, complimented by countywide opportunities and free to access resources.  

When we refer to “place” we mean each district and borough in Essex.  

• VCS organisations based in Essex or consortiums or partnerships, with a lead VCS organisation.  

• Applications with multiple VCS organisations working together at place are strongly encouraged.  

• Specialist training providers or consultants should not apply as the lead applicant but can be listed as a partner from a lead applicant from the VCS. 

• Partnership or consortium applications must be specific on role each partner organisation is playing in the partnership and the funding their will receive.  

• Statutory partners can be included in the partnership but are not eligible to receive funding available.  

• Organisations funded through Phase 1 who have not returned monitoring and evaluation are not eligible to apply. 
• Organisations can be part of more than one consortium or application, across more than one place.  

• Costs associated with delivering infrastructure activities, including within reason on-costs. This can include costs associated with planning, design, delivery and administrating:  

• Workshops, peer networking, action learning sets, communities of practice, events, training, learning and advocacy designed to meet the needs of VCS organisations.  

• Themed and place-based networks where Your Essex Community funding can unlock additional resource, funding and advocacy from other system and statutory partners for the VCS.  

• Costs for activities that build on existing partnerships and networks that focus on creating conditions for the VCS to thrive. Your Essex Community funding cannot replace or supplement a reduction in funding from other partners. In these instances, we expect to see match funding confirmed by the consortium applying and clarity as to how Your Essex Community funding will add value to what is already in place.  

• Continuation or activities developed from Phase 1 activities and networks, if monitoring and evaluation has been returned and there is good evidence submitted that the activities are working well and Your Essex Community funding is still needed. 

• Developing volunteer management activities along as they do not duplicate the Community Participation element. Activities must build capacity and skills within other VCS organisations to develop their own volunteer practices – not manage or recruit volunteers for them.  

• Core costs for an organisation to deliver what they already deliver.  

• Funding to cover specific roles, such as a Volunteer Manager.   

• Activities that are not deemed infrastructure support for the VCS and are focused on delivery e.g. Community Engagement Worker activities, costs for community coffee mornings or costs to supply food parcels for vulnerable adults.   

• Volunteer match making and bureau projects.  

• Support which is covered by other elements of Your Essex Community. This includes:  

• Developing resources for the VCS that would be best placed on the E-Portal, the online resource part of Your Essex Community.  

• Developing a community of practice for Community Participation, which is being delivered by the Community Participation element leads.  

• Research, including “state of the sector” insight – this is currently being resourced through Your Essex Community and led by Essex Community Foundation.  

• Applying for costs associated for an existing or new role, which will provide 121 support for VCS organisations.  

• Themed networks where other system and statutory partners have a role to play supporting the infrastructure and the aim of the activity is not focused on the VCS. For example: Funding to sustain an NHS Frailty Network.  

• Training costs for specific roles or qualifications which aren’t deemed infrastructure support e.g. First Aid Training, Social Prescribing qualification 

• Support that has not been identified as a local need in the area insight plans, unless there is additional evidence to suggest a local need. 

• Volunteer retainment, recruitment and rewarding advice and capacity building activities, that duplicate the Community Participation element of Your Essex Community. 

• Essex wide consortium applications are not eligible.   

Funding will be allocated in response to local need. The average allocation per place in Phase 1 was £8,600, we envisage allocating a similar amount of funding for phase 2, across our 12 districts and boroughs. 

The ambition for Your Essex Community is to create a community led model of VCS organisations working together to strengthen their resilience. We envisage there will be a minimum of two successful applications in each place, unless a strong consortium bid made up of multiple VCS organisations working together better reaches the Your Essex Community objectives.  

Complete and submit the application form by Monday 8th June 12pm.

• Review & Scoring – Applications will be assessed using a scoring system (For more information see section below ‘How we access applications’)
• Shortlisting & Contact – Applicants will be contacted with a decision or request for further information by Friday 12th June.
• Delivery Begins – Approved providers will start delivery, based on agreed schedules, commencing from July 2026 and being completed by June 2027.

If you would like to download the questions to prepare ahead of applying, please download them here.

Before applying to become a delivery partner for the Your Essex Community Place-Based support work, we ask organisations to carefully consider the unique context of each local area.  

Successful applicants will need to demonstrate a strong understanding of the needs of local people and the voluntary and community sector (VCS) groups that support them, as well as the broader system of partners that can contribute to strong and resilient communities. Applicants should refer to the insight report for the area they are applying for, whilst also demonstrating an understanding of the key challenges faced by local VCS organisations.  

We are seeking partners who are committed to working collaboratively and strategically to strengthen the connection between the VCS and statutory services. 

We also welcome applications from organisations that are open to innovative approaches and are willing to work collaboratively with Active Essex and other partners to drive meaningful change that will create the conditions for a stronger VCS sector in Essex. Please contact your local Active Essex Relationship Team if you would like to discuss this in advance of submitting your application.  

Most importantly, applications should share how activities will empower the VCS in their place to navigate challenges independently, connect with peers and strengthen their resilience. 

To make a funding award offer, we will need to see that the application provides:  

• A clear need for activities evidenced from voluntary sector organisations, and linked to the area insight plans 

• A clear budget breakdown, which provides value for money 

• A clear ambition to create conditions that support other voluntary sector organisations thrive  

• An understanding of other elements of Your Essex Community and how your application and will work in synergy with the other elements. For example, how you will encourage use of the E-Portal, Community Participation and support covered by Active Essex.  

• For applications that have multiple partners working together, being specific on the role of each partner and their costs is essential. Statutory partners can be listed as a partner but should not receive funds. 

Successful applications will become a Your Essex Place Delivery Partner and sign a grant agreement which will include:  

• Active promotion of Your Essex Community programme, including to delegates on activities that are funded through Your Essex Community. 

• Deliver with the ‘proud to support’ logo (provided). 

• Signpost and support VCS orgs towards the E-Portal. 

• Be a place-based advocate for the Your Essex Community programme  

• Complete monitoring and evaluation activities.  

• For successful partnership or consortium applications, A grant agreement will be provided to the lead applicant and funding passported to the lead applicant.  

As the element facilitator for the Place-Based support offer, Active Essex have some capacity and resource to aid delivery. Via our Relationship Place-Based Teams, we have committed to working in partnership with other local partners, such as the Health Alliances and Local Authorities to join up local VCS support, share learning and feedback.  

To avoid duplication, it is likely that Active Essex will resource the following topics if they arise in local place plans:  

• An online learning series. If applications for online training are received that do not focus on a specific place e.g. demonstrating your impact for charities, Active Essex may request these to be delivered as part of the online learning series for the whole county.  

• Introduction to bid writing workshops and large grant workshops.  

• Asset Based Community Development training and workshops 

• Signposting for general advice and support for VCS organisations. Active Essex Relationship teams can pick up this support under their business as usual.  

• Active Essex also has resource and capacity to support local networking and forums for VCS organisations and where place plans suggest a need for this, Active Essex may suggest using their capacity and resource to help facilitate or reduce costs where appropriate.  

Applications will be reviewed based on a structured scoring system to ensure fair selection. This includes factors such as: 

• Relevant experience and subject expertise – Your track record in delivering similar training or support 

• Quality of Proposal – Clear structure, engaging methods, and strong learning outcomes 

• Local Knowledge and collaboration – Understanding of local VCS organisation’s needs, challenges and willingness to work with others 

• Value for Money – Cost-effectiveness  

• Capacity & Resources – Ability to deliver efficiently and effectively and a willingness to work collaboratively with Your Essex Community Partners, statutory partners and other VCS organisations.  

• How it meets the objectives of the Your Essex Community Programme  

• How the application creates the conditions that help charities, community groups, and social enterprises thrive​ 

• How the applications empowers the VCS to navigate challenges independently, connect with peers and strengthen their resilience.