Established in 2002 as an internal corporate resource, the External Funding Team carries out the central co-ordination role within the council and works to improve the quality of bids being submitted and to maximize the overall amount of funding brought in.
Although primarily a Council resource, the External Funding Team are able to work with external partners where projects and funding bids are likely to make a difference to the overall resource coming into Darlington.
The External Funding Team works with organizations and voluntary groups across Darlington and has External Funding Officers that work with:
- European Funding
- Government Funding
- Charitable and Lottery Funding
- Strategies and Information on Social Issues and Statistics
The functions carried out by the External Funding Team are as follows:
(a) Monitoring key information sources such as Government websites, funding websites, relevant publications and networks.
(b) Advising on likely sources of funding for projects, either on a project-led basis, or by advertising appropriate funding opportunities to contacts.
(c) Providing advice and support throughout the bidding process, ranging from working jointly on large bids acting as a ‘critical friend’ once a bid has been completed.
(d) Advising on how to engage external partners and secure external endorsements for bids prior to submission.
(e) Providing information for bids on strategic links to relevant local statistics.
(f) Providing advice on developing funding packages and how to attract matched funding.
(g) Advising on a ‘corporate style’ for bids to ensure consistency of approach.
How can the External Funding Team help Organisations and Voluntary Groups in Darlington?
(a) By requesting a funding search – The External Funding Team will be able to carry out the initial grant searches to identify what funds may potentially be available for individual projects. This can be done through submission of a completed Project Outline Form (EF1), providing basic details of project aspirations. Projects will then be included in the Darlington Projects Database so that they can be checked against future funding opportunities when they arise.
(b) By requesting general funding advice – Advice and guidance can be provided on any aspect of external funding, from project development through to bid writing, including the provision of strategy links and statistics.
(c) By requesting documents and publications – The range of documents and publications produced by the External Funding Team can be requested electronically. These documents include the Social Issues Map.
(d) By using the team as an interface with the Council – The External Funding Team can facilitate consultation with the Council over potential funding bids, advising on contacts and promoting joint working.
(e) By asking the Team to review bids prior to submission – The Team can read through funding bids put forward by partners to advise on any areas where further work would be beneficial. This should take place leaving enough time before any deadline, to allow proposed changes to be made.
If you would like to contact the team for more information on any of the services that the team offers or advice on funding for a project idea call 01325 388681 or email external.funding@darlington.gov.uk