AN initial pot of £450,000 is being made available over the next two years to help support the social economy in meeting the needs arising from welfare reform and wider public sector budget cuts, for the benefit of communities across Devon.

The Community Impact Support Scheme (CISS) aims to promote independence and self reliance in communities and will be open for expressions of interest from May 18 through the new communities website, new.devon.gov.uk/communities/CISS

Applications are welcomed from organisations within the social economy who work to support people most affected by welfare reform, focussing on those who are unemployed or in work but heavily benefit-dependent.  

The scheme seeks to encourage and support action that leads to improved longer term prospects for these beneficiaries and the applicant organisations that support them, particularly by means of employment and enterprise.

It is intended that successful applicant organisations will be supported to become more attractive to a range of other investment opportunities, such as from the private sector and social investment, and in turn help secure their long term sustainability and their ability to do more of what works.

 Support from the CISS will comprise one-off grants, typically ranging from £10,000 to £50,000, together with access to business support to help applicants develop ideas, business plans and financial forecasts to make sure they are 'investment ready'. 

As far as possible, the CISS will also assist with signposting and cross-referrals to other potential sources of support and financial advice.

The need for the CISS has arisen due to changes introduced by the Welfare Reform Act 2012, and the withdrawal of the Local Welfare Support Scheme funding. 

The Act makes changes to the rules concerning a number of benefits, including the introduction of Universal Credit.  The roll out of Universal Credit in Devon is unlikely to happen before 2016 and this, along with other changes to benefits and tax credits, could have a significant impact on communities.

It is estimated that £343-million per year will be taken out of the Devon economy through reductions to welfare benefits with the losses impacting on working age households.

The CISS is one of a number of key mitigation measures to support the transition through these changes.

The scheme is being run by DCC's Economy and Enterprise service in partnership with district councils and other key stakeholders.

Devon County Council cabinet member for performance and engagement, Barry Parsons, said: 'This scheme is the latest in a number of investments made by the county council towards supporting a strong social economy in recognition of the increasingly important role of this sector.

'We have shared best practice in this field with peers across the UK and Europe through our programmes with the Young Foundation  and the SEEING Project  and we are continuing to take this work forward in a variety of ways.

'This includes the launch of CISS as well as the new communities web resource and support for the recent Devon Social Entrepreneurs Development programme with Dartington School for Social Entrepreneurs.'

Cabinet member for economy and growth, Andrew Leadbetter, said: 'By supporting a strong social economy sector, we are encouraging communities to become more resilient and at the same time, making provision for others to follow suit.

'Sometimes it can take just a small amount of financial assistance or some help with business planning to get an organisation up and running.

'Or, in instances where a group might already be doing some valuable work in the community, this is all about securing and scaling up of good practice.

'We hope that this project will give organisations the sustainability they need to do more work on the ground and ultimately support those who benefit from them.'

More information including Scheme aims, objectives, eligibility criteria and how to apply are available through Devon County Council's new communities website.  The first call for expressions of interest is open until June 12.