The Democratic Engagement Fund

The Democratic Engagement Fund is sponsored by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

Democratic Engagement Fund: Prospectus - GOV.UK This publication is available at https://www. gov.uk/government/publications/democratic-engagement-fund-prospectus/democratic-engagement-fund-prospectus Levels of democratic participation vary significantly, with some groups and places less likely to feel informed, confident or able to take part in democratic processes.

The Democratic Engagement Fund will provide grants to civil society organisations (CSOs) to deliver politically neutral, place‑based activities that help people understand, engage with, and participate in democracy. The Fund focuses on groups that are currently less democratically engaged and aims to generate evidence on what works to increase democratic participation, informing future policy and practice.

We welcome applications from civil society organisations with experience of, or demonstrable capacity to deliver, community based, politically neutral projects in England, including: Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) Community Interest Companies (CICs) Companies Limited by Guarantee Community Benefit Societies / Co‑operatives Other Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

Partnership and consortium bids are welcome. One organisation must act as the lead, accountable body and will be responsible for managing the grant and ensuring funds are used appropriately. Please note local authorities cannot apply directly although they may support a CSO to deliver a project (for example, by providing venues, data insights) Most projects will receive around £25,000.

The maximum award is £50,000 per project. Funding will be paid as follows: 25% in 2027/28 , following completion of delivery and completion of evaluation requirements. We encourage projects to be completed by October 2027 and data collection to be completed by December 2027.

Applications open: 22 June 2026 Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026 Funding awarded and paid: January 2027 Monitoring and evaluation set-up period: January-March 2027 Projects may begin delivering: March 2027 Declining engagement and trust in our democratic institutions and processes are long‑standing, cross‑cutting challenges in the UK.

Barriers to engagement include: Capability - such as knowledge and language Opportunity - including access to democratic infrastructure, time and mobility Motivation - trust, sense of efficacy and civic duty.

Evidence from the Electoral Commission and academics indicates that these barriers disproportionately affect groups such as young people, frequent movers, ethnic minorities, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness. The government has committed, through its manifesto and the Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections , to improving democratic engagement.

By establishing the Democratic Engagement Fund, we aim to address the challenges set out above supporting CSOs to design, test and deliver place‑based interventions targeted at groups with historically low turnout and participation. The overall aim is to strengthen democratic engagement and enable more inclusive participation in our democracy, particularly among less engaged communities.

In addition, CSOs will be able to apply to carry out democratic engagement with young people, supporting the expansion of the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds. This aims to provide early insight of ‘what works’ in engaging young people, which can then be built upon ahead of the franchise change.

This is a strategic collaboration that amplifies impact across the government’s election priorities through aligned messaging and effective use of resources. A piloting approach is necessary because the existing evidence is limited on which interventions effectively reduce, overcome or prevent barriers to democratic engagement among disengaged groups.

By testing and evaluating a range of approaches, in a variety of local contexts, the Fund will build a stronger evidence base on what works to enhance democratic engagement. Impact is likely to vary significantly by demographic group, geography and local context. Piloting will therefore allow us to understand which interventions work, for whom, and in which settings.

Through robust evaluation of the piloted projects, the Fund will generate evidence on how different interventions address barriers to democratic engagement across diverse communities.

Grant objectives - what are we looking for: Build a robust evidence base on ‘what works’ Strengthen the evidence base on democratic engagement by requiring consistent, high-quality monitoring and evaluation throughout project delivery, generating timely and usable insights into impact, effectiveness and good practice.

This objective focuses on identifying what works to improve awareness, motivation and participation especially among underrepresented groups. By building a clearer understanding of effective interventions and how they can be delivered well, CSOs and local authorities will be better equipped to invest in, adapt and scale proven approaches - supporting long-term capability across the democratic engagement sector.

This will be particularly important in generating early evidence on effective approaches to preparing and supporting younger citizens to participate as the voting age is lowered to 16. Prevent or overcome barriers for less engaged groups Enable and support CSOs to design, test and deliver interventions that identify, prevent or overcome barriers to democratic engagement among less engaged demographic groups.

This includes addressing barriers related to knowledge, access, motivation and trust, with the aim of ensuring all citizens - particularly those historically underrepresented or disengaged - have meaningful opportunities to participate in democratic processes and institutions.

A key focus is increasing political literacy, by equipping individuals with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to understand democratic processes and exercise their civic and democratic rights, including through education and information sharing that supports informed participation.

Improve democratic participation and engagement Fund CSOs to deliver projects that improve awareness and understanding of democratic processes and institutions, strengthen positive attitudes towards them, and improve motivation to participate, both among the general public and targeted under-engaged groups.

This objective broadens democratic participation beyond the ballot box, fostering more sustained, meaningful long-term engagement in democratic life.

Projects may, for example, achieve this by encouraging participation in democratic activities beyond voting (such as meeting or engaging with their MP or councillor, signing petitions, or getting involved in a local campaign), or addressing barriers faced by groups with historically lower levels of democratic participation.

By strengthening these foundations, this objective supports citizens to contribute meaningfully to decisions that affect their lives – a core principle of any democratic system - enhancing democratic legitimacy, trust and participation. All projects must fall within one of the categories set out below (which includes additional examples to support decision-making and design of proposals).

Projects we may fund include (for example): community meals paired with structured conversations about shared local issues and collective decision‑making; democracy workshops that explain how democratic systems work; interactive exhibitions that explore why democracy matters; youth councils or advisory boards focused on place‑based issues.

Other projects may be skills‑building workshops to support constructive participation and mock parliaments or simulated democratic decision‑making exercises, or photo‑voice projects where participants take photos of places or issues that matter locally and meet to discuss how decisions shape those spaces. Applicants must meet all of the following: 1. Civil Society Organisation a.

Must be a non-governmental, non-profit entity such as a charity, voluntary group, social enterprise, co-operative, or faith group that works independently from the state and market. b. Must be based in the UK.

The project can only take place in England and is encouraged to be undertaken at a local level rather than nationally. We are particularly interested in applications that reach places with historically lower levels of democratic engagement.

Eligible organisations include: an organisation registered as a charity with the Charity Commission a company limited by guarantee registered with Companies House, that is established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO) registered with The Charity Commission Community Interest Companies (CIC) registered with Companies House Community Benefit Societies (CBS) or Co-operative societies registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) an unincorporated community group or organisation, or an unincorporated association that is: established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes has a governing body with at least 3 members has an inclusive membership policy can provide accounts for the last 2 financial years has its own UK business bank account Those who are not eligible to apply include: individuals or sole traders statutory bodies or public sector organisations (e.g. local authority bodies) organisations primarily engaged in political activity regulated education sector organisations (e.g. schools, further and higher education institutions, academy trusts, universities) 2.

Political Impartiality a. Must operate independently of political parties and avoid any activity that promotes or endorses a political agenda. b.

Organisations must not use grant funding for lobbying, campaigning for elected office, or influencing legislation. Further details are below, under the heading Political neutrality and impartiality . 3.

Accessible Communications a. Applicants must commit to providing information in accessible formats proportionate to the nature and scale of the project. Disability organisations consistently identify British Sign Language (BSL) and Easy Read as core accessible formats, however, other formats could be considered.

b. Applicants must ensure their activities and materials are digitally accessible to their intended audiences, using appropriate and proportionate formats. c.

Where materials are translated, organisations must ensure translations are accurate and reflect the intended meaning. Applicants should outline how translations will be quality‑assured, for example, by using accredited translators, community language specialists, or verification by native speakers (who would ideally be subject-matter experts, or at least well-informed about democratic engagement).

Materials already translated by the Electoral Commission will not be funded again. d. These examples are not an exhaustive list.

Applicants should also consider other forms of accessibility as appropriate to their audience. 4. Legal and financial standing a.

Must be legally constituted and able to demonstrate governance and financial controls. You will need to provide two years of accounts. Those operating at a loss will not be eligible to apply.

b. Applicants must have an annual turnover / income of at least £50,000 and no more than £1 million. c.

Applicants must confirm that neither their organisation nor its senior leadership/trustees have unspent convictions for electoral offences or other relevant unspent offences that could reasonably call into question the organisation’s ability to deliver an impartial, lawful and trustworthy project. 5. Alignment with Programme Objectives a.

Activities must fit the grant’s objectives (please see above). The Democratic Engagement Fund has a total budget of up to £2. 5 million to support CSOs to deliver democratic engagement activity.

The Fund will operate across the 2026 to 2027 financial year, with approximately 75% of funding being distributed. A further 25% will follow in FY 2027/28. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) reserves the right to increase or decrease the total amount of funding available prior to awards being made.

Funding available per project Organisations may apply for grants of up to £25,000 per project. In exceptional cases, bids of up to £50,000 will be considered where applicants can clearly demonstrate that the additional funding is necessary to deliver significantly greater impact or represents strong value for money.

Applications seeking more than £25,000 must provide a clear, evidence‑based justification explaining how the additional funding will meaningfully enhance outcomes. In most instances, we expect to award grants of up to £25,000. An organisation may only apply once to this grant.

An organisation cannot apply for more than one project.

Grant funding will be paid in two instalments: 75% on completion of the Grant Funding Agreement 25% on completion of the project and submission of final monitoring and evaluation data Release of the final 25% is conditional on the project demonstrating satisfactory performance, progress, delivering activity in line with the approved proposal, and meeting monitoring and evaluation requirements.

We anticipate 75% of the grant award to be paid in early 2027 with the final 25% being paid in FY27/28. Any underspend must be returned to MHCLG at the end of the funding period. Also, MHCLG reserves the right to withhold, reduce or recover grant payments in line with the terms and conditions of the Grant Funding Agreement.

Project duration and timing We cannot fund work retrospectively. Projects must start no earlier than January 2027, and all funded activity must be completed on or before 31 October 2027. To ensure we can provide the outstanding 25% payment to the projects, data collection should aim to be completed by December 2027.

Shorter interventions are acceptable where applicants can clearly demonstrate delivery and impact within the grant period. Applicants may choose to continue, expand or scale projects beyond the funded period using other sources of funding; however, MHCLG funding and performance monitoring will apply only to the agreed grant period. To apply for funding, you must complete the application form .

Please contact democraticengagement@communities. gov.uk for any other questions about the grant. Q&A to support your application What do we mean by democratic engagement or participation?

We understand “participation” or “engagement” in democratic activities to mean a citizen taking action, at and between elections, that can influence decisions affecting their lives and the lives of others. That action could include voting, signing an online petition or writing to a newspaper, among many others. What do we mean by Civil Society Organisation?

Civil Society Organisation (CSO) is a broad term for non-governmental, non-profit entities such as charities, voluntary groups, social enterprises (where they operate on a not‑for‑profit or asset‑locked basis (e.g., CIC limited by guarantee). Social enterprises that operate with a profit‑distribution model e.g. CIC limited by shares are not eligible.

CSOs also include co-operatives and faith groups that work independently from the state and market to create social value, address community needs and empower citizens. Who is the target demographic? This Fund is designed to test promising approaches to improving democratic engagement among underrepresented groups.

We are particularly interested in interventions that can demonstrate clear mechanisms of change and provide robust learning on what works, for whom, and in what contexts. Our research identified six groups who are underrepresented in terms in democratic activity: people from low socio economic backgrounds Evidence indicates that early democratic engagement helps to build lasting habits of participation over a person’s lifetime.

To support the government’s commitment to extending the franchise to 16 and 17‑year‑olds, CSOs may apply for projects that assist with this transition primarily as part of the young people (aged 5-25) demographic. All proposals must still fall within one of the prescribed categories in the table below.

Our research also highlighted that there is limited robust evaluation or evidence available on the impact of interventions to improve democratic participation and its drivers. This grant therefore intends to enhance that evidence base through its robust evaluation. The Democratic Engagement Fund is a competitive grant fund.

From mid-June 2026, CSOs will be able to bid for up to £25,000 per organisation (exceptionally up to £50,000 where a clear, evidence‑based case demonstrates additional impact and value for money). The key stages of the Fund are detailed on the timeline below: The grant application period will run from 22 June 2026 to 31 August 2026.

Applications will be processed and assessed between 1 September and 31 December 2026, with outcomes expected in January 2027. Grant Funding Agreements will be issued in January 2027, and initial payments will be made at that point. January to February 2027 will be a ramp‑up period to set up monitoring and evaluation.

Projects may begin delivery from March 2027. All funded project activity must be completed by October 2027 to enable release of the final 25% payment by the end of Financial Year 2027/28. Projects are not required to run for a full year; shorter interventions (e.g. six‑week programmes) are acceptable where they demonstrate clear delivery and impact within the grant period.

All grant funding must be fully disbursed by the end of Financial Year 2027/28. An evaluation report will be produced by MHCLG and/or an independent research organisation, and is expected to be published in 2028. Successful applicants must demonstrate the capacity to deliver place-based, politically neutral projects designed to increase democratic participation and awareness.

The projects must reach at least one of the target underrepresented groups outlined above. Projects must demonstrate proactive outreach to citizens in their own spaces and communities, rather than relying on participants to come forward, and consider how to make participation simple for these groups.

This is to ensure that the projects do not rely on any prior level of democratic engagement or simply reach those who would already be democratically engaged. This will in many instances require overcoming disengagement barriers to encourage participation in the project itself, for example making participation in the project straightforward, and there being wider benefits to taking part. See the scoring criteria .

Applicants must explain how their project boosts democratic participation in one of the categories detailed in the table below. Please note you will be asked to select the relevant category on your application form. Examples provided are illustrative only and are not prescriptive: Activities to enhance motivation to participate in democracy.

Outreach is a two-way process to increase motivation to participate, to increase interest in democracy, or tackle underlying barriers to participation such as low trust in institutions.

Outreach activity may also include bringing concepts beyond voting to life for participants, for example by helping people understand how democratic institutions, decision‑making and participation relate to their own experiences, concerns and local context. Outreach should make democracy feel relevant and engaging, especially for groups who may feel disconnected from traditional political processes.

Projects must not rely on target groups coming to potentially unfamiliar settings but must instead reach out proactively to citizens’ own spaces and communities. Preferably, these activities should be in-person; however, applicants should demonstrate an understanding of a target group’s own/preferred spaces, and whether they are in-person/physical, digital/online, or a combination.

Democracy days- where citizens can learn about democratic institutions, voting, register, and engage in Q&A sessions. Providing democratic information at existing touchpoints e.g. youth clubs, sports teams etc. Fund democracy ambassadors/community champions. Language-accessible sessions (including BSL where appropriate) for ethnic minority communities.

Creative competitions on what democracy means to the citizen. Art Installations & Street Theatre: Using creative mediums to spark conversations about democracy. Storytelling Projects: Collecting and sharing citizen voices to highlight why participation matters.

Drama and Theatre: Plays or performances that explore themes like fairness, representation, and why voting matters. Activities to inform participants about democracy and democratic processes. This category should aim to improve democratic knowledge.

Projects should provide citizens with essential voting information (e.g. how to cast a ballot), or provide structured learning experiences that build civic literacy and democratic behaviours. Wherever possible, this information should be linked to motivational components to encourage participants to see the purpose of participating in these ways (e.g. the relevance of these civic concepts to their day to day lives).

Applications focused on the distribution, contextualisation or trusted delivery of existing high‑quality democratic information are actively encouraged. Where applications propose the creation of new democratic information content, they will be expected to demonstrate a clear and evidenced gap, explain why existing materials are not sufficient, and set out appropriate quality‑assurance arrangements.

Projects that create new resources must evidence in their application form how this fills an unmet need. All activity under this category must be delivered as non‑partisan voter education, with information provided in accessible formats. Projects should avoid assuming any prior knowledge of democracy or politics, and should be designed to meet participants where they are, building understanding from the basics upward.

Information/ guidance for people without fixed addresses or with disabilities. Collaboration with housing associations to integrate democratic education in shelters and temporary accommodation to explain voting rights. Category: Widening opportunities Activities to widen opportunities to learn and participate in democracy.

Enable participation beyond voting. To strengthen democratic engagement by enabling citizens to influence decisions in meaningful ways, fostering trust and ownership in governance. This includes participatory practice and programmes that help individuals understand how democratic systems work, evaluate information, and practice constructive dialogue.

Activities may enable residents to understand, engage with, and influence local or neighbourhood governance and can support citizens to engage directly with neighbourhood level decision making forums. Deliberative forums- creating safe, structured spaces for dialogue where citizens can discuss issues and share perspectives and engage place‑based decision‑makers on community perspectives.

This may include the use of digital deliberative democracy tools where appropriate. Mock elections. Enabling provision for participants to input into decisions affecting them.

Facilitated debate forums or deliberative workshops where participants explore democratic concepts, rights, and responsibilities. Mock decision‑making exercises or role‑play simulations that help people experience how democratic processes work. Projects may primarily sit within one category but can include secondary elements from others where this strengthens impact.

Projects that receive grant funding must address at least one of the following aims: Increase intention to participate by improving attitudes towards democratic institutions, and confidence or value in democratic processes. Increase intention to participate by increasing understanding and awareness of how to engage with democratic processes. Increase democratic activity among target groups.

This programme is designed to increase democratic participation. While improvements in voter registration may occur as a secondary benefit, this is not a primary aim of the fund, as democratic participation goes beyond voting. This fund, through the above aims, intends to tackle these earlier, underlying or broader barriers to participation, and encourage democratic engagement more broadly.

In summary, these aims set out both what projects funded through the programme should seek to influence and what MHCLG will assess through monitoring and evaluation. They are not intended to prescribe the specific activities applicants must deliver, but instead to provide a clear framework for understanding how projects are expected to contribute to increased democratic participation, and how impact will be measured.

Roles and responsibilities The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will: assess bids against the assessment criteria notify bidders of funding decisions provide funding as agreed in the grant funding agreement ensure that funding awards to accountable bodies are compliant under the subsidy control regime coordinate monitoring and evaluation and analyse this data If successful, the accountable body must: act in good faith with MHCLG sign a grant funding agreement attend monitoring check-ins or complete monitoring check-in forms conduct data collection before, during, and after project delivery share monitoring and evaluation data with MHCLG and an independent evaluation contractor at frequent intervals provide evidence of costs incurred, as requested by MHCLG put in place delivery processes be accountable for delivery cooperate with due diligence checks ensure that any contractors, service providers or partners used to deliver services funded through the grant satisfy due diligence checks deliver projects in line with agreed plans and budgets share lessons learnt from the delivery of the project with MHCLG comply with the Equality Act 2010 An aim of the fund is to enhance the evidence base of what works to improve democratic engagement and its underlying drivers.

Projects funded through the Democratic Engagement Fund are therefore expected to contribute to this evidence base, and robust evaluation will form a required part of delivery. Evaluation is data collection before, during and after project delivery. Commitment is required to data collection and reporting throughout project delivery.

Projects are expected to begin delivering from March 2027. Ahead of this, in January-February 2027 (following project selection and bid award) there will be an induction phase to ensure that CSOs are able to use appropriate monitoring and evaluation tools. Data collection will continue until December 2027, after projects close in October 2027 to allow for follow-up and post-completion data.

Evaluation analysis will be led by MHCLG and/or an independent research organisation on its behalf. Grantees will be required to support the evaluation by collecting and sharing proportionate monitoring and evaluation data as part of project delivery. A key principle behind the data collection will be establishing any changes in knowledge, attitudes or behaviours after participation in a project.

These knowledge, attitude and behaviour metrics will align with outcomes of the grant fund. These will be evaluated by CSOs collecting data (e.g. via a survey) on these outcomes before projects are delivered (‘baseline data’) and afterwards (‘impact data’).

This information will need to be provided in a consistent format, to enable MHCLG to assess impact and results across projects, therefore projects must agree to use set templates for data collection, which will be provided by MHCLG and/or an independent research organisation.

The precise data collection method required is likely to vary depending on the evaluation design and whether a project is included in a standard or more in‑depth evaluation strand. Examples of the data that will be collected and shared include monitoring data (e.g. the number of projects delivered, their reach, demographics of participants reached) and baseline and impact surveys with participants and project teams.

Grantees’ responsibilities relating to this data collection will likely include administering surveys at an appropriate time (e.g. providing paper or online surveys for participants to complete) and helping participants complete these where required (e.g. in cases of low literacy). Grantees are expected to encourage participants to fill out such surveys, as low response rates would hinder the evaluation’s effectiveness.

A smaller number of projects will also be selected to collect more in-depth evaluation activity including qualitative interviews and/or focus groups, which would be conducted by an independent research organisation on behalf of MHCLG. This data collection would be in addition to the previously mentioned data collection that all projects must conduct.

Full expectations and data collection tools will be provided to all applicants when projects are awarded. Evaluation is expected to focus on learnings at both project and programme level. Bespoke evaluation reports for every individual project are not anticipated.

Nonetheless, findings from the evaluation will be designed to be useful and useable to CSOs and others designing future projects to enhance democratic engagement. Guidance and support on monitoring and evaluation expectations will be provided to successful applicants during the pre-application, induction and delivery phases. Successful applicants will receive ongoing support from MHCLG throughout the grant period.

This will include an induction workshop covering key aspects of delivery such as accessibility, impartiality, monitoring and evaluation. Additional training will be offered through smaller group sessions focused on developing accessible materials. Grantees will also have group support sessions throughout their project.

Where required, and where resource is able, MHCLG will also provide 1‑to‑1 support to help address specific delivery challenges. Grantees will have access to core resources, guidance materials, data collection instruments, and tools to assist with effective and impartial delivery and evaluation of their projects.

Grantees may also wish to consult materials provided by the Electoral Commission, which offer practical, non‑partisan resources to support democratic engagement with specific groups. These materials include tailored guidance, accessible information formats and tools designed to help organisations engage communities confidently and impartially. These resources are also available in 21 other languages .

Additionally, MHCLG will provide instruction as to how to conduct monitoring and evaluation data collection and how to report results. CSOs will be expected to include resource to be able to lead data collection activities with participants and delivery staff, including for example organising surveys of participants before and/or after interventions, or gathering administrative data.

We will do an initial check to make sure your project meets our criteria for funding. You can only apply if you pass the eligibility check. For this, we will check: that your organisation meets the eligibility criteria that your request for funding is within the maximum limit of £50,000 The scores for all the criteria will be added to give a total score for the application.

The maximum total score is 300. Your total score will be used to compare against other applications. We may undertake checks to verify the information provided in the applications.

In addition, we will undertake financial, adverse publicity, and other due diligence checks for matters of reputational concern against each potential grant recipient. Once applications have been scored an internal moderation process will take place to select the final approved bids.

MHCLG reserves the right to vary these conditions and the right to not make an award, and either withdraw or reduce the funding to the grant recipient if reasonably required, in line with the terms and conditions set out within the Grant Funding Agreement. We expect to fund an estimated 80-100 projects. Applications that do not meet all eligibility requirements will not be assessed further.

If any scored question receives a score of 0, the application is rejected and will not progress Eligible applications will be assessed using a 0–3 scoring scale for each scored section, where: 1 – Partially meets requirements 0 – Does not meet requirements Exceeds requirements (pass) The response provided fully satisfies and exceeds the criteria detailed in the question, offering additional clearly recognisable benefits over and above the level required in the specification.

The Applicant has submitted a response which fully and successfully demonstrates that they meet the criteria detailed, and in addition has identified and demonstrated factors that will offer additional benefits. Meets requirements (pass) The response provided fully satisfies the criteria detailed in the question. The Applicant has submitted a response which fully and successfully demonstrates that they meet the criteria detailed.

Meets minimum requirements (pass) The response meets the basic requirements but has some gaps, weaknesses, or is lacking in detail in one or more areas. Does not meet requirements (fail) The response clearly fails to meet several criteria detailed in the question. The Applicant has submitted a response which exhibits clear and significant omissions regarding meeting the criteria detailed.

After scoring and moderation, MHCLG will select a balanced portfolio of projects. This means that the highest‑scoring applications will not automatically be funded. We will seek to fund a geographically and contextually diverse portfolio of projects.

Selection will be based on delivery quality and reach, not alignment with local political structures or priorities. In building the final portfolio, we will seek to: avoid funding a large number of projects using very similar approaches; ensure geographic spread across England; and fund a mix of projects led by CSOs Application form sections and weightings 1.

Applicant details and eligibility - organisation and lead contact details - organisation type and registration details (where applicable) - partner organisations and roles, where relevant - total funding requested (up to £50k) 40% weighting / 1,200 words limit This section assesses the quality and credibility of your proposed project, including: - target group(s) and understanding of their needs - project category (Outreach, Informing, Widening Opportunities) and rationale - outcomes and beneficiaries, including