Grants principles and standards

From the section: Grants Policy

In this section:

Grants principles and standards

All grants awarded by the Council will adhere to the following principles:

  1. Grants will not be used to fund activities or services that should be subject to the Council’s Rules for Contracts and is within the scope of procurement regulations.
  2. Activities funded will be consistent with the:
    • Council plan
    • strategic ambitions and priorities
    • any terms and conditions imposed on the Council where the budget is obtained from an external body
  3. The Council will ensure proper, prudent and effective use of public money for the awarding of all grants.
  4. Competitive grant programmes will be developed, where possible, through engagement with the recipient sector(s) such as:
    • Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE)
    • arts and culture
    • education
    • business
  5. Clear criteria and conditions for applicants will be published for all competitive grant programmes. Successful applicants will fully comply with the criteria and conditions as set out.
  6. The length and demands of the bidding process for grants will be proportionate to the type and value of the grant. This is also with specific consideration for grants and grants programmes with a value of less than £10,000.
  7. Grants cannot be used for retrospective funding including:
    • replacing money that has already been spent
    • covering items or services that have already been bought (including consultancy and brokering fees)
  8. Grant awards and applications will be assessed and determined according to their merits. No organisation is entitled to funding because it has been awarded a grant in the past or for any other reason.
  9. Funding will be awarded to organisations which can demonstrate that a defined impact will be achieved and will be able to detail the inputs, outputs and/or outcomes that the grant will fund.
  10. All grants will be subject to the recipient accepting the grant conditions and monitoring requirements as set out in the grant agreement.
  11. The Council will not make grants to any organisation that it deems to:
    • be a political party
    • has the nature of a political party
    • is engaged in campaigning for a political purpose or cause
  12. Any grant awarded must only be spent for the approved purpose. As such, applicants must be able to demonstrate that the funding has been spent as outlined in the grant application and appended in the grant offer letter. For example, applicants may be asked to produce receipts on request.
  13. The Council will ensure that all eligible organisations have an opportunity to bid for a grant with a fair chance of success, and will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments to enable this.
  14. All grants the Council makes will be published on our website for transparency and information sharing.
  15. Grant procedures and practices will be regularly reviewed, drawing on feedback and the experiences of individuals, groups and organisations which participate in them.