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4ST Partnership Fund

NCSS4ST Partnership Fund

Introduction

The 4ST Partnership Fund aims to mobilise the sector to co-develop solutions that promote innovation, collaboration and empowerment, with the end outcome of improving the quality of life of service users - including Families, Children and Youth, and Persons with Mental Health Conditions.

Application Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Who: Applicant must be a Social Service Agency (SSA), Social Enterprise (SE), or a Ground-up group collaborating with another entity or individual.

Inclusiveness: Non-NCSS members, including SEs and Ground-up groups without Institution of Public Character (IPC) or Charity Status can also apply*.

*Where possible, the project should be fronted by an organisation that is an NCSS member with IPC status. (Please refer to the Seed vs Grow table below for eligible applicants for each category of funding.) Non-Charity status agencies (regardless of registration type) are required to make a declaration on the not-for-profit nature of the programme, and that the beneficiaries are local communities.

INNOVATIVE

New and Value-Added Approaches: Solutions should demonstrate that they are either new ideas/approaches to solve the identified problems or value-add to an existing solution to improve service user outcomes.

COLLABORATIVE

Partnerships for Better Outcomes: Solutions should feature inter-organisational partnerships between two or more organisations, either in the form of joint projects or systematic alignment of work structures and systems.

EMPOWERING

Person-Centred and Empowering: Solutions should be person-centred and allow service users to have access to relevant information, gain skills to improve capabilities, provide feedback to improve the quality of service delivery, and participate in service design/delivery.

STRATEGIC

Targeted Solutions: These solutions should focus on addressing these identified areas:

Upstream support for low-income families
Support for persons with mental health conditions
Emerging needs and gaps

For more information on these areas, please refer to the 4STPF Info Session slides.

Type of Funding

There are 2 types of funding available. Please see below for the parameters of each fund before application.

	SEED FUNDING	GROW FUNDING
WHO CAN APPLY	Solution owners have to ensure solutions feature partnerships either in the form of inter-organization information sharing, or interaction through activities, between two or more parties for better service outcomes.	Lead applicants must be NCSS members with IPC status in collaboration with another entity/individual. Non-NCSS members, including SEs and groudup groups without the Institution of Public Character (IPC)/Charity Status can also apply as a co-applicant. Non-Charity status agencies (regardless of registration type) are required to make a declaration on the not-for-profit nature of the programme, and that the beneficiaries are local communities
IDEAS & INITIATIVES	For ideas with potential to meet a need in the sector and would like to test their concepts.	For initiatives with a working proof of concept, would like to further develop and test their solution OR Initiatives with a proven model and would like to scale.
FUNDING PARAMETERS	Up to 100% of the project's Total Operating Expenses (TOE) with a maximum of $10,000 per year.	Up to 90% of the project's TOE, with a maximum of $400,000 per year (excluding an evaluation budget of up to $80,000 for each approved project).
DURATION	Up to 1 year.	Up to 3 years.
DELIVERABLES	Articulate proof of concept, refine the value proposition of the solution in the landscape, share learnings and insights from prototype testing with wider sector and used learnings to improve solution.	Adopt the NCSS Service Standards in service delivery, achieve outcomes under the Sector Evaluation Framework, submit evaluation research report, complete the Organisational Health Framework for Social Services (OHFSS) assessment.

Resources

To assist you in preparing your funding proposal, we offer a range of 4ST Partnership Fund Resources to support innovation, collaboration, and empowerment. Additionally, you can explore the following resources for guidance in creating a more robust proposal:

4ST Partnership Fund Info Session

NCSS and TMT have conducted several info sessions. You are encouraged to refer to the slides from the latest Info Session or watch the webinar recording for valuable insights.

How to Apply

When to Apply

There are two application windows each year, in April and October. To submit your proposal, click the "Apply Now" button below.

What to Prepare

As you prepare your application, please follow these steps:

Download the Application Form (for reference only).

Download and sign the Declaration Form
- For Organisations: To be signed by CEO
- For Individuals (Submission of Seed applications ONLY): To be signed by Team Leader