As public budgets in England and Wales have tightened, and reliable sources of educational funding have become increasingly scarce, more and more schools and colleges are now dependent on the government’s Conditions Improvement Fund to support vital expansion and refurbishment work.
As the name suggests, CIF exists to help education institutions help them improve the condition of their premises. The last round of CIF funding provided £466m to nearly 1,200 schools and colleges around the country, receiving individual amounts ranging from £20,000 to about £4 million. But with competition for CIF funding becoming increasingly fierce, if you want to secure a piece of the pie, it’s vital that your bid is as good as it can possibly be. Here are just a few key pointers to help you maximise your organisation’s chances.
Firstly, plan your bid well in advance. The CIF application system opens in October – and to be in with a chance of having your bid considered for funding, you have to create your account on the system by November. Usually, the final deadline for bids to be submitted falls in the first half of December, with successful bidders notified several months later in March or April.
You might feel like you have plenty of time to put your bid together – but start as early as possible. Persuasive applications require a lot of work. You need to provide assessors with detailed evidence that your project is worth funding – including quotes from contractors. Bids are either fully funded or rejected – there’s no middle ground. If you’re going to commit the necessary time and energy to making a CIF bid, it’s worth doing properly. It’s also crucially important you understand the criteria the funders are looking for, and work to tailor your bid to those requirements. Assessors will consider funding requests ranging from £20k to in the region of £4m – but to be eligible, the project in question will have to be completed by the end of March of the following year. Exceptions are made for the biggest projects – but to be in with a chance of receiving CIF funding, they have to be due for completion within two years.
When you’re writing your bid, it’s crucial to make it clear that the proposed project would be serving a genuine need at your institution. Refurbishment work that simply aims to improve the aesthetics of a neglected area of your school is less likely to get funding than a project that would dramatically improve thermal efficiency and the educational environment or help ease overcrowding, as examples. Projects that tackle health and safety, safeguarding needs, fire safety, and other issues that address the well-being of staff and students are especially likely to be chosen for funding.
At Hazlemere Commercial, we’ve helped dozens of schools and colleges make successful CIF funding bids, then ensure the work itself is completed on time, on budget, and to an exceptional standard, as both window installers and main contractors. If you’d like to learn more about our business and how we can help make a success of your next project, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01494 897600 or email info@hazlemerecommercial.co.uk
