Natural England - Top tips for applicants
Top tips for applicants
The following are some ‘top tips’ that we have gathered from across the Access to Nature team to help those of you who are in the process of applying. We hope you find these useful. If you wish to discuss any of these further, please contact your regional or national adviser.
Speak to your regional or national adviser before you complete a form.
Read the application notes and relevant guidance before filling in the form.
Include all the information we ask for, both on the application form and in supporting information (if sending in paper copies, please supply 2 copies).
Do not assume the Grant Adviser has prior knowledge of your grant at Stage 2.
Please bear in mind that Stage 2 is highly competitive – to stand the best chance of success applications should be well developed and presented and supported by robust evidence of need.
Explain clearly your project outcomes and how these fit with Access to Nature.
Consider all your costs carefully and ensure all expenditure is justified and explained. Provide a detailed breakdown of the budget, in particular overhead costs.
Be clear and focused on what is to be delivered and to whom. Ensure you describe activities you plan to undertake in the natural environment to provide us with a good picture of what you hope to do.
Make sure you identify the current barriers that are discouraging people from accessing the natural environment.
Be innovative – we are unlikely to fund existing projects that are simply running out of existing funding.
Use your own words to explain simply and clearly what you aim to achieve.
Consider including a Business Plan and cash flow for your project (we have templates available on request). This is a definite requirement for projects over £250k.
Be aware that you need to satisfy our land tenure requirements if you are doing any capital work on land in your or another’s ownership, even if it is delivered by volunteers or paid for through match funding.
Don’t forget we only fund new posts that are openly recruited. We cannot fund existing posts except the elements of those that are managing staff within the project.
Make sure you demonstrate clearly how your project fits with regional targeting plans for Access to Nature, and provide reasons and evidence of fit with regional, sub-regional and national strategies. For national projects you will need to demonstrate that your project is addressing national scale issues.
Provide information on the level of input (financial and otherwise) you are expecting from partners. You may need a partnership agreement, especially if the project success depends on one of your partners.
Submission to any given grants panel is not guaranteed, but you should receive a decision on your stage 2 application within 120 working days.
