Investing In Ideas

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Funding to develop your promising ideas into successful projects

Facts about this funding programme
Areas Application open/close dates Minimum / maximum grants Total available
Scotland 12 July 2010 - See programme details £500 - £10,000 £1 million each year

Summary of the programme

Big Lottery Fund in Scotland wants to provide groups with an opportunity to spend time and money developing ideas that have a clear public benefit. We have £1 million to invest in the development of new ideas in 2010-11.

So, would you like to start up a new activity for older people in your area? You can find out if people would back it and make it viable. Investing in Ideas could help you carry out a survey and see if there is support for your idea.

Or maybe you want to design and test improved ways of working that will bring real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need? Investing in Ideas could pay for you to investigate the work of others to inform the development of your idea. It could also support you to pilot your idea to find out if it would work.

Investing in Ideas awards grants of £500 to £10,000 to test and develop ideas that could eventually become fully-fledged projects or lead to improved service delivery. Investing in Ideas could pay for the things that can turn your basic idea into a well-planned project including:

  • market research
  • feasibility studies
  • business planning
  • training for your committee
  • exchange visits in the UK to see how other projects work
  • community consultation
  • professional advice
  • technical reports and scheme design studies

Is this funding different from the Investing in Ideas that closed in June 2010?

The basis of Investing in Ideas has remained the same. We still fund organisations looking to develop new ideas but we have removed the requirement that ideas must fit with an Investing in Communities Investment Area.

The application process has also changed to be in-line with our other funding programmes. This means we do not need signatures or any supporting documents at the application stage.

What to do next

Questions about Investing in Ideas? Find out more

Not eligible for an Investing in Ideas? Browse our other programmes

Contact

  • If you’d like to discuss your idea to see if we’re likely to help you develop it, phone us on 0300 123 7110.
  • If you’d like to apply to Investing in Ideas and need a hardcopy of the application materials call 0300 123 7110.  
  • If you have any communication needs (such as Braille or large print, screen reader, audiotape, sign language or a community language) please call 0845 4 10 20 30.

Application walkthrough

Get an overview of the application process.

Guidance

The leaflet below provides information on Investing in Ideas and our range of smaller grants programmes in Scotland: