Process of Grant Giving 2008 Evaluation Survey In March 2007, Worcestershire County Council approved a new framework for how the Council supports and funds Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations, this framework is known as “Shopping, Investing and Giving”. The Giving part of this framework concerns the awarding of grants to VCS organisations in support of their independent work. A new grant programme has been established and consists of opportunities to apply for strategic or community grants in a number of areas. The Worcestershire County Council Research and Intelligence Unit has been asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the grant giving process.  As part of this evaluation we would like to seek the views of a range of VCS organisations and would be grateful for a few minutes of your time to complete this questionnaire. Please submit your reponse by 9th February 2009 The information you provide to us will be used by Worcestershire County Council, it will only be used for the purpose of evaluating the VCS Grant Programme. We may contact you to further explore any issues that you  raise in the questionnaire and you will be sent feedback on the survey results. We may share results with our partners, however the survey results will be statistical and will not contain your name or anything that could identify you.

About Your Organisation Name of Organisation

What geographical region do your services cover?     National/ International Regional (e.g. West Midlands) Herefordshire & Worcestershire Worcestershire Worcester City Bromsgrove Redditch Malvern Hills Wyre Forest Wychavon Other   If other, please specify

What is the nature of the services you deliver? Please tick ALL that apply     Community Transport Older People’s Services Children and Young People’s Services Carers' Support Equality and Diversity Sports and Leisure Arts and Culture Environmental Mental Health Physical Health Disabilities Independent Advice Other   If other, please specify

Approximately how many volunteers and paid workers does the organisation have?     Fewer than 10   11 - 20   21 - 50   51 - 100   More than 100 Volunteers         Paid workers

Awareness of Programme What is your preferred method of receiving information from Worcestershire County Council (WCC) about funding opportunities? Please tick ALL that apply     A letter direct from WCC A phone call from WCC An email notification from WCC Announcements in the local media Online information on the WCC website Through the Worcestershire Infrastructure Consortium Through an infrastructure organisation (e.g. CVS) Other
If other, please specify
How did you first find out about the VCS Grant programme?     Announcements in the local media Through the WCC website Through the Worcestershire Infrastructure Consortium Through an infrastructure organisation (e.g. CVS) Contacted directly by WCC Through contacts with other VCS organisations Other
If other, please specify

The following questions relate to your thoughts on the information that you initially received or accessed about the VCS Grant programme. Please rate each of the following on a scale of 1 to 5.     Very poor 1   2   3   4   Very good 5   Don't Know How accessible was the information?           How clear was the information about the objectives of the VCS Grant Programme?           How clear was the information about the eligibility criteria for these grants?           How clear was the information about contacts for further information?           How clearly was the application process explained?

Did you or someone from your organisation attend one of the information events held for potential grant applicants? Please tick ONE only     Yes No, we did not know about them No, no-one from the organisation was able to attend No, we felt that we already had enough information No, for other reasons

If you attended one of these events, how useful did you find it? Please tick ONE only     Not at all useful A bit useful Useful Very useful Don’t know/no opinion

Application process The following questions relate to your experience of applying for grant funding through this programme. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Please tick ONE for each a) to i)     Strongly Agree   Agree   Neither Agree nor Disagree   Disagree   Strongly Disagree   Don't Know/Not applicable a) The timetable for applications was realistic; I had enough time to prepare my application before the deadline.           b) The application process was clear, it was easy to understand what I needed to do to apply for a grant.           c) The information asked for on the application form was appropriate given the amount of funding applied for.           d) The guidance notes supporting the application form were adequate.           e) The budget sheet (for strategic grants) was clear and simple to complete.           f) I was able to contact someone to ask questions about the application process if necessary.           g) The decision making process to determine which organisations received funding was transparent.           h) I received appropriate feedback about my grant application.           i) I understand the steps I could take if I were not happy with the decision making process

Overall, given your experience of the VCS grant programme, to what extent do you agree or disagree that the grant giving process is:     Strongly Agree   Agree   Neither Agree nor Disagree   Disagree   Strongly Disagree   Don't Know a) Open?           b) Fair?           c) Transparent?           To what extent to you agree or disagree that the new VCS Grant programme is an improvement compared to the previous arrangements where county council directorates allocated funding on a less formal basis?   Strongly Agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know/No opinion

If you have any other comments about the Worcestershire County Council VCS Grant programme, please use the box provided below   Many thanks for completing this questionnaire, please click the SUBMIT button below to register your responses