The Cabinet Office (CO) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is offering an innovative £15 million payment by results programme that aims to improve outcomes for young, homeless people.
The Fair Chance Fund aims to move at least 2,500 homeless, young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) into sustainable accommodation and at least 1,000 of those into sustained employment, education or training over 36 months - from January 2015 to December 2017.
Service providers who have evidence of a positive and proven track record of working with vulnerable young people, and the ability to work with the identified client group to achieve positive accommodation and employment, education and training outcomes are eligible to apply.
Providers must also have support from at least one local authority.
The programme will only accept full bids of between £500,000 and £3 million (which, depending on what providers think they can deliver outcomes for and the difficulty of the cohort they choose to work with) is likely to be for groups of between 50 and 600 people.
There will be a maximum that can be claimed for any one client referred onto the scheme - this will be in the region of £15,000. The exact ceiling will be confirmed when full bids are invited, but is unlikely to be more than £2,000 different in either direction.
It is expected that successful provider organisations will be invited to submit full bids in May 2014 and a detailed specification and application form will be issued.
Winners will be announced in October 2014.
For further information and to apply, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fair-chance-fund-expressions-of-interest
The deadline for expression of interest forms 22 April 2014, 12pm