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• Applying
• What Happens To Your Application?
• Assessment Criteria

Assessment Criteria

We will assess all applications to us against our Investment Plan.  To manage the assessment in a structured way we have developed six criteria that reflect the essence of the plan.  The various aspects of these criteria will be assessed to different degrees through the different stages of our assessment processes.

Criterion 1: Eligibility - Are the application and organisation eligible?

Here we will check that you are a voluntary or community organisation, that this is your only application to us, that the application is from your head office, that the proposal delivers outcomes in one of our five public service areas, that the beneficiaries are mainly in England, that you are willing to consider a loan as part of our investment and that your organisation is directly involved in delivering outcomes to service users, along with other essential policies outlined in our Investment Plan.

Criterion 2: Public Service Delivery - Will the proposal lead to a significant improvement in the delivery of public services in one of the five Futurebuilders public service areas?

Here we are checking the proposal against our mission, ensuring that a significant difference will be made to users of public services and that this is based on a very strong understanding of users needs.  We will want to check that your understanding of the wider context, and specifically the public service market for the proposals, is sound, as is the identification of long term outcomes and the overall quality of planning.  We will want to ensure that your proposals are consistent with Government (national, regional and/or local) targets and policies.

Criterion 3: Sustainability - Will a Futurebuilders’ investment lead to the new service(s) being sustained by public funding through an appropriate contract or fees?

Here we will want to see that an investment from Futurebuilders is really needed and would make a significant difference to the scope and/or quality of service to be delivered.  We will assess the likelihood of the service being sustained through public agencies and whether this will be done in a way that is reasonable (i.e. using a full cost recovery model and one that promotes a sustained relationship between the organisation and the purchasers). 

Criterion 4: People and Organisation - Can the people involved, and the organisation, deliver this proposal effectively?

We will consider how well your organisation is run and its overall health.  We will want to know that your trustees/committee members/directors/senior staff have the skills, experience and commitment to manage the organisation through good times and bad.  We will also consider how well your proposal is planned.

Criterion 5: Financial Viability - Is there a viable Futurebuilders investment to be made?

We will consider the financial aspects of your proposal including whether your organisation can repay a loan and on what terms and what mix of loan, grant and capacity building is most appropriate.   We will also consider whether all or part of your proposal could be more appropriately financed by others, in particular by our consortium partners Charity Bank and Unity Trust Bank.  We will assess whether our support for your scheme would breach European legislation on State Aid that is designed to ensure that competition is not distorted across member states.

Criterion 6: Investment Plan Fit - How well does the proposal fit the Futurebuilders’ Investment Plan?

Futurebuilders is not operating a set of quotas for different sorts of work, areas or beneficiaries.  However, our Investment Plan outlines the kind of spread of investments that we would like to see.  We also want to ensure that each investment has the potential to demonstrate an important aspect of Futurebuilders aims and that your organisation subscribes to the learning ethos of Futurebuilders.