Development Phase Examples

The development phase of each grant is intended to act as preparation time for each organisation’s youth social action programme. This is aimed at building the capacity of the children and young people to take part. Organisations should use this time:

To plan and set the project up (e.g. recruitment; training staff etc)
To explore the social action topic of interest
Consult with the community about the (geography; community of interest)
To support the children and young people to learn new skills
To enable the children and young people to plan their social action ideas

You may also need or want support to strengthen your governance, finance or safeguarding. We will provide some training through partners, or support you to access a consultant. When you are awarded a grant you will be given a Regional or National Officer who will be your contact point with BBC Children in Need and will work with you throughout this time. At the end of the development phase, all funded organisations will be expected to meet our minimum standards for grantmaking.

We will work with you through the assessment process to understand the time and budget you want or need for your organisation. This will not exceed six months of the grant and will be no more than 10% of your budget.

Example 1 - Kidz Time

Kidz Time are a small rural after school club in Mid-Ulster, Northern Ireland. They work primarily with children aged 8-13, providing them with a cooked dinner twice a week. This is as a result of food poverty issues within the community. Some of the older children have recently shown an interest in finding out more about the local food bank and how they can help out.

Kidz Time have applied for a grant of £20,000, including a 3 month development phase.
The £2,000 development phase grant will be spent on additional staff time, venue hire and external providers to facilitate sessions for the children.
These sessions will help the children learn more about food poverty from key speakers and give them the opportunity to take part in a trial shift as a volunteer.
The organisation will also employ a Youth Voice Facilitator to help the children explore their own views and experiences, and translate that into a project plan. The aim is to build their confidence so that they feel able to speak on the subject and shape their own food poverty focused social action project.
The remaining budget of £18k will be used over 12 months on staff time, facilitators, activity costs, material costs and transport.

Example 2 - Connect

Connect are a youth club based on the outskirts of Cardiff, working with disabled children and young people aged 8-18. During the lockdown, the young people felt increasingly isolated compared to their peers. Several wrote blog posts and letters to their local Council about the lack of accessible outdoor facilities and green spaces in their area. They have already caught the attention of the local press and would like to develop a campaign around this issue.

As a result of this appetite for social action amongst the young people, Connect are applying for a grant of £40,000.
They would like to use a 4 month development phase to increase the confidence of the young people, explore how other social action campaigns have been successful and also meet with a project in London who are delivering similar work.
Their £4,000 development grant will be spent on transport and volunteer costs for the trip, the cost of the youth voice facilitator and towards social media training for the group.
The remaining budget of £36k will be used over 18 months as a contribution towards staff time, sessional support workers, venue hire, facilitators, event costs, materials and transport.

Example 3 - We Care

We Care, in Dundee, are a new organisation, set up by a group of 8 young people aged 16-18. Sharing a passion for environmental campaigning, they are supported by the Youth Work Team at White Rocks Youth Club. The two organisations met whilst working on a larger social action programme through their schools, in preparation for the COP26 summit in Glasgow in Summer 2021.

We Move would like to attend the Manchester Youth Environmental Conference in Summer 2023 and work towards a potential presentation of their plans and their work in this area.
They currently lack the funds to do this and also do not feel entirely confident in speaking publicly. They have requested a grant of £10,000 to support them in achieving this.
The £1,000 development funding will be used to work with a local voluntary sector support organisation to help We Care to develop their governance and finance knowledge as a new group and to meet our minimum standards for grantmaking.
The remaining budget of £9k will be used over 9 months as a contribution towards venue hire, consultancy fees, expenses, administration costs and transport.

Example 4 - Youth Aloud

Youth Aloud are a Liverpool wide youth organisation supporting young people aged 14-18 focused on children’s rights and encouraging youth voice. They have lots of experience working alongside teenagers to build their capacity to take part in public discussions on issues which affect them.

During the pandemic, a key group of care experienced young people that they have worked with on several programmes, have been reporting significant issues. These include youth unemployment, mental health concerns and high levels of disempowerment resulting in reduced engagement with the young people.

Youth Aloud are applying to the fund for £50,000.
The 3 month development phase will be used to re-engage with this group, discuss their experiences of lockdown and to work towards building their confidence levels back up as close to pre-pandemic levels as possible.
The £5,000 development funding will be spent on staff time, regular outings, facilitators and travel to meet with other projects in the area.