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Capacity Building Programme – Summary
Self-Help-Housing.Org & HACT are running a Capacity Building Programme (CBP) aimed at assisting organisations wanting to bid for funding from the Empty Homes Grants Programme either though the Community Grant Programme or via the HCA Programme (see final paragraph). This will include:
* Promotion of The Community Grants Programme (CPG) To Community Led Organisations : Disseminating information about the programme/bidding arrangements to organisations who previously submitted an Expression of Interest and to the community housing sector at large to other self-help/community led housing organisations wishing to bid.
* Work With Infra-Structure/Umbrella Organisations: Working through existing networks ( eg Community Matters, Locality, Urban Forum , Homeless link, Housing Justice) to identify further interested organisations wanting to take advantage of the CPG to secure housing.
* Support With Bidding: Provision of support with bidding through the Programme which will include:
- Regional briefings around bidding arrangements
- One-to-one assistance for individual projects
- Guidance with modelling & loan finance
- Guidance with regard to working with housing associations and local authority empty property officers
- On-line help and guidance
- Working with organisations that are at an early stage of development and which intend to submit a bid for either years 2 or 3.
* Regional Briefings Around Bidding : A number of briefings/workshops for organisations at a regional level, to assist them in putting together bids. Based on the geographical spread of expressions of interest these are likely to take place in London, North East. Yorkshire, North West, South West & Midlands
* Brokering Relationships With Local Authorities: Guidance with regard to working with local authorities and identifying properties in partnership with empty property officers or via the HCA’s GIS Toolkit.
* Brokering Relations With Local Housing Associations: Help in identifying and persuading housing associations to work with self-help organisations where this could play an important part in moving schemes forward.
* Project Feasibility : Assistance to individual organisations in feasibility assessments and developing their bids
* Access To Loan Finance: “Warming up” and liaising with banks and loans funds ( such as Triados, Charity Bank and Big Issue Invest ) to secure access to loan funding for organisations.
* On-Line Guidance : Use of the Self-Help-Housing.Org website to provide on-line advice and guidance around all aspects of bidding
* Work With The Intermediary Body Allocating The CGP : Work in partnership with the distributing intermediary to work to ensure that the fund generates maximum positive impact. .
* Guidance In Accessing Funding Via The HCA Empty Homes Programme: In some circumstances it may be preferable for a community led organisation to work in partnership with a registered housing association and submit a bid through the HCA , which would then come out of the HCA Empty Homes Programme bidding for which opened on 21stNovember. Details of this are on the HCA Empty Homes Grants Programme – Summary page.
