The Promise Partnership
On 5th February 2020, the Independent Care Review published its vision for Scotland. Now that vision must become a reality. The Promise is working across sectors to drive the change that is needed to ensure that Scotland #KeepsThePromise made to care experienced children, young people and their families. Learn more about The Promise.
The Promise Partnership is an investment of £4m from Scottish Government intended to deliver change in line with Scotland’s commitment to creating capacity in the ‘care system‘ to #KeepThePromise and provide holistic family support.
Corra Foundation will administer The Promise Partnership on behalf of the Scottish Government. The Promise Partnership Advisory Group (details below) is helping to shape the process and the Decision Makers Panel, a group with lived experience of Scotland’s ‘care system’, will assist in the final funding decisions. Thank you to those involved.
Open Call Route
The Open Call Route is now closed.
Applications open: Monday 1st February 2021.
The closing date for applications is: 12 noon on Monday 1st March 2021.
Decisions week commencing 29th March 2021.
Diagnostic Route
Approximately £600,000 will be used to help drive forward big ideas that will #KeepThePromise and contribute to the Change Plan. This is an invite only application process – please see more info below.
Open Call Route Awards List
Organisation, grant amount and Local Authority area:
Organisation Name | Grant Amount Total | Local Authority |
Aberdeen City Council | £50,000 | Aberdeen City |
Aberdeenshire Council | £50,000 | Aberdeenshire |
Aberlour | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Action for Children | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland | £25,000 | Scotland-wide |
Adoption UK Charity | £42,000 | Scotland-wide |
Argyll & Bute Council | £50,000 | Argyll & Bute |
Articulate Cultural Trust | £50,000 | East Renfrewshire |
Avenue Confidential | £50,000 | Aberdeen City |
Barnardos | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Children 1st | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Children and Families Social Work Services, Dumfries and Galloway Council | £50,000 | Dumfries & Galloway |
Church of Scotland Social Care Council (CrossReach) | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Circle | £20,000 | Edinburgh City |
Clackmannanshire Council | £50,000 | Clackmannanshire |
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar | £50,000 | Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles) |
Community Law Advice Network | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Community Volunteers Enabling Youth Project (COVEY) | £50,000 | South Lanarkshire |
Cyrenians | £50,000 | Edinburgh City |
Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust | £40,000 | Edinburgh City |
East Ayrshire Council | £50,000 | East Ayrshire |
East Dunbartonshire Council | £50,000 | East Dunbartonshire |
East Lothian Council | £50,000 | East Lothian |
East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership | £50,000 | East Renfrewshire |
Educating Through Care Scotland | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Falkirk Children’s Commission | £50,000 | Falkirk |
FCA Scotland | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Foster Care Connect | £41,000 | Scotland-wide |
Fostering People Scotland | £30,000 | Aberdeen City |
Glenboig Development Trust | £35,000 | North Lanarkshire |
Harmeny Education Trust Limited | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Home-Start UK | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
HUB for SUCCESS | £50,000 | Edinburgh City |
Includem | £50,000 | Glasgow City |
Inspiring Scotland | £40,000 | Scotland-wide |
Inverclyde HSCP | £50,000 | Inverclyde |
JMT Fostering | £25,000 | Scotland-wide |
Kibble Education and Care Centre | £50,000 | Renfrewshire |
Moore House Group | £20,000 | Scotland-wide |
Moray Council | £50,000 | Moray |
North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership | £50,000 | North Ayrshire |
North Lanarkshire Council | £50,000 | North Lanarkshire |
Orkney Islands Council | £50,000 | Orkney Islands |
ProjectChange | £30,000 | Edinburgh City |
Quarriers | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Renfrewshire Council | £50,000 | Renfrewshire |
Resilience Learning Partnership | £50,000 | Clackmannanshire |
Rossie | £50,000 | Angus |
Safe Families | £50,000 | Edinburgh City |
Scottish Adoption Association | £25,000 | Edinburgh City |
Scottish Attachment in Action | £15,000 | Scotland-wide |
Scottish Borders Council | £50,000 | Scottish Borders |
Scottish Mentoring Network | £30,000 | Scotland-wide |
SIC | £50,000 | Shetland Islands |
South Ayrshire Council | £50,000 | South Ayrshire |
St Margarets Children and Family Care Society | £50,000 | Glasgow City |
Staf | £50,000 | Glasgow City |
Stirling Council | £50,000 | Stirling |
The Fostering Network in Scotland | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
The Good Shepherd Centre | £50,000 | Renfrewshire |
Volunteering Matters | £50,000 | Edinburgh City |
West Dunbartonshire HSCP | £50,000 | West Dunbartonshire |
West Lothian | £50,000 | West Lothain |
Who Cares? Scotland | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
YMCA Edinburgh SCIO | £10,000 | Edinburgh City |
Young Scot | £16,000 | Scotland-wide |
Ypeople | £50,000 | Scotland-wide |
Open Call Route
The Open Call Route is now closed.
Decisions week commencing 29th March 2021.
Approximately £3m of this investment is being administered as a catalyst for change through an open call route. Funding of up to £50,000 is being allocated to help organisations create capacity, adapt approaches and work towards cultural shifts and collaboration across the ‘care system‘. These changes must reflect what is important to care experienced children, young people and families.
Important Pointers
The Promise Partnership Open Call Route is now closed.
Who can apply? Applications can be received from public/private/third sector organisations throughout the ‘care system‘ from across Scotland.
You will also need to ensure that your:
- Organisation or local authority has made a public commitment to #KeepThePromise
- Organisation is looking at how it embeds #KeepThePromise and wider family support in its strategies and plans.
We can only accept one application per organisation. We are unable to accept applications that are from:
- Individuals.
- Propositions delivering outside Scotland.
- One organisation applying on behalf of another.
Are there any restrictions to the private sector applying? The private sector is eligible to apply for investment, they will need to meet the ‘Are You Ready?’ Checklist and similar to all organisations must demonstrate that they are unable to implement or invest in changes themselves.
We are a local authority are we able to apply? Yes the criteria and process is the same for any organisation through the open call route.
As a federated charity, can the central team apply as well as the individual charities? There’s nothing to stop federated charities from applying if they have their own Board of Trustees, their own set of audited accounts and a charity number. You will need to specify if you’re trying to shift things within an organisational or federational culture and how you would co-ordinate plans.
What do we mean by commitment to The Promise? Organisations or Local Authorities have signed up to #KeepThePromise, which you can find on The Promise website. Organisations have referred to The Promise through their own communications, on their websites or social media. Most importantly, we are looking at how organisations are already looking to include #KeepThePromise this within their strategy.
What can be funded? This investment is about infrastructure change, which can include rethinking your services, but it is not a fund for ongoing or new service delivery. This is about organisations being able to take stock and look at their internal practices and what they need to do prior to developing service delivery.
The Promise Partnership investment is flexible, but we expect the recipient to use funds that will enable them to drive forward or implement system change plans in-line with The Promise. This could include:
- back filling posts.
- salary costs.
- capacity building costs.
- additional expenses for individuals e.g., travel/individual training budget.
Does an organisation have to employ an Implementation Manager or can this fall within an existing employee’s remit? As part of the application, we ask organisations to show that they have considered who the implementation leader will be – the key person who will connect with The Promise and Promise Partnership teams and co-ordinate the shifts and changes internally. It can be an existing or a new staff member depending on what organisations need to take forward these changes. If it’s an existing staff member, we would be looking at how their role is going to change and how it’s focused on taking forward organisational shifts.
Our organisation has already committed monies to implementing The Promise – are we still eligible? It is fantastic to hear that many organisations are already committing resources to this work and you may still be eligible to apply to the fund. However, the Open Call is specifically targeted at organisations who have identified what they need next, but do not have the available financial resources to help move things forward.
All organisation committed to #KeepThePromise will still be able to learn and connect with The Promise on implementing the plan.
As part of our checks we will ask and review organisations financial positions. For example, if an organisation has large reserves, we would like to know why reserves cannot be used to fund this change.
Is your organisation ready to apply? The ‘Are You Ready?’ Checklist is used to determine if your organisation is eligible to apply to The Promise Partnership.
The application includes a self-assessment to help us understand where you are on a journey of change within your organisation in relation to #KeepThePromise. We ask you to answer honestly and provide evidence to support your answers. We are specifically looking to find out:
- What you are delivering/have delivered in relation to #KeepThePromise
- Your organisation’s commitment/plan to #KeepThePromise
- What you are looking to do to make the necessary shifts
Is there a time limit as to when the funds have to be spent by and to when the outcomes have to be achieved? We’re looking for people to start the work when the grant offer is made and carry out this work over the next 12 months. In terms of sustainability, it is about embedding changes within your organisation, thinking what kind of activities or changes you need to implement now that will enable sustained shifts or practices.
How will applications be assessed and how will final decisions be made? All applications will be presented to the Decision Makers Panel who will be guided by a set of funding principles. The Decision Makers Panel, a group with lived experience of Scotland’s ‘care system’, will assist in the final funding decisions. All decision makers will be supported by Corra staff, who will provide guidance and support to help them make transparent and robust investment decisions.
Unsuccessful applicants will be informed, and feedback provided.
What do we mean by Family Support? Whole family support services will be a priority for The Promise, with a focus on what support works to keep families together and support wider families to continue to care. Families facing a variety of challenges must have support that is holistic, coherent and relational.
Families will have a key role in the design of family support services. The family principles are about how children and young people themselves define their families/family structure – which may be different from what we have previously perceived family to be and, therefore, what family support has looked like up to this point.
This work must also look at how children and young people living in the ‘care system‘ return to living with their families if that is what they want and it is safe to do so. Local service providers know and understand the importance of doing everything to keep families together safely.
Though this is a priority, if you work with care experienced young people outwith a family context, you may still be eligible to apply.
Information Session
We held an online information and Q & A session on 16/02/21, giving more detail on the open call route.
Next Steps
The Promise Partnership Open Call Route is now closed.
- Completed forms need to be with us by 1st March 2021
- Decisions week commencing 29th March 2021
If you have any questions, please contact promisepartnership@corra.scot
Diagnostic Route
Approximately £600,000 will be used to help drive forward big ideas that will #KeepThePromise and contribute to the Change Plan. This is an invite only application process.
All ideas through the diagnostic route will be:
- Important to children, young people and families.
- Collaborations.
- Actions from The Promise.
- Service re-designs.
The process of identifying potential organisations for invitation has taken into account scalability, transferability, connectivity of ideas and overall alignment and appetite to #KeepThePromise.
Invited organisations have been identified by The Promise Team using an agreed set of measures:
- Thematic analysis to identify clusters of specific work.
- Contribution to the overall delivery of the Change Plan.
- Level of engagement with The Promise Team.
- Commitments and steps already made by organisation/partners to #KeepThePromise.
Invitations will come from organisations who have already committed and have existing relationships with The Promise.
All invited collaborations will have to complete an online application form and each member of the collaboration will also need to complete a self-assessment.
The Promise Team are not involved in assessing applications or making any funding decisions. The Promise Partnership’s Decision-makers Panel will review all invited proposals and make all final funding decisions, supported by a set of funding principles.
Get in touch
If you’d like any further information or have any questions, please get in touch with us at promisepartnership@corra.scot.
Advisory Group
The Promise Partnership Advisory Group has been integral to shaping this process. Thank you to those involved, including:
Nicky Campbell, Kibble
Lynn Gillies, Fife Council
Joanne Glennie, Ypeople
Carly Glover, Jersey Cares
Marie Clare Tully, Columba 1400
Vicky Wan, Children In Scotland
Alan Webb, Home-Start