GBSLEP

ESF Roadshow

Monday 8 July 2019

Current Live ESF Calls

• IP 1.2 At risk of NEET and NEET provision in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area (OC12S19P1442) closing date 2 September 2019

• IP 1.1 Entry to employment support for those with multiple barriers in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area (OC12S19P1443) closing date 2 September 2019

• IP 2.1 Maintaining and progressing in employment for people with multiple barriers in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area (OC12S19P1447) closing date 2 September 2019

• IP 1.1 Inspiration 2022: sport, leisure and creative skills provision in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area (OC12S19P1444) closing date 2 September 2019

• IP 2.1 Advanced & Higher Skills in Key Growth Sectors provision in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area (OC12S19P1446) closing date 2 September 2019

IP 1.1 Calls Priority Axis 1: Inclusive Labour Markets

1.1 Access to employment for job seekers and inactive people, including the long term unemployed and people far from the labour market, also through local employment initiatives and support for labour mobility;

• To improve the employability of long-term unemployed people

• To provide additional support to individuals from groups which face particular labour market disadvantage

• To encourage inactive people to participate in the labour market

• To address the basic skills needs of unemployed and inactive people

• To provide support for women at a disadvantage in the labour market, and particularly those who are currently inactive, to contribute to our efforts to reduce the gender employment gap.

IP 1.2 Call Priority Axis 1: Inclusive Labour Markets

1.2 Sustainable integration into the labour market of young people (ESF), in particular those not in employment, education or training, including young people at risk of social exclusion and young people from marginalised communities, including through the implementation of the Youth Guarantee

• To support the rise in the participation age by supporting additional traineeship and apprenticeship opportunities.

• To engage marginalised 15-18 year olds and support them to re-engage with education or training.

• To address the basic skills needs of young NEETS so that they can compete effectively in the labour market

• To provide additional work experience and pre-employment training opportunities to unemployed 18-24 year olds

• To support young lone parents to overcome the barriers they face in participating in the labour market (including childcare).

IP 2.1 Calls Priority Axis 2: Skills for Growth

2.1 Enhancing equal access to lifelong learning (2.1). This focuses on improving the skills of individuals to meet their goals and the needs of the local economy, primarily training, advising or supporting individuals, including those in work but at risk due to skills deficiencies or facing redundancy;

• Training and guidance for individuals.

• Help low skilled people gain basic and other skills they need to progress at work

• Training to meet the skills needs of local economy - including intermediate and advanced skills

• May focus on specific target groups (eg people with disabilities, women in sectors where under-represented or STEM provision)

• Must not displace employer or individual investment

• Must not cut across national policy or provision on grants and loans; must respect national frameworks for Traineeships & Apprenticeships.

Call Plan

• Calls are Currently Planned to end September 2019

• National Calls

• Completion by 31/12/2023

• Next Calls (Provisional)– IP 1.4 Furthest From the Labour Market

– IP 2.1 Under Employed / Minimum Hour Contract

– IP 1.1 Unemployed Support and Employability Skills

– IP 2.1 Skills Support

• Any More?

The Application

• Online Applications and Appraisal process, using the ECLAIMS IT system from the outset.

1. ESF Online Full Application Guidance

2. ESF Financial Annex – Simplified

3. ESF Granular Budget – Sample Template

• Online guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-social-fund-online-full-applications

• Planned Information Event

ESF Guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-structural-and-investment-funds-

programme-guidance

Operational Programme

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461596/ESF_

Operational_Programme_2014_-_2020_V.01.pdf

National Eligibility Guidance

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_da

ta/file/626878/ESF_national_eligibility_rules.pdf

Outputs and Results Definitions Guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/506534/MI_de

finitions__Final_V1_20160210.pdf

GBSLEP ESIF Strategy

http://centreofenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/GBSLEP_A4_070214_v8.pdf

Useful Information-

Guidance and Links

GBSLEP

• GBSLEP Skills Delivery Plan sets out inventions that tackle five areas of ‘market failure’ common to our growth sectors.

The ‘market failures’ challenge that this ESF call is aiming to remedy are:

• Gaps in opportunity to progress through higher level study in subjects relevant to growth sectors

• Provision of employer support for those studying or in work to progress to higher levels

GBSLEPSectors:• Investment and Major Developments: HS2, Birmingham City Enterprise

Zone, the Enterprise belt, UK Central *& Commonwealth Games;

• Key Growth Sectors: advanced manufacturing; life sciences & healthcare; business, professional and financial services; energy technologies and services; creative industries; digital technologies; emerging and disruptive technologies;

• Sectors where there is significant job replacement demand or are key to local business needs: Health and Social Care, particularly Adult Care; Transport and Logistics, Retail; Hospitality and Tourism; Construction and Infrastructure, Digital and Tech; Food and Drink; Emerging Technologies;

Advice for ESF ApplicantsClear and Concise Project Focus

Be clear about what your project is proposing to deliver

Explain why the project is neededQuantitative evidence baseAnecdotal/qualitative evidenceExplain how the project addresses the relevant issues

Explain how the project is aligned with GBSLEP’s ESIF Strategy,England’s ESF Operational Programme and the relevant Call document

Explain how the project is additional to existing activities funded by the public and private sectors

Explain what would happen in the absence of ESF funding and the resultant impacts on the proposed project target groups

Advice for ApplicantsResourcing the Project – Preparing the Breakdown of Costs

Identify how many people you need to deliver the project activities (includeproject management resource)

Establish how much each person will cost (get granular breakdown of each salary, including expected increments to reflect total cost)

Factor in whether you are claiming overheads

Consider what each role will do (Job Descriptions needed in Full Application)

Identify whether you need Delivery Partners for some project activities

Consider other costs (e.g. marketing, publicity material)

Confirm that you and your partners have the necessary match funding in place (Ask the TA / DWP if you have any match funding queries).

Explain how the costs have been calculated/why they are justifiable at Full Application you will need a quarterly breakdown

Advice for ApplicantsOutputs and Results

• Consider which ESF Outputs and Results your project will deliver.• Align with indicators and targets proposed in the Call document.• Refer to ESF Output Definitions document.

• Propose good value for money but set realistic targets both in terms of numbers of beneficiaries and positive progression outcomes/results

• Consider the timing of the outputs (including gathering evidence)• Explain how the outputs have been calculated (benchmark with similar ESF• projects that have previously been delivered in these areas).

• Appraisers will assess both value for money and deliverability.

Advice for ApplicantsOther Considerations:

Procurement: List items of expenditure that you and Delivery Partners will need to procure from external organisationsBased on the costs, explain how each item will be advertisedRefer to ESIF Procurement Guidance

State Aid: Will support from your project give undertakings an advantage that could distort competition and free trade?Be prepared to justify why not, or explain the most appropriate State Aid solution for your projectCheck the ESIF State Aid Guidance

Publicity:Explain how your project will comply with ESIF Publicity RulesCross Cutting Themes: Explain how Equality and Diversity and SustainableDevelopment are integrated into project design and delivery

CommonThemes• lack of clarity in terms of the participant journey/delivery model• not providing sufficient rationale for their Delivery model and Unit cost assumptions.• limited or no coverage of the medium to long term benefits of the project• how this project will provide additionality to what is already being delivered in the LEP

area• Milestone plans are limited with little evidence of the activities that the project will

undertake • Applicants failed to provide a rationale where the project is not being delivered across

the whole LEP area, • If the applicant has chosen 15% there is limited or no information provided on how the

applicant has arrived at the overall and component elements of the costs, e.g. travel costs

• If the applicant has chosen 40%, we will still need a description of the type of services or items to be purchased using these costs to provide assurance on eligibility.

Match Funding• Applicants will need to have eligible match funding for the balance of costs, - from a

source other than the European Union. All Match needs to be clean and eligible; funding from current SFA projects cannot be used as match in the GBS LEP area.

• All match funding sources need to be linked to the project and activities in question, be ‘clean’ and have no prior link to European Funding and be from the same Category of Region as the application. The eligibility of match will be analysed during the MA’s appraisal of the application, however examples what could be used as match are:

Staff time / Cash Match / SME Contributions / Employer Apprenticeship Levy (I.P 2.1 only)

• The intervention rate in the GBSLEP Area is 50% in the more developed areas (Birmingham, Solihull, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest)

• The ESF Eligibility Rules and Programme Guidance documents provide further information on match.

Local ContextFor further information

Information about the calls can be found on the gov.uk website -https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds

Details of the GBS LEP ESIF Strategy can be found at http://centreofenterprise.com/european-funding-strategy-consultation/

• For any further support and advice please contact us the following ways:

mlopez@solihull.gov.ukgary.dixon@solihull.gov.ukAny member of the ESF TA Team

GBSLEP ESF Technical Assistance Support

• Solihull MBC lead on an ESF Funded Technical Assistance project to encourage & support applications & provide ESF capacity building

• We work with a network of partner organisations from GBSLEP area to provide support to applicants, or potential applicants about calls.

• The organisations involved are:• Birmingham City Council - Lead for Birmingham related activity• Birmingham City University - Lead for further and Higher Education• Community Action Wyre Forest and the Initiative for Social

Entrepreneurs CIC will both contribute support for the third sector and overlap areas where appropriate

• Midland Growth Company – Lead for project marketing and communication and event planning