On behalf of the Discover Work Partnership, Dundee City Council is delighted to launch Challenge Fund (Round 2) – an Application Process for funding – with a value of up to £1.55m for the delivery of additional and / or enhanced services in an Employability Pathway during the period 1 July 2022 – 31 March 2024 with scope for two further annual extensions.
The Challenge Fund (Round 2) is open to eligible organisations who want to support our Community Wealth Building approach to economic development, by delivering employability services that remove structural inequalities experienced by local residents that prevent their progression towards sustainable employment.
This enhances the original Challenge Fund framework published in 2019, where many aspects continue to be relevant and have been absorbed into Challenge Fund (Round 2). The outcome of the original Challenge Fund framework was summarised in a report for Dundee City Council’s City Development Committee on 9 September 2019, including the details of existing Delivery Partners awarded funding for the delivery of services in the Employability Pathway during the period 1 October 2019 – 31 March 2023.
Organisations can request a copy of the Challenge Fund (Round 2) Application Pack by emailing partnership@discoverworkdundee.co.uk
A timetable for the advertisement, application and assessment process is provided below:
| Key Milestones | Day | Date | Days since previous Milestone |
| Advertisement published online | Monday | 25/04/2022 | 0 |
| Last Date for questions to be submitted to the Lead Partner | Friday | 13/05/2022 | 18 |
| Closing Date for the Submission of Applications | Friday (4pm) | 20/05/2022 | 7 |
| Technical Checks of Applications (i.e. financials, etc.) | Friday | 27/05/2022 | 7 |
| Assessment Panel – Begin Independent Assessment | Monday | 30/05/2022 | 3 |
| Assessment Panel – Complete Independent Assessment | Wednesday | 08/06/2022 | 9 |
| Assessment Panel – Conduct Moderation Meetings | Thursday | 09/06/2022 | 1 |
| Clarification Process Begins ** | Monday | 13/06/2022 | 4 |
| Clarification Process Ends | Friday | 24/06/2022 | 11 |
| Notification of Outcome(s) | Monday | 27/06/2022 | 3 |
| Challenge Fund Award Letter(s) | Friday | 01/07/2022 | 4 |
| Service Inception Meeting(s) | Monday | 11/07/2022 | 10 |
| Service Start Date(s) | Monday | 18/07/2022 | 7 |