About the UKSPF
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is an initiative designed to accelerate the government's Levelling Up agenda.
From 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025, the UKSPF will provide funding for local investments to create positive change in communities across the country.
The UKSPF presents a significant opportunity to level up disadvantaged regions, empowering them with greater access to funding and resources. With the UKSPF's support, local initiatives can flourish, forging stronger and more resilient communities, by boosting and cultivating local pride and enhancing life opportunities for all.
Medway UKSPF: our investment plan priorities
We submitted a UKSPF Investment Plan in 2022 that was approved by the government.
At the heart of our investment plan is a commitment to the government’s Levelling Up agenda. With our allocation of £1.8 million, we've outlined our spending priorities, crafting a roadmap for progress that aligns with aspirations of our vibrant community.
Through the UKSPF, we'll channel our resources into 3 key investment priorities:
- Communities and Place
- Supporting Local Business
- People and Skills.
Year 1 (2022 to 2023)
During Year 1 (2022 to 2023) of the UKSPF programme, we invested £225,000 in 17 projects.
These delivered against the priorities of providing non-financial support to local businesses, and projects that promoted and encouraged people to visit and explore the Medway towns.
Year 2 (2023 to 2024)
Our Investment Plan sets out the investment priorities for Year 2 (2023 to 2024) of the UKSPF programme.
Our Year 2 priorities are improving our communities and place and supporting local businesses.
We believe investing in these areas will help us achieve our goal of building pride in place and increasing life chances in Medway.
We're excited to empower local leaders and communities, whilst working together to support Medway’s wider regeneration ambition ‘Medway 2037’, government’s wider Levelling Up agenda, and delivering pride in place, through boosting productivity, spreading opportunities and restoring a sense of community and local pride.
For projects applying to UKSPF Year 2, all UKSPF funding must be spent by March 2024.
Medway’s priority themes for UKSPF
Our Year 2 Investment Plan identifies the following priorities and themes for UKSPF applications.
To be eligible for funding, all applications must include at least one of the following interventions under each priority.
Priority 1: Communities and Place
- Intervention 1: Enhancing support for local community and neighbourhood infrastructure projects.
- Intervention 2: Supporting the development of campaigns to encourage visits and exploration of the local area.
- Intervention 3: Providing supporting infrastructure to, or helping to build capacity of, local groups.
Priority 2: Supporting Local Business
- Intervention 4: Helping to strengthen local entrepreneurial ecosystems.
- Intervention 5: Offering business support, training, incubation, or accelerator space to local businesses.
- Intervention 6: Helping to develop local Angel investor networks.
- Intervention 7: Supporting the decarbonisation agenda and natural environment.
Our approach to Year 2 UKSPF
To deliver on the objectives of the UKSPF, we have 2 initiatives that are open to applications.
The Pride in Place Fund
The Pride in Place Fund is open to applicants looking to promote a rich cultural experience for residents and visitors alike, to support the social enterprise sector, and to help businesses deliver transformation in alignment with the goals and objectives of ‘Medway 2037’.
We welcome bids from organisations looking to fund a range of projects which align with our identified priorities (above) and themes, including:
- supporting local community infrastructure projects
- supporting and developing campaigns to attract visitors and to help people explore Medway
- building the capacity and capabilities of local community groups
- supporting business transformation, for example, decarbonisation.
Find out more and apply for the Pride in Place Fund.
The Feasibility Fund
The Feasibility Fund will provide funding for feasibility studies to support initial concept and business plan development: seed funding to help get project ideas off the ground.
This fund could help to unlock projects capable of securing further public and private investment in the longer-term.
We see this fund as an important way of supporting the development of impactful projects and concepts that could catalyse longer-term change.
The Feasibility Fund is intended to support projects that could deliver outcomes across our 2 overarching priorities (above).
Each of these funds is specifically designed to deliver on the ambitions and objectives set out in Medway Council’s regeneration strategy ‘Medway 2037’ and the UKSPF Investment Plan.
Find out more and apply for the Feasibility Fund.
Additional information
After government guidance, we have taken the decision to maintain that applications under the People and Skills investment priority will only be available to apply for funds in Year 3 of UKSPF delivery (2024 to 2025).
In Year 2 of UKSPF, we'll prioritise applications under the priority theme Communities and Place. Applications under the priority theme Supporting Local Business will also be considered for USKPF funding.