Aims/priorities: The fund will provide grants and support for businesses and organisations in Greater Manchester’s “foundational” or “everyday” economy to trial innovative new ideas and improved ways of working. The grant funding will be in 2 stages: stage 1 will provide £10,000 grants for up to 40 projects to develop and test innovations and ideas, followed by stage 2 where £60,000 grants will be available for up to 10 projects, to develop the best ideas from stage 1. Participants will receive support on innovation and be invited to join a new community of innovators. The “foundational economy” is the “everyday economy”, or the “essential economy” – the businesses we all rely on for our daily needs. We’re starting with four sectors and asking people who run businesses or enterprises in these sectors, work with them, or have solutions that can be used in these sectors to tell us about their ideas for innovation. These sectors are:
- adult social care
- early education and childcare
- retail and hospitality
- leisure and tourism
What will the fund support?
- Keeping it local by helping to grow and strengthen local and sustainable supply chains in Greater Manchester
- Greener, cheaper and more resilient through reducing or managing energy consumption and costs for businesses, helping to decrease carbon emissions
- New ways of working that help create or integrate new ways of delivering a high-quality service for both workers and customers, including the adoption or development of technology
- Supporting the workforce to help with the recruitment and retention of staff and develop their careers, such as new ways of delivering in work training, upskilling the workforce, and engaging with freelancers and the self-employed.
Who can apply? The fund is for you, if you:
- own or run a business, social enterprise or cooperative in these sectors
- support or represent a cluster of businesses in one of these sectors
- can provide technology and / or innovative solutions or new ideas that could be used in one of these sectors
Grant amount:
- £10,000 grants for 40 projects, plus expert support, to test innovations and ideas in phase 1
- £60,000 grants for 10 projects, plus expert support, to develop the best ideas from phase 1
Application process: Initially you will need to complete an expression of interest form and the funders will contact you back to discuss your idea.
Deadline: Not specified
Contact information: Complete the Expression of Interest Form and the funders will contact you back to discuss the fund.
Website address: www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk