The fund is for anyone interested in psychology, education and community initiatives – it’s not just for EPs. We want this money to be used by people who are invested in enhancing what our community can do and offer, and individuals and teams who want to demonstrate community leadership.
This is our first year doing this, so it’s a learning curve for us. We’ll try to be as clear as we can, though we can’t provide an exhaustive list of what would/wouldn’t be funded.
Examples of projects that the community fund can be used for
- A small group of trainees want to create a podcast exploring areas of interest. To get this going they would like funding to purchase two microphones and podcast hosting subscriptions.
- Several EPs set up a community-based, free to access webinar series, and require an annual Zoom license to make this work.
- A group of trainee and qualified EPs already have a working group that focuses on various aspects of social inclusion and would like to host their first in-person event, but would like funding to hire the venue.
- An EP wants to start a platform with a specific CPD focus (e.g. learning and memory). They’re clear that this would be an open access community resource, but they would like to attend a training to develop their skills in building a web platform.
- An existing interest group are hosting an event. The event is low cost, they have the venue, but they really want to be able to provide teas, coffees and pastries on arrival. They get a quote for this and would like funding to do this.
- A group of assistant EPs want to create a paper, blog or resource drawing on work they’re doing. They have decided that a group writing retreat day would help and would like funding to hire the venue.
Of course, the fund could be used for things that we haven’t necessarily considered before, so don’t feel constrained by this list. If you’ve got an idea, get in touch and we can talk. Alternatively, register to attend our information session at 4pm on Thursday 22nd January.
What the fund is not
We’ll judge each application on it’s own merits, but if it falls broadly in to any of the below categories, it is unlikely we’ll offer funding.
Not a hardship fund
The community fund is not designed to offer hardship funds e.g. it cannot be used to supplement daily living expenses, sustenance, bills or rent.
Not for ‘business as usual’ or business development activities
The fund cannot be used for anything that would reasonably be expected as part of your day job. Examples of this include, but are not limited to:
- A service or team hosting a service meeting
- The cost of EPs attending professional CPD
- Client engagement events for an EP service
- Purchasing assessment resources or work related software
The fund is not for business development activities and this stands whether you are a sole trader or company.
Not for individual, professionally required continuing development
The fund cannot be used to supplement the cost of continuing professional development. Many professionals are required to maintain CPD as part of their professional registrations.
Next steps
Register to attend the fund information session – 4pm, Thursday 22nd January
Apply (applications must be received by Tuesday 17th February)
Back to ‘About the fund‘