Frequently Asked Questions - v2 20 Dec 2021

1. Do applications have to propose activity that covers the full age range, or can it focus on part of that range e.g. 18-24?

It can focus on part of that range. Question 8 of the application form asks you to describe the characteristics of the young people that you will be supporting.

2. For Leaders, can the fund be used for already existing mentoring programmes?

Yes. We want to support existing mentoring programmes that can evidence their positive impact and good practice to expand to more young people in most need.

3. Do you need to have experience of delivering mentoring to apply for a Leaders Grant?

Yes. Applicants for Leaders grants need to be able to evidence their mentoring good practice and be able to provide examples of when they have delivered mentoring with young people from their chosen cohorts and the impact that has had. As well as delivering quality mentoring applicants must have the capacity across their whole organisation to be part of a movement for change and to deliver the capacity support programme.

4. Do you envisage the mentors as being paid members of staff or volunteers?

Mentors can be either paid or volunteers, depending on the model of mentoring that you use. It will be helpful to make this clear in question 11 of the application form.

5. What is the expected scale of delivery – in terms of numbers reached (young people and organisations)?

We have not specified target numbers as this is dependent on the delivery models proposed by the applicant and the characteristics of the target group you will support. Applicants are asked to provide output numbers in the application form and to explain why your proposal provides value for money. We also ask you to provide the percentage of grant that you are allocating to a] expanding quality mentoring and b] deliver a capacity building programme.

6. Are providers expected to deliver both the mentoring and the capacity support programme or do we choose one focus?

Proposals must address both strands.

7. Why are the grants so large and only available to 7-12 organisations?

Applicants can apply for a range of grant sizes from £100,000 to £500,000 for delivery over two years. We would encourage smaller organisations to apply within a Partnership or Consortium. We want the 7 to 12 ‘Leaders’ grant-holders to be outward facing and to be able to work as a team of capacity builders helping to develop and promote the Mentoring Confidence Framework.

8. Are there targeted boroughs?

No. We want proposals to be informed by local knowledge, need and demand. The application form asks where you will deliver mentoring and for you to evidence need in that area/s. Please bear in mind the illustrative list of the needs and characteristics of children and young people that we want to help through the New Deal for Young People (paragraph 4.1 in the Request for Proposals).

9. Will there be a requirement to get Project Oracle Standard 1? Will there be an assessment that will require us to add/ remove questions we ask young people to measure impact?

The draft Mentoring Quality Standard includes that ‘organisations should be able to systematically demonstrate the impact of their mentoring’. As we develop the Confidence Framework we’d like to hear how organisations measure impact and share what works well for them. We are not requiring organisations to get Project Oracle Standard 1 but we would encourage you to use the principles of developing a Theory of Change and agreeing an Evaluation Framework so as to be able to evidence the impact of your work. We ask how you are planning to measure your impact in the application form.

10. What kind of activity can be included in our mentoring model?

We are broadly basing our definition of mentoring on that used by Nesta: “we see youth mentoring as trusting, purposeful and ongoing relationships between a younger person or people, and a person they are unrelated to which involve the exchange of support, advice, encouragement and skills development”. We recognise that these trusted relationships can be forged in lots of different environments, including those that are less formal, and delivered in different ways. In your application you should explain your model of delivery. Paragraph 4.4 of the Request for Proposals provides more information on the kind of activity that Leaders Grants can support. You should say in your application how you will engage and inspire young people. Activity can include wrap around positive activities and personalised support such as sports and creative opportunities.

11. Are schools included in the youth sector?

Schools are important as a hub of the local community and provide a trusted space for children and young people. We anticipate that schools may be referral partners in some proposals or some delivery from youth organisations may take place in schools. We would not expect schools to lead a proposal.

12. Are you expecting outcomes to focus on violence reduction?

At a programme level we want to achieve improved outcomes for young people benefitting from quality mentoring and personalised support, and improved quality of mentoring or personalised support delivered by youth organisations. At a project level we ask you to explain what will change for the young people and organisations you are supporting and how you will measure that change. We have provided some suggested outcomes for young Londoners in paragraph 5.2 in the request for proposals, one of which is a reduction in violence. These outcome examples are not exhaustive, and proposals do not have to show how they will impact on all these outcomes. You should provide a bespoke response depending on your proposed model of delivery and the needs of the young people you will be supporting.

13. How does this funding sit in context with other funding streams which may also be targeted but with a different emphasis such as knife and violent crime?

Paragraph 8.7 gives information on some other funding streams from City Hall that supports children and young people. The capacity support strand of the Leaders grant is intended to support a wide range of youth organisations to build on their mentoring practice. This includes organisations being funded through other funding streams.

14. Can you focus on one area of STEAM, for example the arts and creative industries?

Yes. Provide information on what you are planning to focus on when you describe your STEAM Mentoring programme in your proposal. We also ask you to provide information about the STEAM employers you will support, for example from which part of the STEAM sector.

15. We work with STEM and/or the creative industry but have less mentoring experience. Should we partner with another organisation to apply for this funding?

Yes, we would recommend that you do that. Experienced community mentoring organisations can provide the pastoral and wraparound support and reach out to engage those young people most in need. We want this funding to help develop sustainable long-term partnership between STEAM employers and mentoring providers.

16. Can we partner with organisations outside of the STEAM sector if the mentors are working within STEAM jobs within other sectors, for example Technology within the sport sector?

Yes. You will need to make sure that there are enough employees that work within STEAM in that organisation so that you can meet the funding’s objectives and outcomes, including that to develop long-term partnerships between STEAM employers and community mentoring organisations.

17. Do you have any employer numbers in mind for STEAM?

We have not specified target numbers as this is dependent on the delivery models proposed by the applicant and the characteristics of the target group you will support. Applicants are asked to provide output numbers in the application form and to explain why your proposal provides value for money.

18. What is the definition of a community mentoring provider?

We expect a community mentoring provider to be an organisation that is experienced in delivering personalised support and mentoring to children and young Londoners. They will manage the STEAM mentoring programme and be able to reach out and engage young people in need, provide ongoing pastoral and wrap-around support, and recruit and train volunteer mentors from STEAM employers.

19. Will Lead Delivery Organisation #1 be responsible for administering the grants to the grassroot organisations, and any due diligence processes as part of that?

Yes. The organisation awarded Grant 1 will be responsible for recruiting up to 10 HeadStart Action grantees and then managing the subsequent grant process. This will be done with the support of the GLA.

20. When will the smaller HeadStart Action grants for grassroot organisations be launched?

This is dependent on the timely recruitment of Lead Delivery Organisation #1. However, we would expect this to happen in Spring 2022.

21. Is there a current portfolio of existing HeadStart Action employer partners?

During previous iterations of HeadStart Action each grassroot organisation was responsible for establishing their own employer partners and employability training programmes, with the support of a Lead Delivery Organisation. As a result, the GLA does not hold a central portfolio of employer partners. The intention with Lead Delivery Organisation #2 is to support the development of a London-wide network of employer partners that can be sustained into the future, with the support of the GLA.

22. Could you give an indication of how many employers partners the GLA already works with?

The GLA works with businesses and organisations in a wide range of contexts on a wide range of issues. Due to the complexity around these partnerships, the GLA does not have a comprehensive list of partners. An ambition of the HeadStart Action programme in 2022 will be to provide an accessible offer to employer partners from across City Hall.

23. To what extent do you envisage the Lead Delivery Organisation #2 be involved in the mentoring of young people or will that be the sole responsibility of Lead Delivery Organisation #1?

The responsibility for ensuring that young people participating in HeadStart Action receive a minimum amount of mentoring provision will lie with the grassroot organisations, and Lead Delivery Organisation #1. However, it might be expected that through interactions with employers and work opportunities young people are also exposed to meaningful mentoring relationships through the work of Lead Delivery Organisation #2. If prospective organisations intend to build employer mentoring opportunities into their programme, they should include their plans in their application.

24. Does the Lead Delivery Organisation #1 need to be a grassroot organisation, or do you expect this to be a larger organisation?

Prospective organisations and consortia for Grant 1 should have suitable experience in managing and supporting grassroot organisations. This may mean that prospective organisations are large or small, as long as they have relevant experience. Prospective organisations should consider the requirement that the annual grant proposed should not constitute more than 50 per cent of your annual turnover without thorough justification.

25. Can we share contacts so we can develop partnerships?

The GLA will post information on www.london.gov.uk/New-Deal-Young-People on how organisations can share contact details.

26. Can organisations apply to more than one funding strand and/or be part of more than one bid?

Yes. However, we will be wanting to fund a balanced programme that supports young Londoners in need across the city. After proposals have been assessed and scored, we will take into account the overall spread of proposals to be funded – including specific target group demographics, the type of mentoring and specialisms of the grant applicant and the scale and level of funding requested. You also need to bear in mind the eligibility criteria that annual grant proposed should not normally constitute more than 50 per cent of your annual turnover.

27. It's quite a narrow window for involving young people in the application itself especially with Christmas in the middle - will this count against applications being successful?

No. We understand the challenges of the practicalities of engaging young people during the application process – this will be the same for all applicants. We ask in the application form that you explain how you have and will involve young people in the design, delivery and evaluation of your project.

28. How are you considering sustainability following the funding ending?

We have developed these grant funding opportunities with an aim to build long term capacity within local communities. Each of the three grant funding opportunities include activities where we want support capacity of the youth sector, underpinned by the new Mentoring Confidence Framework.

29. What is the level of Public and Employers Liability insurance required?

The GLA require a minimum of £5m Public Liability insurance and £5m Employers Liability insurance.

30. If you are applying for say £150k over two years, does the whole £150k relate to the 50% of annual turnover, or is it rather the £75k?

The annual grant proposed should not normally constitute more than 50 per cent of your annual turnover. So, if the annual grant is £75,000 that should not be more than 50 per cent of your annual turnover.

31. Can mentoring be delivered in and outside of school / college hours?

Yes. You would need to agree any mentoring in school or college hours with the relevant educational institution.

32. Can you apply for the Bronze London Youth Quality Mark after being awarded the grant?

Yes. You need to confirm in your application that you either have or commit to working towards the London Youth Quality Bronze or above.

33. Is a consortia approach essential?

No. You can apply as a Sole Deliverer (an individual organisation without sub-granting or sub-contracting arrangements); a Lead Applicant (an individual organisation who is solely responsible for the achievement of the project which is delivered through a partnership of organisation bound by sub-granting or sub-contracting arrangements) or a consortium (a legally constituted partnership of organisations who are jointly accountable for delivery of the project).

34. Can I apply for this funding opportunity if I have an existing grant from the Greater London Authority (GLA)?

Yes. If you are currently in receipt of GLA or MOPAC funding you can apply for any of the three funding opportunities, however you must be applying for funding to reach more young people or deliver additional activities.

35. Has the recording from the 8 December information session been published?

Yes. You can find it by following this link A New Deal for Young People Funding | London City Hall

36. Are New Deal for Young People grants subject to VAT?

The grants are not subject to VAT. The GLA will not add VAT to any grant payments that we make. Organisations cannot claim expenditure or use the GLA funding for recoverable VAT as the grant recipient would be able to reclaim these funds back from HMRC. In terms of irrecoverable VAT, organisations as part of their bid for funding can include such costs in their grant bid (as they wouldn’t be able to claim the VAT back). However, this will have to be evidenced and included in the overall grant amount being requested.