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Supporting East Renfrewshire Council to develop local business funding model

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Overview

Throughout 2018 and 2019, CJM Lumina supported East Renfrewshire Council to consolidate and refine the model for delivering grants to the area’s local businesses and third sector organisations.

Brief

In East Renfrewshire, businesses are able to apply for a range of grants, some supported by the European Regional Development Fund, and others by the European Research Council. At the time of CJM Lumina’s appointment, these included:

  • The New Start Growth Fund
  • The Growth Fund
  • The Property Support Grant
  • The Micro Grant

With numerous grants available, each with a different set of criteria, reporting, and governance requirements, CJM Lumina were tasked with taking on the management and review of these. The overarching objective was to successfully deliver the grants, raise awareness amongst businesses and third sector organisations in the region, and refine the administrative processes in line with both local authority and European requirements.

Delivery

Across the duration of the project, CJM Lumina delivered the following:

  • Led the appraisal and monitoring of aforementioned grant applications
  • Assisted in the scoring of Business Loans Scotland applications
  • Developed an awareness campaign for Business Loans Scotland, targeting local businesses
  • Led the marketing of East Renfrewshire Council’s business support products and services
  • Delivered an event to launch the new ERDF funded, grant programme
  • Developed a set of procedures to monitor and report on ERDF funded grants
  • Built strong working relationships with business interest groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
  • Shared key findings and input to inform the operation of future grant systems (include insights into ERC single point of contact, consultation process, and skill requirements)
  • Delivered home-based business initiatives
  • Played a pivotal part in the development of a new business support brochure for East Renfrewshire

Results

By continually evaluating the delivery of grants, we not only successfully delivered the end-to-end requirements for the grants programme but were able to also aid in the design of a more efficient delivery process. Through our unique understanding of regional economic development efforts, we were also able to inform the ongoing work to market the grants programme to businesses and organisations across East Renfrewshire.

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