Capacity Building for Community Sponsorship of Refugees

The Refugee Resettlement Programme, a joint unit between the Home Office, the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), is seeking to award up to £1-million of grant funding over two (2) financial years (2018/19 and 2019/20) to encourage the expansion of the Community Sponsorship scheme by building capacity for community groups wishing to participate through the focussed provision of training and support. Up to an additional £200,000 may also be available to facilitate mobilisation timescales. Bidders will be able to submit proposals to deliver one, a combination or all of the following seven (7) outcomes identified to help build capacity in the Community Sponsorship scheme across the United Kingdom: 1 Training and support for Community Sponsors; 2 Support for Community Sponsors with applications; 3 Connecting people and organisations and opportunities; 4 Increase the awareness of Community Sponsorship; 5 Identify barriers to expansion and find solutions; 6 Support the evaluation to help better understand what works; 7 Secretariat function for a Community Sponsorship Stakeholder Group. Bidders will need to be able to demonstrate: • expertise in refugee resettlement; • expertise in delivering training and support; • an ability to engage with and mobilise a broad and diverse range of community groups including faith groups, and 'whole of society' actors; and • an ability to secure philanthropic funding to enhance the delivery of the stated outcomes. Due to the broad skills set required and the geographical areas covered by the service, collaborative proposals are particularly welcome. The successful Bidder(s) will be funded by means of a Grant Agreement, not a contract, signed with the Authority. All applications will be submitted electronically via Crown Commercial Service's online eSourcing portal, for which Bidders must be registered. The Refugee Resettlement Programme will hold a Bidders' clarifications meeting week commencing 23 November. The competition for this grant funding will launch on 1 November 2017 with a deadline for full and final proposals of Friday 15 December 2017 (Midday).