National Lottery Charities Board East Midlands

Summary of the Strategic Development Plan for the East Midlands

Introduction

In Autumn 1998 the National Lottery Charities Board consulted with the voluntary sector in the East Midlands to develop a strategic plan for grant-making across the region over the next three years. The strategic plan will help us achieve our aim of helping those at greatest disadvantage and improving the quality of life in the community.

A range of methods were used to consult the voluntary and statutory sectors:

• We issued a consultation leaflet and carried out a survey of voluntary organisations
• We held five consultation meetings in the region
• We sought feedback on our regional strategic plan proposals from voluntary and statutory agencies.

We have analysed what is most needed within the regional voluntary sector to identify where our grant-making could be most effective.

What we have achieved so far

By January 2001 we had made 1080 grants worth almost £90.5 million to organisations in the East Midlands. Around 11 per cent of our grants have been awarded to black and minority ethnic organisations, and 17.5 per cent to organisations based in and around the former coalfields.

We can only fund organisations that apply to us. Some parts of the region submit far more applications than others. This has led to more grants awarded to groups in some districts than others. We are particularly concerned about areas or �communities of interest� experiencing clearly identified need, but which have not yet made successful applications.

Meeting needs in the East Midlands

Our funding priorities are:

• Improving voluntary and community sector infrastructure and support where it is most needed (i.e. Lincolnshire, Derbyshire Dales and High Peak, Northamptonshire, the former coalfields and within minority ethnic communities).
• Encouraging a fair distribution of funding in the East Midlands which reflects need and disadvantage, particularly in the most deprived parts of the region. This may include giving priority to districts or communities where there is a significant mismatch between high levels of deprivation and the amount of NLCB funding which has been awarded (per capita). These areas include Amber Valley, Ashfield, Bolsover, Erewash, and North East Derbyshire, plus other coalfield communities and other deprived wards within Rural Development Areas

Delivering our funding priorities

To meet regional needs and deliver our funding priorities we will:

• ensure that appropriate information and support for applicants is available where it is most needed
• ensure that we address our priorities in every aspect of policy development
• develop a communication plan to support our work
• consider how to use new powers (National Lottery Act 1998) to address priorities and monitor our progress towards them. The plan will also set out how we will maintain contact and consult with the region�s voluntary other relevant agencies.

For further information about our strategic development plan for the East Midlands, contact:

National Lottery Charities Board
East Midlands Regional Office
City Gate East
2nd Floor
Tollhouse Hill
Nottingham
NG1 5NL

Telephone: 0115 934 9300
Minicom: 0115 948 4436
Our web site address is: www.nlcb.org.uk