Community projects to benefit from University-backed fund

Community projects will benefit from a £800,000 fund, part of a project which includes the University of Bradford.

The Communities Innovating Yorkshire Fund (CIYF) has launched as part of the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP).

Under CIYF, chosen community organisation projects from across Yorkshire and Humber will receive individual awards of up to £50,000 for developing larger, existing projects, or up to £10,000 for small/pilot projects.

Applications are now open for projects to submit their bids for a share of the CIYF’s £800,000 funding total. The deadline for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 23 March.

The CIYF wants to hear from projects including those focusing on socially marginalised residents such as racial/ethnic or national minorities, women, residents of spatially isolated communities, those living in poverty and/or without adequate access to educational or vocational opportunities and applications of research addressing evidence gaps.

The University of Bradford is one of 12 Yorkshire higher education institutions who are partners of the £5 million (YPIP) project which aims to ensure academic research informs public policy decisions.

The project’s funding enables the region’s academics to work directly with community groups and policymakers on research areas across Yorkshire and Humber, which were identified as priorities in an extensive pre-bid consultation exercise.

Professor David Spicer, from the Faculty of Management, Law & Social Sciences at the University of Bradford, said: “We are delighted to be part of the YPIP and the launch of the CIYF is a major part of the programme.

“It’s a great opportunity for community organisations, the public sector and businesses to work with YPIP and the University to develop new innovations for policy and practice.”

YPIP was launched in 2024 and will hand out funds to projects up to December 2026. It is one of four projects funded by the £20m investment from UKRI (UK Research & Innovation) and the only one based in England.

Professor Kersten England CBE, Co-Director of Y-PIP, said: “We are excited to be launching the £800,000 Communities Innovating Yorkshire Fund (CYIF).

“It will support important work led by community, business or civic organisations on inclusive growth, transition to net zero, strengthening communities and widening access to data.”

CIYF project applications must have a leading focus on one of YPIP’s five themes, which are:

• Collecting and Utilising Community Data: Applications for collaborative projects which look at how data can be utilised to foster evidence-based decision-making for local communities and policymakers. Find ways of collecting and utilising data to support economic growth at local and regional levels.
• Good work and better business: Projects which look at practical ways of promoting inclusive business practices and good work such as fair pay, secure contracts and healthy working environments.
• Culture and the creative industry: Applications which include a focus on community definitions of, and participation in, culture and business support models for the creative sector.
• Climate-ready places: It is a location where carbon emissions are falling rapidly, nature is being restored and people’s lives, livelihoods and infrastructure are adapting to the pressing challenges of the changing climate. This area looks to tackle inequalities, as lower-income people tend to be most at risk from climate change.
• Communities in their places: Residents work alongside academics and policy makers from the start on projects relating to their community, rather than later in the consultation process.

YPIP includes all Yorkshire Universities’ members, such as Bradford, plus local and mayoral combined authority representatives, the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN), the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission (YHCC), Yorkshire and Humber Applied Research Collaboration and local community groups.

Monika Antal, Assistant Director, Yorkshire Universities, said: “The Yorkshire and Humber Policy Innovation Partnership’s Communities Innovating Yorkshire Fund (CIYF) provides a unique opportunity to develop and demonstrate innovative community engagement projects across Yorkshire & Humber.  CIYF further illustrates the multi-stakeholder collaborations that support inclusive and sustainable growth across our region.”

For more information, go to y-pern.org.uk/ciy-fund and book to attend an information seminar online, held on Tuesday 4 March.