Community Renewal Fund
8 local Lincoln charities, Lincoln City Council Heritage and Besa Construction already aligned strategically and working in partnership have come together to utilise their local insight and knowledge to pilot projects that will impact on local growth, strategic priorities and community renewal. These pilot/test projects will springboard future activities for the forthcoming UK Shared Prosperity fund. Partners will deliver in the heart of our communities, across a range of venues
The 8 charities are an existing group via ‘Localmotion’ and Lincoln Peer Networking that have been working together over the last few years to create ideas and collaborative working to aid the City of Lincoln. The group have delivered collaboratively a number of projects through Lottery and ESF funded initiatives and have a solid track record of success.
All 8 organisations are locally rooted in deprived communities in the City and therefore closest to those furthest away from the job market.
The recent focus of the group has been centred around developing a range of pilot activities to help Covid-19 recovery and beyond, help individuals overcome isolation, deal with skills gaps, retraining, mental health, engagement and provide an umbrella approach to improve community cohesion across the City.
The joint project will meet the four investment themes detailed in the UK Community Renewal Fund bid invitation. There will be an enhanced focus on ‘Supporting people into employment’ as the overarching project outcome, with strong links to ‘Investment in skills’, ‘Investment for local businesses’ and ‘Investment in communities and places’ that will enable residents of the City to reach their potential.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated unemployment particularly around young people, long term unemployed, those age 50+ and those sufering with mental health. The pilot programmes proposed in our application are linked to tackling core issues and community inequalities
We are proposing pilot programmes of training linked to LEP Strategic priority sectors around construction, hospitality, retail, horticulture and developing social enterprises in Construction/Bakery. This will be supported by a number of workers in the community, engaging those hardest to reach, vulnerable, isolated and in need of interventions and support. The workers will engage individuals and signpost to a range of short activities that will link to longer training activities and employment.
There will be a clear focus of youth engagement activities delivered in community spaces across the deprived wards of the City that will be delivered in synergy with existing clubs and activities.
There will be a focus on inclusivity, mental health support, health and well-being, ESOL classes, men’s groups, digital skills, youth groups and entrepreneur programmes, all intending to help the economy flourish. These short intervention activities and programmes will lead to longer and more meaningful training programmes, traineeships, kickstart programmes and/apprenticeships for young people and older workers.
In addition to the short and long activities, group and formal training programmes we wish to include:
- Funding to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the projects and social return on the City and its residents
- Funding for a Manager to oversee the whole project
- Funding to support a feasability study at Besa construction re a joint construction training centre to be established
- Funding to establish a building and maintenance arm of one of the charities
- Funding to support community spaces in deprived areas for people to meet and flourish
- Funding to provide IT Equipment to support learning