Recent updates – at 9 September 2021
Does the Action Group set the priorities for the discussion at the forum, or does the forum inform the priorities for the Action Group's discussions to establish their agreed common goal?
The purpose of the forum will be to involve the community and establish themes, which the Action Group will then consider along with local community safety strategies and other current issues in the area. The Action Group should then work collaboratively to establish an agreed common goal for the focus of their initiative. From that point, high level objectives and a strategy will be implemented to deliver the common goal and the grant funding objectives.
Is there flexibility in Action Group membership to include community members identified through latter community engagement workshops, and involved/interested stakeholders to become core stakeholders down the track?
Yes absolutely. There will be a need to ensure the size of the Action Group is manageable and provides the basis for effective decision making, but we would encourage the Action Group to consider how it involves community members in the initiative. This may be through participation on the Action Group or through other forms of engagement such as workshops, focus groups etc that aim to ensure the needs and interests of diverse community members are captured and inform the focus of activity and investment.
Do we need to specify how each stakeholder will contribute eg. specific experience/expertise, OR will it be sufficient to indicate that they contribute as 'a member of the Action Group and support community project delivery and planning'?
If you are aware of the specific experience/expertise that a stakeholder might provide and how they might want to be involved pleased indicate both. You may not be able to do this for all stakeholders however. The response should provide a high-level summary rather than detailed bios.
There may be challenges getting a letter of support from some partner organisations. What method is required to document their involvement?
If it is not possible to get a letter of support from a particular stakeholder in time to submit with the EOI, you could highlight whether you have an existing relationship with that stakeholder and the nature of that relationship. You should also provide an overview of how they are likely to be involved in the project and if there is administrative funding going to that partner to support their involvement, that should be clearly indicated in your budget. If your proposal is supported, we may ask you to confirm that partner’s involvement before we offer a funding agreement, particularly if there is funding going to them to deliver an aspect of the initiative.
The coordinating organisation
Does the coordinating organisation have to be council, or can it be another organisation?
It is the preference of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (the department) that council take responsibility for coordinating the design and delivery of the Empowering Communities initiative in their municipality given the capability, capacity and networks that local councils have access to and their unique position in the community. However, proposals will be considered where a suitable, alternative community organisation will take on the role of the coordinating organisation under the following circumstances:
- The proposed alternative coordinating organisation has extensive demonstrated experience in delivering complex grant funded projects of a similar value and nature and is equally or better placed than council to take on this role.
- The coordinating organisation will take on the full responsibilities outlined on page 6 of the program guidelines and deliver the initiative consistent with the program guidelines.
- A detailed letter of support is provided by the chairperson/CEO of the proposed coordinating organisation clearly confirming their ability and willingness to take on this role.
- Council confirms it will remain an active partner and attend Action Group meetings and otherwise contribute to the successful implementation of the initiative, and.
- The EOI is prepared and submitted by council.
The department will consider the appropriateness of the proposed coordinating organisation when assessing the EOI and finalising its recommendation to the Minister for Crime Prevention.
The Action Group
Who should be invited to be involved in the Action Group?
As part of the EOI you are asked to map a range of stakeholders in the local community and identify ‘core’ stakeholders who are likely to be interested in being actively involved in the functioning and development of the Empowering Communities initiative. This is likely to include representatives from local community service organisations, community groups and Victoria Police for example.
You should consider the key responsibilities of the Action Group as outlined in the guidelines when considering who should be invited to participate. It is important to note that membership on the Action Group is only one way for the community to be involved and council should consider how it can involve other community members and organisations into the initiative to ensure broad support for the project.
Is there a degree of flexibility regarding the Action Group membership, or does the group need to be established and confirmed from the outset of the initiative and for the duration of the initiative?
Membership of the Action Group may change over time, particularly once the common goal is established and the direction of the initiative is clear. If your proposal is supported for funding, it will be useful to consider how any impact of changing membership will be managed as part of a broader risk management approach.
Is there flexibility in Action Group membership to include community members identified through latter community engagement workshops, and involved/interested stakeholders to become core stakeholders down the track?
Yes absolutely. There will be a need to ensure the size of the Action Group is manageable and provides the basis for effective decision making, but we would encourage the Action Group to consider how it involves community members in the initiative. This may be through participation on the Action Group or through other forms of engagement such as workshops, focus groups etc that aim to ensure the needs and interests of diverse community members are captured and inform the focus of activity and investment.
Do we need to specify how each stakeholder will contribute eg. specific experience/expertise, OR will it be sufficient to indicate that they contribute as 'a member of the Action Group and support community project delivery and planning'?
If you are aware of the specific experience/expertise that a stakeholder might provide and how they might want to be involved pleased indicate both. You may not be able to do this for all stakeholders however. The response should provide a high-level summary rather than detailed bios.
There may be challenges getting a letter of support from some partner organisations. What method is required to document their involvement?
If it is not possible to get a letter of support from a particular stakeholder in time to submit with the EOI, you could highlight whether you have an existing relationship with that stakeholder and the nature of that relationship. You should also provide an overview of how they are likely to be involved in the project and if there is administrative funding going to that partner to support their involvement, that should be clearly indicated in your budget. If your proposal is supported, we may ask you to confirm that partner’s involvement before we offer a funding agreement, particularly if there is funding going to them to deliver an aspect of the initiative.
Will action group members be eligible to obtain funding to lead the projects?
The Action Group is primarily a decision-making body and their role is to support the implementation of the initiative, not necessarily to lead the projects that will be funded. It will be important for the Action Group to carefully manage any conflict of interest that might arise if the organisations represented on the Group submit proposals for funding to deliver discreet activities. For example, this might involve an interested Action Group member recusing themselves from a particular decision-making process. Appropriate conflict of interest declarations and processes should be followed.
What happens if we are unable to establish an Action Group, or organisations to lead the projects?
A key element of the EOI process is the demonstration of community readiness which includes identifying ‘core’ stakeholders who are likely to be interested in forming the Action Group and demonstrating that there is a level of community interest and experience in delivering crime prevention related activity. It is important that this is clearly demonstrated in your EOI, otherwise it is unlikely to be recommended for funding.
Would alternative engagement methods be considered, such as illustrative recordings etc?
The Action Group will need to establish an engagement strategy to ensure the diverse needs and interests of the broader community are captured and considered, particularly community members with lived experience. Alternative engagement methods can be considered as part of this work, to meet the needs of community members and ensure a diverse range of voices are represented.
Does the Action Group set the priorities for the discussion at the forum, or does the forum inform the priorities for the Action Group's discussions to establish their agreed common goal?
The purpose of the forum will be to involve the community and establish themes, which the Action Group will then consider along with local community safety strategies and other current issues in the area. The Action Group should then work collaboratively to establish an agreed common goal for the focus of their initiative. From that point, high level objectives and a strategy will be implemented to deliver the common goal and the grant funding objectives.
Funding
Is it expected that councils contribute funding to the Empowering Communities initiative?
Council co-contributions to the initiative are strongly encouraged, though not mandatory. Value for money will be considered when recommending proposals for funding and evidence of leveraging local investment and other complementary reform work being undertaken will support this.
Can additional funding from an alternative source be combined with the funding available under the grant to deliver the initiative?
Yes, this is strongly encouraged. You should show whether this other funding is confirmed, or not, in the budget section of your EOI, and how you would manage the delivery of the initiative if the additional funding is not able to be secured.
Can a specific crime prevention project idea or concept be presented as part of the EOI, with the intention of it being delivered with the grant funding?
We are not seeking project ideas or concepts as part of the EOI process. Activities to be funded through the initiative should be considered once the Action Group has considered local crime and community safety issues and agreed on a common goal that will inform activity over the period of funding. However, the EOI should outline the key crime and safety issues that council is aware of in the local area based on existing data, to demonstrate the need for investment.
If council has specific crime prevention project ideas it would like to pursue, we encourage you to think about applying to either the Creating Safer Places or the Crime Prevention Innovation Fund which will open on 15 November 2021.
Can a portion of the available funding go to administrative/secretariat/staffing costs? If so what percentage of the funding will be considered reasonable to cover these costs?
Yes, however this should be reasonable and proportionate to the amount of funding available for funded activity, which is expected to represent the majority of the grant. Value for money will be considered when recommending proposals for funding and if the administration costs are high or there is insufficient evidence of how these costs will add value to the initiative, the EOI is unlikely to be recommended.
Is training and development of Action Group members eligible to be funded under the grant, to develop necessary skills to be effective and prevent attrition and membership turnover?
Yes. Building capability within the community is an important focus of this initiative and will help to sustain benefit beyond the period of funding. This capability building component could include Action Group members as well as other grass-roots community organisations. The guidelines suggest a range of areas that the initiative may focus on to lift capability.
What if local community grass roots organisations are well placed to lead a project, but are not legally eligible to receive grant funding, such as an unincorporated organisation?
An organisation must be a legal entity to receive government funding. For most organisations this means being incorporated and registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (the Act). If an organisation is a legal entity created in another way, for example through an Act of Parliament, it may be required to provide evidence of this.
Smaller, grass roots organisations may receive funding to deliver activity that forms part of the broader initiative, though it is expected that the coordinating organisation or another legal entity will act as an auspice.
Can action research within the project period be included in the budget and eligible for funding?
Investment into action research can be included, particularly if it contributes to the understanding of local crime and community safety issues and how to address them, and helps to build community capacity. There is a strong emphasis on evaluation within the program which will require the impact of funded activity to be evaluated.
Will urban design and infrastructure upgrades with a crime prevention lens be considered for funding under the Empowering Communities grant?
The Creating Safer Places stream of the Building Safer Communities program is available to support urban design and infrastructure projects. The next round of this competitive grant application process will open on 15 November 2021.
The aim of Empowering Communities grants is to tackle crime and safety issues in a holistic way, with a focus on addressing the underlying drivers of offending or low perceptions of safety. Place-making activities may form part of the work undertaken through Empowering Communities, but it is preferred that any applications for significant urban design and infrastructure upgrades are submitted through future rounds of the Creating Safer Places stream, rather than being funded through Empowering Communities.
How will the project be sustainable past three years?
Empowering Communities grants funding is intended to support the Action Groups to leverage community capacity to deliver sustainable outcomes beyond the funding period, which includes sourcing additional funding opportunities (either philanthropic or through alternative grant opportunities) and developing community capability in order to support ongoing sustainability.
Evaluation
Will a 12 month post project evaluation be expected to be submitted?
Generally 12 month post evaluations are required for infrastructure projects, so unless the Action Groups decide to invest in infrastructure as part of their initiatives, this will not be required.
It is required however that the Action Group conduct a process evaluation of the initiative and ensure that evaluation is embedded into all funded activity. The department will work closely with Action Groups to establish a robust evaluation approach in the early stages of development.
Will a state-wide evaluation be undertaken of the successful projects?
The Action Group will be supported by the department to develop an evaluation approach for the initiative that focuses on both the process of designing and implementing the initiative as well as the individual activities and projects that are funded to achieve the agreed common goal. The department will then collate this information across the state to evaluate the program as a whole.
The department has established an outcomes framework as part of the Crime Prevention Strategy, and the department will work with council and the Action Group to consider how this relates to the activity funded through Empowering Communities to ensure local level evaluation work effectively contributes to the broader program evaluation.
Other questions
Is there a word limit in the EOI for responses to questions?
No. You are encouraged however to ensure responses are succinct and specifically address the questions asked. There are limitations on the size of individual attachments that may be uploaded of 25mg, but no limitations on the number of attachments.
When will the funding for successful organisations be available?
The department aims to notify councils of the outcomes of their EOI by late October, subject to relevant approval processes, and will negotiate a funding agreement with approved councils / coordinating organisations soon after to enable activity to get underway.