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National Influencing Programme: Stage 2

Guidelines
This document provides information about Stage 2 of the application
process for the National Influencing Programme.
Well done on progressing to Stage 2 of the National Influencing Programme. After receiving 184
applications, only 30 have been invited to Stage 2. We hope to fund approximately 17 – 20 (65%) of
these applications.
Applicants have been selected to progress to Stage 2 where they are strongly aligned with the
programme objectives and with a clear plan for how they will influence change within the lifetime of
the programme. There is merit in supporting all those invited to Stage 2 but we will only be able to
fund approximately 65%. In deciding which applications can be funded, we will consider the
strength of each application alongside how work could form part of a portfolio that brings together
organisations adopting different approaches, working towards different aims, supporting people with
lived experience to influence change and engaging small and local charities for example.
The information provided in this guidance sits alongside the guidance for Stage 1 applications – for
example, the programme objectives, who we aim to benefit and who can apply and for what all
remain the same. This initial guidance is included in Annex I for information.
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Contents

Stage 2 overview 3

The Assessment Conversation 3

Who should join the Assessment Conversation? 7

The Applicant Information Form 7

The Expression of Interest 7

The Budget Spreadsheet 12

Timelines 13

Submitting your application 13

Partnership applications 13

How decisions will be made 14

What you can expect if you receive funding 14

Annex I: Original programme guidance 16

Annex II: Programme objectives 30

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Stage 2 overview
Stage 2 of the application process is focused on three main areas:
 Further understanding your plans and addressing any questions that arose from your initial
expression of interest
 Understanding more about your organisation / partnership
 Reviewing any risks in the funding, including reviewing your finances and governance structure
alongside risks associated with the work and how they will be mitigated. We want to understand
the context in which you will be working.
Much of the information we assess at Stage 2 is the same as you have already submitted as part of
your Stage 1 application but you will have the chance to update it where relevant.
There are four core elements to Stage 2:
 An Assessment Conversation
 Applicant Information Form – this is the same as you submitted at Stage 1 but you have the
chance to update it if any of the information has changed
 Expression of Interest – most of this is the same as you submitted at Stage 1 but you will have
the chance to update it if any of the information has changed. We will also ask you some
additional questions to add to your Expression of Interest
 A budget spreadsheet, using the template provided
More information about each of these elements is available on the following pages.
For Community Interest Companies (CICs), we will also need to see your Articles of Association
that show you have an asset lock in place and that you have named the organisation that will receive
the company’s assets on dissolution.

The Assessment Conversation

The Assessment Conversation is an opportunity to talk to you in more detail about your plans and to
find out more about your organisation / partnership.
During this call, we will explore:
 Your proposal in more detail
We will draw out areas where further clarity may be needed. This will include getting a clear
understanding of how your proposal fits alongside existing influencing work in the same area
and how the activities you’re planning will bring about the change you want to achieve.
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Alongside helping us better understand your work, during the call we may also raise questions
we have about your proposal that you may want to think about to strengthen your application
before submitting your updated expression of interest. Where possible, it can be helpful to
ensure these calls are early enough before the application deadline so you have the chance to
think through your response to them fully before submitting your updated expression of interest.

 Potential risks in your work and proposed mitigations

We understand that many things that could impact your work will be out of your control when
trying to influence policy and practice, but we want to understand your awareness of them and
what you might do if they happen.

 Your proposed budget

Any funding secured through the National Influencing Programme will be restricted to work
towards the objectives set out in your Expression of Interest. You can include a contribution to
core costs / overheads within your budget but this should not exceed 15% of the total funding
requested (any contribution to overheads directly associated with your proposed activity should
be included within this 15%).
Areas we will want to discuss with you include:
o How you have developed your budget and what the costs are based on
o Whether you have accounted for inflationary increases
o How you will manage any unanticipated costs associated with the work
o Whether you will be seeking / have secured any other funding to deliver this work
o If funding from the Foundation would be added to others’, the difference funding from the
Foundation would make

 How the work fits with your organisation

We want to understand how your proposed work fits into the work of your organisation as a
whole. For partnerships, this will focus on how the work fits into the work of the lead
organisation.
Areas we will want to discuss with you include:
o The role of influencing within your organisational objectives
o How influencing fits alongside your other work
o Your experience of influencing
o The skills and experience of those who would be leading and delivering the work
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 Your financial situation

For registered charities, we will look at your latest accounts as published on the Charity
Commission website but we will also want to understand what has changed since they were
published, together with a look towards the future.
Areas we will want to discuss with you include:
o Who manages your finances
o Your reserves policy and how regularly it is reviewed
o Whether your current level of reserves are in line with your policy
o The diversity of your income
o Your financial outlook for the next 12 – 24 months
We may ask you to share your latest summary management accounts to show your progress
against your current year budget.

For CICs, we will look at your accounts on the Companies House website but we will also want
to understand what has changed since they were published. We will ask you to share your profit
and loss information together with any budgets that help to look towards the future.
Areas we will want to discuss with you include:
o Who manages your finances
o The sources of your income
o Your financial outlook for the next 12 – 24 months
We may ask you to share your latest summary management accounts to show your progress
against your current year budget.

 Your governance structure

We want to understand the structures you have in place around governance and how decisions
are made between the Board and the Executive.
Areas we will want to discuss with you include:
o How often your Board meets
o How long Trustees / Directors can serve as members of the Board
o How the Board manages risk
o How the Board manages conflict of interest
o How the Board works with the Executive (where appropriate)

 Partnerships
If you are working in partnership, we’ll also want to understand the partnership in more detail
and the governance arrangements for this.
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Areas we will want to discuss with you include:

o How partners have come together to work on this project
o The roles of each partner
o The level of engagement of each partner
o Whether a partnership agreement is already in place.
If awarded funding, you will need to submit your signed partnership agreement to the
Foundation before any funding can be released but this does not have to be in place during the
application.

 Safeguarding
We will want to understand your approach to safeguarding.
Areas we will want to discuss with you include:
o Whether you have a safeguarding policy in place
o If as part of your policy, you have clear guidance on what to do in case of a safeguarding
incident
o How often the safeguarding policy is reviewed
o Who the safeguarding lead is
o Your approach to training on safeguarding

These conversations are expected to take 2 hours. They will take place online by video call between
the start of July and the end of August. We will aim to arrange these conversations at a mutually
convenient time and would encourage you to arrange the calls earlier during the period where
possible, so you have sufficient time to consider some of the questions raised before submitting your
final expression of interest.

Who should join the Assessment Conversation?

You will need to ensure that there are people on the call who can talk to the areas outlined above.
This is likely to include whoever will lead the work you’re proposing and someone who can speak
confidently about your finances and governance.
If you are applying as part of a partnership, you should seek to include a representative from each
partner organisation.
You can decide how many people join the call from your organisation / partnership.
It is expected that three assessors will be joining the call. You will be advised in advance who they
are but together they will bring together experience spanning:
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 The theme you are applying under (accommodation / refugees and asylum seekers / social
security)
 Influencing
 Grant management

The Applicant Information Form

You will need to re-submit your Applicant Information Form from Stage 1. Where any of the
information has changed, such as name of partners or the total amount of funding requested, you are
able to update this information before re-submitting. If nothing has changed, you can re-submit the
same form.

The Expression of Interest

At Stage 2, you will need to expand upon your Expression of Interest.
Most of the questions to be included in your Expression of Interest will be the same as in Stage 1 –
and indeed, the aim of the work and broad approach you propose to take should reflect your Stage 1
Expression of Interest. You are welcome to use the same information that you have previously
submitted for these questions. Alternatively, if your delivery plans have changed or you want to
respond to feedback from Stage 1, you are able to update your answers.
Expressions of Interest should be submitted as a Word document of no more than 6 pages of
A4.
Below sets out the information you have to include in your Expression of Interest. Where this
information is additional to the information you provided at Stage 1, this is highlighted.
You should use the 12 questions below as subheadings in your Expression of Interest.

1 Outline the objective of the work you plan to deliver in no more than 150 words.
This is a new question that you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.
Your answer should provide a clear overview of the change you plan to influence within the lifetime
of the programme. This summary will be used to share with others who may not be directly involved
in assessing your application and should help people understand the change you want to see.

2 What is the change you want to achieve?

This question is the same as in the Stage 1 Expression of Interest so you can use the same answer or
amend it.
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You should expand upon your 150 word summary of your objective i.e. the change to policy and / or
practice that you seek to achieve.
Within this section, we’d like to know which of our identified programme objectives you are seeking
to address (being as specific as possible – so for example, rather than just ‘Improving support and
services for asylum seekers and refugees’, it might be ‘i) improve the availability of support for
people with NRPF status’). This should reflect at least one change listed in the third column of the
table in Annex II.
You’ll also need to tell us the specific overall aim of the change you wish to see. If you are looking
to co-develop the detail of this with people with lived experience as part of this programme, we
would like to understand how you will establish this specific influencing objective. You should
remember to ensure that the objective of your work aligns with at least one of the specific
programme objectives from the third column in the table provided in Annex II.
Your Expression of Interest should be clear about the change to policy and / or practice that you can
reasonably expect to see within the timeframe of your proposed work. You should be aware that the
National Influencing Programme is a one-off funding programme, with no expectation that there will
be further funding available when grants end.

3 How will your work address inequalities?

This question is the same as in the Stage 1 Expression of Interest so you can use the same answer or
amend it.
We are particularly interested in work that recognises the exponentially greater impact of poor
policies on people experiencing inequalities based on, for example, their race, gender, disability or
sexual orientation, or how these identities intersect. Expressions of interest should outline how the
proposed activity will seek to improve understanding and support for people who face inequalities.

4 How will you influence change?

This question is the same as in the Stage 1 Expression of Interest so you can use the same answer or
amend it.
It will be important to have a good sense of how the work you are planning to do will lead to the
change you want to see – who you aim to influence, why, and in what ways your activities will be
effective. This may include building on existing work or developing a new area of work. You are
welcome to include a theory of change to demonstrate this but it will still need to be included in the
Expression of Interest page limit.
The strongest answers will include a clear rationale for why you intend to take your proposed
approach.
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You should include the timeframe over which you plan to undertake this work and any external
events, activity, opportunities or challenges that this relates to.
Where specific influencing objectives will be co-produced by people with lived experience at a later
date, this section should draw on how you will develop a plan and the expertise that you will use to
inform this.

5 How will you work with and support people with lived experience to influence change?
This question is the same as in the Stage 1 Expression of Interest so you can use the same answer or
amend it.
We are particularly interested in work that is led by people with lived experience and in how lived
and learned experience can come together to have the greatest impact. We want to understand people
with lived experience’s appetite for being involved in the influencing work you’re planning and how
people will be supported to participate.

6 If you are not a small and local charity / CIC yourself, how will you work with small and
local charities through this work?
This question is the same as in the Stage 1 Expression of Interest so you can use the same answer or
amend it.
By small and local charities / CICs, we mean those with an income under £1m, working in a
particular locality and who are specialists in reaching, engaging and supporting people. Small and
local charities have a wealth of understanding and expertise from their community connections and
delivery of frontline services which can be used to influence change. You will need to demonstrate
how this will form part of your work.

7 Why is your organisation or partnership well-placed to lead this work?

This question is the same as in the Stage 1 Expression of Interest so you can use the same answer or
amend it.
We want to understand why you want to influence the objective you have identified.
You will need to demonstrate your track record for influencing or why you will be well-placed to
make the case for changes to policy and/or practice. It will be helpful to acknowledge any pre-
existing relationships with those who you are seeking to influence.
Recognising that achieving change is not simple or linear, it is also important to understand where
any work fits alongside or in partnership with pre-existing work by you and / or others to maximise
impact and minimise duplication.
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8 Why is now the right time for this work?

This is a new question that you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.
Funding awarded through this programme will be expected to start between November 2023 and the
end of February 2024 and can run for up to three years. We want to understand why it will be a good
time for you to do the work you propose to achieve the change in policy and/or practice you are
seeking. There could be a variety of different reasons for why now is the right time, including but not
limited to:
o Making the most of upcoming opportunities or policy windows
o Responding to particular challenges
o Building on existing work.

9 What are the key risks to the work you’re planning and how can they be mitigated?
This is a new question that you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.
We know that both external and internal factors will impact on the work that you are proposing and
we expect that funded work will need to adapt to respond to learning and changes to the external
context, for example. We recognise that some risks to your work will be outside of your control, but
we want to see your understanding of the risks involved, whether internal or external, and how you
propose to mitigate them. You are welcome to set this out in a table if you prefer but it should still fit
within the Expression of Interest page limit.

10 How will you track your impact and ensure this is fed into your ongoing work?
This is a new question that you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.
We know that measuring the impact of influencing work can be hard, and sometimes the biggest
impacts may be apparent after funding has ended. However, it is important that you build in ways to
understand whether your approach is having an impact and to apply any learning along the way. This
includes recognising the incremental changes that will ultimately help you to achieve your
overarching objective.
If you are awarded funding, as you develop your more detailed delivery plans, you will need to set
milestones for your work that you can measure your progress against. We can provide support to
help you think this through in more detail, but in the Expression of Interest we want to understand
your approach to measuring the impact of your proposed work more broadly.

11 Where do you want to influence change?

This is a new question that you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.
We want to know which jurisdiction you plan to influence change within i.e.
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 England
 Wales
 England & Wales
 UK

12 If you successful in being awarded funding through the National Influencing Programme,
when would you want the funding to start?
This is a new question that you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.
It is anticipated that funding decisions will be made at the end of October 2023. Grants will need to
start between November 2023 and the end of February 2024.

The Budget Spreadsheet

Unlike in your Stage 1 application, you will not need to include your budget within your Expression
of Interest. You should complete the table within the spreadsheet supplied to indicate how much
funding you are requesting and for what. Your budget should include the full budget breakdown for
the funding you are requesting e.g. if you are requesting funding for staff, you should include how
much funding you are requesting for each staff member on separate lines, with an indication of the
proportion of their time that would be covered by the grant in the notes column.
The spreadsheet should also provide information about any other funding you are seeking or have
secured to support the work set out in your Expression of Interest.
The amount you request should reflect the work you intend to carry out. While the exact figure may
change from your Stage 1 Expression of Interest, the amount you request at Stage 2 should broadly
align with the amount you requested at Stage 1, unless you are responding to specific feedback from
assessors and have discussed any significant changes to budget with them in advance.
It is important that you request an appropriate amount of money for what you intend to deliver, with
funding over a timeline that corresponds with your influencing plans. You should also ensure you
plan for any inflationary increases that you expect during the lifetime of the programme – once
funding is agreed, further top-up funding will not be available. It is possible to include two possible
budgets for work at different scales, but the difference in what can be achieved at these different
levels should be explicit.
You can include a contribution to core costs / overheads within your budget but this should not
exceed 15% of the total funding requested (any contribution to overheads directly associated with
your proposed activity should be included within this 15%).
Any funding awarded through this programme will be restricted to achieving the objectives set out in
your proposal. During the lifetime of the grant, it is possible to amend budget lines but the funding
can only be used towards the influencing objectives set out in the Expression of Interest.
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You should be aware that this is a one-off funding programme, with no intention for continued
funding at the end of the programme.

Timelines
 Assessment conversations will take place in July and August 2023.
 Final applications should be submitted by 5pm on 1 September 2023.
 We aim to get back to all applicants with final decisions by the end of October 2023.

Submitting your application

To submit your final application you should send the following documents in Word format to:
policy@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk
 Your Application Information Form (if nothing has changed since Stage 1, you can re-submit
the same form)
 Your Expression of Interest, on no more than 6 sides of A4
 Your budget spreadsheet, using the table provided
 For Community Interest Companies, your Articles of Association that show you have an asset
lock in place and that you have named the organisation that will receive the company’s assets on
dissolution
Final Stage 2 applications need to be received by 5pm on Friday 1 September 2023.
For more information about how we use your data, please see statement on Privacy and Data
Protection.

Partnership applications
If you are applying as part of a partnership and are successful in being awarded funding through this
programme, you will need to submit your partnership agreement when you return your grant
acceptance form, before any funding can be released.

How decisions will be made

All final applications will be assessed by three assessors who bring together expertise across the
programme themes, influencing and grant management. Some of these assessors work for the
Foundation and some are external experts who bring in additional expertise around the themes of this
programme.
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All assessors will write their own assessments of your final application, reflecting both on the
information submitted and the assessment conversation. Together, they will also agree the strengths
and weaknesses of each application.
These assessments, together with key information about your organisation/partnership and your plans
will be shared with the final decision-making panel. While informed by the assessors’ assessments, a
panel of different people will be responsible for making the final funding decisions. The panel will
include 2 members of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees alongside 4 external experts with expertise
across the programme’s influencing themes. They will consider all of the assessments to understand
where our funding could have the most impact, whilst also considering the spread of potential funded
projects in relation to objectives, influencing targets and approaches for example. We will aim to
fund a range of different projects at a range of different scales.
We will be unable to fund all those applicants that have been invited to Stage 2 of the application
process.

What you can expect if you receive funding

Across the portfolio of projects funded by this programme we will look to build opportunities for
grant holders to make connections and learn from each other. Working with grant holders to
understand what will be most helpful, we will look for opportunities to support you as a cohort and
understand if there are ways your work could complement or connect with one another. This is
expected to include events for members of the cohort to come together.
Alongside providing funding for your work, we are also able to support grant holders with
organisational development. We work with a range of partners to provide tailored non-financial
support for organisations in addition to their grant. For example, this could include support around
governance, strategy or putting in place a new approach to fundraising. We work with a range of
independent providers to commission this support.
On receiving funding, you will be expected to develop more detailed plans to deliver your project
and will need to complete a form that identifies the milestones you will be working towards and that
you can report against when submitting funding reports. You will normally be required to submit
written reports in an agreed format for each year of your funding, alongside further updates and
conversations with your allocated grant manager.
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Annex I: Original programme guidance

Programme objectives
This programme is focused on changing policies, practices and structures so that people facing the
greatest challenges experience improved support over the longer term. Grants awarded through this
programme will need to work towards achieving positive change around the objectives outlined
below. We will not fund work that does not seek to meet one of the following identified objectives.
Across these objectives, we are particularly interested in work that is led by or actively developed
with user groups and / or those with direct lived experience of these issues, and that addresses
inequalities.
Work should be focused on at least one of the programme objectives outlined below but may include
a range of these programme objectives where an organisation’s influencing work cuts across these
issues.
A table outlining these objectives is also available in Annex II.

Our focus areas

1. Making the social security system work better for people facing the greatest
challenges
We are looking to support work that influences policy and practice nationally to:

a) Ensure benefits are not taken away unfairly

The social security system should provide the safety net we need when facing additional challenges.
Yet too often, support that is available through the social security system is reduced or removed from
those who need it most. We want to support work that ensures people can access the support they
need and that this support is not taken away unfairly, leaving people without enough to cover the cost
of essentials.
Under this objective, we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Improve access to disability benefits through appropriate / better Personal Independence
Payment (PIP) and work capability assessment processes
ii) Reduce the impact of sanctions
iii) Reduce the impact of deductions.
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b) Increase the availability of support for people facing crisis / destitution

Destitution in the UK is rising. We have a social security system with too many gaps and that leaves
some people without state support, relying only on support from charities who themselves face rising
demand. We want to ensure that people facing crisis / destitution have access to the support they
need.
Under this objective we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Improve crisis support for people with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) status
ii) Reduce homelessness for people with NRPF status
iii) Improve the availability of and access to local discretionary support for anyone who needs it.
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2. Making sure people facing complex issues have access to suitable

accommodation
We are looking to support work that influences policy and practice nationally to:

a) Improve the affordability of accommodation

A lack of social housing means that many people in receipt of benefits are forced to find
accommodation in the private rented sector. Yet the amount of money that can be received through
housing benefit or Universal Credit is too low to cover most rents. This leaves a rent gap that often
has to be covered through other benefits which are already too low to cover the cost of essentials. We
want to ensure that people receive enough support to cover the real costs of accommodation.
Under this objective we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Increase Local Housing Allowance and change the way it is calculated so it better reflects rent
levels
ii) Increase the Shared Accommodation Rate (for under 35s) and change the groups it applies to
and the way it is calculated to better reflect rent levels
iii) Ensure rents are genuinely affordable to people who are accessing support from the social
security system.

b) Improve the appropriateness of accommodation

The housing crisis has left too many people living in accommodation that doesn’t suit their needs or
leaves them unable to access the support they need to overcome complex issues and barriers in their
lives. We want to support work which helps to ensure that people can live in accommodation that is
of a sufficient quality and standard so they can be effectively supported, and which does not set
people back who have already faced significant challenges.
Under this objective we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Drive up standards and practice in the private rented sector to prevent and resolve housing issues
ii) Improve the appropriateness of asylum seeker and refugee accommodation
iii) Ensure supported and temporary accommodation (including institutional asylum
accommodation) is appropriate and supportive for people from the LGBTQ+ community
iv) Improve the quality of support available in exempt accommodation, with rules that work for
both people and charities.

c) Increase the availability of accommodation

A lack of available housing options means that too many people are stuck in temporary or
inappropriate accommodation for too long. We want more people to be able to move on to suitable
longer-term accommodation, whether they have experienced homelessness, domestic abuse, the
criminal justice system or substance abuse for example.
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Under this objective we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Increase access to high quality, affordable and appropriate move-on accommodation.
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d) Improving support and services for asylum seekers and refugees

We are looking to support work that influences policy and practice nationally to:

a) Increase the availability of support for asylum seekers and refugees

Whilst the number of people forced to make perilous journeys to the UK to seek asylum increases
due to the lack of safe routes, the support available to those who arrive is changing as a result of the
Nationality and Borders Act. We want to ensure that those seeking safety in England and Wales have
access to the support they need.
Under this objective we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Improve the availability of support to people with NRPF status
ii) Increase the financial support available to asylum seekers.

b) Improve the appropriateness of support for asylum seekers and refugees

A key factor in the accessibility of support that is available for asylum seekers and refugees is the
appropriateness of the support for people from different countries, ethnicities and cultures. We want
to ensure people have access to appropriate support which helps them to recover from the trauma
they have experienced.
Under this objective we are interested in work which makes the case to:
i) Improve the appropriateness of asylum seeker and refugee accommodation
ii) Increase the availability of culturally appropriate support for asylum seekers and refugees
iii) Support anti-racist approaches within the sector.
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About the funding available

Who we aim to benefit

All of our funding through this programme is focused on structural changes that will improve
support for working-age people aged 17 and older. We will not fund work that is focused on children
under 17 or solely older people.
We are particularly interested in work that addresses inequalities within these identified issues.
We recognise the exponentially greater impact of poor policies on people experiencing inequalities
based on, for example, their race, gender, disability or sexual orientation, or an intersection of these
identities.
We also have an ambition to support more people to influence change who have lived experience of
the issues we’re looking to address.

What we mean by complex issues

Too many people experience injustice and inequality in our society and face barriers because of their
gender, ethnicity, nationality and disability. This is especially true for people facing complex issues.
By complex issues we mean issues that don’t have simple solutions, such as homelessness or
domestic abuse.

Where we will fund

We will fund work that seeks national change to policy and practice in England and Wales. ‘National
change’ can apply in Wales, England or England and Wales. Any UK-level influencing work should
be grounded in the experience of charities in England and Wales but may draw on examples from
other jurisdictions.
National change could be directed at national governments or other public agencies or systems that
operate throughout the country. For example, it could be focused on changing policies and practice
within the private rented sector for housing.
Whilst central government sets the national policy framework, this work could also involve seeking
to shift the practices and approaches of local authorities around local enforcement and regulation.
We would be open to supporting work within specific local authorities but only where the aim of the
project is to shift policy and practice beyond this locality and of local authorities across the country.
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This programme is distinct from influencing local or regional change where work is only focused on
change in a specific local area or region. Later in the year, the Foundation will be launching a
separate programme to support local and regional influencing that is focused on supporting local
collaborations seeking to affect change in their area.

The type of work we will fund

Influencing can include a broad range of activities, such as research, policy development, analysis
and activity to engage public bodies, politicians and policy makers, as well as the media and public.
We will fund projects taking different approaches, providing the aim is to tackle structural and
systemic challenges at a national level.
This funding cannot be used to support service delivery even if you are seeking to demonstrate a
new way of working. This funding is a chance to think differently and focus on influencing policy
and practice at a national level. Work we fund will support you to engage people and institutions that
hold power and who have direct influence over policy and practice.
This might involve, for example:
 a campaign led by people with direct experience of a specific challenge, using their experiences
to influence decision-makers
 undertaking frontline research as part of an influencing strategy – gathering evidence of how an
issue is experienced by people to make the case for change, with a plan for how this will be
shared to make an impact
 using evidence, life stories and data about a problem gathered from a charity’s frontline
services alongside evidence from elsewhere, to engage policy makers and develop solutions.
 presenting information in new or different ways to improve engagement and traction with
policy makers who have previously been resistant.

To date we have supported a range of approaches including:

 Supporting experts by experience to work with the Department for Work and Pensions and Job
Centres to improve understanding of the support needed by people facing complex issues when
claiming Universal Credit (led by Expert Link)
 Co-funding a Commission into the future of social security (led by Bright Blue)
 Supporting research and policy capacity to make the case for changing approaches to Local
Housing Allowance (led by Bevan Foundation)
 Working with local authorities and central government to increase the support available to
people with no recourse to public funds (led by Homeless Link and Naccom)
 Building a campaign for reform of disability benefit assessment processes (led by Z2K)
 21

Whatever approach you choose, the most important things we’ll be looking for are that:
 the influencing approach (or the combination of approaches) is appropriate for the type of
change you are seeking
 your approach demonstrates an understanding of who has the power to make the change happen
 you have a clear plan for how you can achieve the change being sought
 you are well placed to influence the change you’re seeking e.g. you may have a track record of
influencing change or have access to important insights for the work
 your work is distinctive.
You / others might have been working on these issues previously, with new work planned to build on
the impact to date, or you might be developing new approaches to influencing national change
around the programme’s objectives.

Work led by people with lived experience

By “people with lived experience”, in the context of this programme we mean people who have been
directly impacted by failures with the social security system, a lack of suitable accommodation, or
who are asylum seekers or refugees. That experience could be current, historic or by association.
We value work led by people with lived experience because we know that no one understands the
impact of an issue better than those who have experienced it themselves, and so we want to see these
people leading the change. We understand that you might not have your specific objectives
established when you apply because you’ll want to bring people together to develop them, so that the
group has ownership of the work. We still want to see that your work aligns with the programme
objectives set out above, but understand you’ll need to keep it broad enough to meaningfully develop
the detail of the work together at a later date.

How much money is available and for what

You can apply for grants of £30,000–£150,000 to be spent over up to three years. We anticipate
making grants up to a total value of £1.8m.
Funding may be sought for specific projects and / or specific roles.
You can apply for all costs related to the proposed influencing work to be covered. This includes but
is not limited to:
 staff costs
 activity costs
 materials costs
 evaluation costs
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 core costs where they are overheads clearly related to the proposed project.

We are also happy to consider adding our funding to support you have secured from others, or to
build on or extend existing work. To note however, we cannot retrospectively fund work that has
already started.

When money is available

Initial applications will need to be submitted by 5pm on 19 May. Applicants will be notified about
whether they are invited to the second stage by 30 June before having the chance to further
strengthen and expand their applications ahead of funding decisions in October 2023.

Who can apply for funding

Registered charities or charitable incorporated organisations and Community Interest Companies
(limited by Guarantee or Limited Shares under Schedule 2)* with an income over £25,000 are
eligible to apply. There is no upper income threshold.
The Foundation’s priority is supporting small and local charities. We are particularly interested in
proposals led by or actively developed with user groups and / or those with direct lived experience of
the relevant issues.
Larger organisations applying will be expected to demonstrate how they will work with and include
the insights of smaller charities and people with lived experience.
Partnerships with other organisations (or between charities) will be considered where the lead partner
meets the eligibility criteria. Partnership agreements will need to be in place before any funding is
awarded.
*For Community Interest Companies, if you are invited to the second stage of the application process
we will need to see your Articles of Association that show you have an asset lock in place and that
you have named the organisation that will receive the company’s assets on dissolution).

What it means to be supported by the Foundation

At the Foundation, we anticipate working closely with the successful applicants as a supportive and
engaged partner in their work. Organisations applying should be willing to work closely with us as a
funder. We aim to act as a critical friend, bringing a balance of support and challenge to ensure work
is as impactful as possible. We will also look for opportunities to provide a platform for your work
and open the door to new relationships where we can help.
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Organisations funded through this programme will be part of a small cohort which the Foundation
will bring together. For example, through previous grants programmes focused on influencing,
charities have come together to share learning and make connections between projects to strengthen
their work. In turn, grant holders will have access to the range of development support offered by the
Foundation to support learning and development in the organisation and the project.
We recognise that influencing is challenging and plans need to change and adapt to respond to
difficulties and new opportunities – our focus is on giving you the resources and support to pursue
whatever has the best chance of influencing those you need to win over to affect change. Our focus is
not on monitoring the extent to which you exactly deliver what you set out in an application some
years previously.
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Applying for funding

Application process
If you are developing work which meets the parameters above, we would encourage you to get in
touch with us for an initial phone call to check if your idea fits with what we’re looking for. If it
does, you can apply by submitting:
 An expression of interest, using the headings outlined below. Expressions of interest should
be no more than 4 sides of A4
 A short Applicant Information Form that includes contact information for your application
and details of any partners
 A short Diversity, Equity and Inclusion form to help us understand if our processes are
equitable and fair.
You can download the forms from the National Influencing Programme webpage.

What we’re looking for

If the work fits with our programme objectives and benefits the people outlined above, there are a
number of things we’d be looking to understand from your expression of interest.

1) What is the change you want to achieve?

We’d like to know which of our identified objectives you are seeking to address.
You’ll need to tell us what the specific overall aim of the change you wish to see is, or if you are
looking to co-develop your influencing objective with people with lived experience as part of this
programme, we would like to understand how you will establish your specific influencing objectives
within our programme objectives.

2) How will your work address inequalities?

We are particularly interested in work that recognises the exponentially greater impact of poor
policies on people experiencing inequalities based on, for example, their race, gender, disability or
sexual orientation, or how these identities intersect. Expressions of interest should outline how the
proposed activity will seek to improve understanding and support for people who face inequalities.

3) How will you influence change?

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It will be important to have a good sense of how the work you are planning to do will lead to the
change you want to see – who you aim to influence, why, and in what ways your activities will be
effective. This may include building on existing work or developing a new area of work. You are
welcome to include a theory of change to demonstrate this.
You should include the time frame over which you plan to undertake this work and any external
events, activity, opportunities or challenges that this relates to.
Where specific influencing objectives will be co-produced by people with lived experience at a later
date, this section should draw on how you will develop a plan and the expertise that you will use to
inform this.

4) How will you work with and support people with lived experience to influence change?
We are particularly interested in work that is led by people with direct lived experience and in how
lived and learned experience can come together to have the greatest impact. We want to understand
people with lived experience’s appetite for being involved in the influencing work you’re planning
and how people will be supported to participate.

5) If you are not a small and local charity yourself, how will you work with small and local
charities through this work?
By small and local charities, we mean charities with an income under £1m, working in a particular
locality and who are specialists in reaching, engaging and supporting people. Small and local
charities have a wealth of understanding and expertise from their community connections and
delivery of frontline services which can be used to influence change. You will need to demonstrate
how this will form part of your work.

6) Why is your organisation or partnership well-placed to lead this work?

We want to understand why you want to influence on the objective you have identified.
You will also need to demonstrate your track record for influencing or why you will be well-placed
to make the case for changes to policy and practice. It will be helpful to acknowledge any pre-
existing relationships with those who you are seeking to influence. Recognising that achieving
change is not simple or linear, it is also important to understand where any work fits alongside or in
partnership with pre-existing work by you and / or others to maximise impact and minimise
duplication.

7) How much funding are you requesting?

Expressions of interest should indicate the proposed budget for this work, including relevant
information where this funding may sit alongside other existing work or funds (whether secured or
being applied for). You will need to include the total amount requested alongside a high-level
breakdown of the costs that would be covered by this funding.
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Submitting your expression of interest

Expressions of interest should be set out with the following headings, using no more than 4 sides of
A4:
1 What is the change you want to achieve?
2 How will your work address inequalities?
3 How will you influence change?
4 How will you work with and support people with lived experience to influence change?
5 If you are not a small charity yourself, how will you work with small and local charities
through this work?
6 Why is your organisation or partnership well-placed to lead this work?
7 How much funding are you requesting?
Expressions of interest and should be submitted in Word format alongside:
 Your completed Applicant Information Form
 Your completed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Form
You will need to email these documents to policy@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk by 5pm on Friday
19 May.
Expressions of interest will be assessed and a small number of applicants will be invited to the
second stage of the application process.
In assessing expressions of interest, we will consider your answers to the questions outlined above to
help us understand which applications could have the greatest impact with the requested funding. We
recognise that the detail of your influencing plans may change, both if you progress to the second
stage and if you receive funding. As such, it will be important for you to demonstrate an
understanding of who holds the power to make the change you want to see and how you can
convince them to make that change.
We will also be particularly interested in how your work centres addressing inequalities and involves
people with lived experience and small charities.
We hope to take forward applications to the second stage that demonstrate a spread across:
 our programme objectives
 influencing targets (e.g. different institutions / Welsh or UK Government)
 size and location of applicant organisations
 different influencing approaches.
The second stage of the application process will involve a conversation to further explore your
expression of interest and to discuss any questions that arose in the initial assessment. These
 27

conversations will also explore questions about your organisation as part of our due diligence
process.
On the back of this conversation, you will be asked to update your expression of interest with further
information, including an assessment of anticipated risks to the work and associated mitigations.
Further information about the second stage application and assessment process will be shared with
applicants that progress to the second stage.
Final applications will need to be submitted by 5pm on Friday 1 September.

Decision making
The final Stage 2 applications will be assessed, with final grant decisions made at a panel meeting in
October.

Key dates
 5pm on Friday 19 May: applications close
 30 June: applicants notified about whether they are invited to Stage 2
 3 July – 25 August: assessment meetings with Stage 2 applicants and chance to submit further
information
 5pm on Friday 1 September: deadline for final updated applications
 End of October: applicants notified of final decisions

Annex II: Programme objectives

Overarching Key areas of interest Key changes we are seeking and
objective under this objective which applications must align to
Making the social a) Ensure benefits are not i) Improve access to disability benefits
security system work taken away unfairly through appropriate / better PIP and work
capability assessment processes
better for those
facing the greatest ii) Reduce the impact of sanctions
challenges iii) Reduce the impact of deductions
b) Increase the availability of i) Improve crisis support for people with
support for people facing NRPF status
ii) Reduce homelessness for people with
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crisis / destitution NRPF status

iii) Improve the availability of and access
to local discretionary support for anyone
who needs it
2. Making sure a) Improve the affordability i) Increase Local Housing Allowance and
people facing of accommodation change the way it is calculated so it better
reflects rent levels
complex issues have
access to suitable ii) Increase the Shared Accommodation
Rate (for under 35s) and change the
accommodation
groups it applies and the way it is
calculated so it better reflects rent levels
iii) Ensure rents are genuinely affordable
to people who are accessing support from
the social security system

b) Improve the i) Drive up standards and practice in the

appropriateness of private rented sector to prevent and
accommodation resolve housing issues
ii) Improve the appropriateness of asylum
seeker and refugee accommodation
iii) Ensure supported and temporary
accommodation (including institutional
asylum accommodation) is appropriate
and supportive for people from the
LGBTQ+ community
iv) Improve the quality of support
available in exempt accommodation, with
rules that work for both people and
charities

c) Increase the availability of i) Increase access to high quality,

accommodation affordable and appropriate move-on
accommodation
3. Improving support a) Increase the availability of i) Improve the availability of support for
and services for support for asylum seekers people with NRPF status
and refugees ii) Increase the financial support available
asylum seekers and
refugees to asylum seekers
b) Improve the i) Improve the appropriateness of asylum
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appropriateness of support for seeker and refugee accommodation

asylum seekers and refugees
ii) Increase the availability of culturally
appropriate support for different
communities
iii) Support anti-racist approaches within
the refugee sector