Feedback frenzy!! why we didn't pick you this time...

We've been buried under application forms for 2 weeks and we are just resurfacing now! - I am SO excited about the ideas for projects we have received in Scaling Up Round 1.  This blog entry is for the 107 applicants who applied to the fund, and a few pointers for anyone looking to apply in future rounds.

Firstly, a few things we were pleased about:

We were so excited to see every region of England represented - and to get 107 applications, especially in the short time frame and it being the summer holidays. 

The applications were very varied in content, themes and some very active participation from young people!  We liked the innovative ideas and examples of effective work... its a shame we don't have sufficient money to fund more of you!

Secondly, here are some pointers to help you improve your applications:

1) Make sure you're eligible: over 30% of the applications didn't get through the first stage because they didn't evidence that they sufficiently meet our criteria.  Mainly this was around youth leadership.  Some of you were showing active participation and good youth work practice rather than actual leadership - make sure you are lighting our fire by checking back to our definition and examples of good practice.  Also make sure you are working within the core age groups of 13-19 year olds and also that the start and finish times are within our timescale and not intending to start before our assessment process is over.

2)  Explain what it is you actually do (or plan to): After umpteen hours of carefully reading and discussing applications, our eyes are crossed and we’ve forgotten what our names are. If it takes us 5 minutes of reading and flipping back and forth to get a grip on what you are actually planning to do, its probably too late to grab our attention and doesn’t convince us you can communicate effectively – which will mean explaining what you do to stakeholders, funders and others is already looking tricky. Explain what you do (before you tell us how good it is!) as if you were talking to a layperson, your nan or even a young person.

3) Back it up:  If you make a statement (particularly around social impact or where you have involved young people in the process so far) back it up with facts and evidence.  It will strengthen your case and stop our cynisism if you are able to tell us why a project in your area is really needed or just how many young people you have consulted with over how long.

4) Make sure you answer the question: we can tell if you have skirted round the question rather than answered it - be direct and consice and it'll interest us more.  If we are left at the end of the answer thinking "but what is different about your project compared to someone else's" we just can't give you the points.

5) The simple stuff you did at school: making sure you are using the full word count, double-checking everything before sending, getting someone else to proof-read your application before sending it (make sure you allow enough time for this) and checking the list for what additional materials that are required.  Check the budgets you have submitted add up to the totals specified.

6) Lastly, don't leave it to the last minute to send off : that way if there are any technical difficulties, there is time to fix them and still make the deadline.

On our end, we are going to be making a few tweaks to the application form, update the FAQs to answer some common things and resolve the technical issues we had for next time round!

That’s all for now... and just so you know, not making it through this time doesn’t mean that we don’t think yours will be successful, and we know that we have let some brilliant ideas slip away this time hopefully to reappear again.  Important pointer for you - if you applied in Round 1, you can't apply for Scaling up for 6 months - which means we look forward to hearing from you in Round 3 in the new year!

All the best!  We'll be updating this blog with details of the finalists in the next couple of weeks, so watch this space to see the great ideas that made it through.