Time to Change Hubs Application Guidance Notes
This document provides further information related to the questions in the Time to Change Hub Application Form. If you have a query related to a question which is not covered here, or you need further information on any aspect, please contact us at
Section A: Your commitment to mental health and anti-stigma and discrimination work- Mental health in your local strategies
1.a / Please consider the desired outcomes in your Health and Wellbeing strategy that are directly or indirectly relevant to mental health and, in particular, anti-stigma and discrimination work.
If your current Health and Wellbeing Strategy does not have any relevant mental health priorities but you are working on introducing some in the near future, please provide information on these here.
1.c / We would like to understand how your hosting of a Time to Change Hub fits with and would contribute to the strategy for your local area.
1.e / Please outline any additional local strategies or further information from your Joint Strategic Needs Assessment that isn’t covered in your Health & Wellbeing Strategy that may link in to and complement the work of a Time to Change Hub.
- Your support for and commitment to a Time to Change Hub
2.a / Please see section 3.A of the Hub model paper for an outline of the expectations regarding the Hub Host role.
The senior level staff member should be someone who has sufficient authority to endorse the proposal on behalf of the nominated Hub Host organisation (e.g. Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board). We are also looking for an initial commitment at this stage to indicate that, should you be successful, there is likely to be sufficient buy-in at a senior level within the Host organisation to ensure the Hub is a success.
We anticipate these individuals being the signatories of a partnership agreement with each other and Time to Change should your application be successful.
In the ‘rationale for nomination section’, please provide a brief outline of how the proposed organisation meets the expected requirements of the Hub Host role as set out in section 3.A of the Hub model paper.
2.b / If the Local Authority is also the proposed Hub Host please leave this section blank.
If the Local Authority is not the nominated Hub Host, we still expect theiractive support and involvement to be key to the success of local Hubs and are therefore looking for a similar indication of commitment to the initiative.
Please state what type of Local Authority is involved (Unitary Authority, Metropolitan Districts, County Council).
The senior level staff member should be someone who has sufficient authority to endorse the proposal on behalf of the Local Authority (e.g. Director of Public Health) and to ensure that there is likely to be sufficient commitment to the initiative during delivery.
We anticipate these individuals being the signatories of a partnership agreement with each other and Time to Change should your application be successful.
2.c / Please see section 3.B of the Hub model paper for an outline of the expectations regarding the Hub Coordinator role.
The senior level staff member should be someone who has sufficient authority to endorse the proposal on behalf of the nominated Hub Host organisation (e.g. Chief Executive / Director). We are also looking for an initial commitment at this stage to indicate that, should you be successful, there is likely to be sufficient buy-in at a senior level within the Coordinator organisation to ensure the Hub is a success.
We anticipate these individuals being the signatories of a partnership agreement with each other and Time to Change should your application be successful.
In the ‘rationale for nomination section’, please provide a brief outline of how the proposed organisation meets the expected requirements of the Hub Coordinator role as set out in section 3.B of the Hub model paper.
2.c.i / The Hub Coordinator organisation will be responsible for ensuring that the Champions Fund is effectively administered.
Please provide an outline of the nominated Coordinator’s experience in administering a similar initiative, including how it was successfully promoted to marginalised communities. The information you give here may be the organisation’s experience, or the experience may be from staff within the organisation leading the project.
Please note that standard Champion’s Fund application forms, guidance notes and supporting materials / training will be provided to all successful applicants.
2.d / For a Hub to be most effective, we would like to see broad coalitions of organisations and community groups with a shared interest in mental health related issues working together across multiple sectors. If you have already had the chance to engage other organisations in discussions about their potential involvement with the Hub please list them here to provide an indication of the potential wider membership, influence or reach of the Hub partnership. Potential wider members might include;
Local elected Councillors / Member of Parliament
NHS organisations
Other voluntary / community organisations
Emergency services
Education sector
Major employers
Section B: Your proposal
- Your local area
1.a / We are looking to understand the geographical area you are proposing the Hub will cover.
Ideally, please provide a list of postcode areas to define this. If you are not able to easily provide these, please feel free to define it in another way, so long as we have a clear indication of the areas your Hub will be active in.
1.b / There are no minimum or maximum expectations as to the size of the population Hubs should aim to cover in their work.
We will accept applications from neighbouring Local Authorities working together and consider this on a case-by-case basis.
1.c / Please provide an indication of the demographic of the proposed Hub area, by either % of population or absolute population numbers.
1.d / Please provide us with the most up to date data you have available. As a minimum we would expect data to be from the 2011 census.
1.e / Please describe any other demographic information that you feel is relevant to your application, focussing on those groups who you feel are likely to be facing multiple forms of discrimination, may be particularly marginalised or are existing priority communities in other relevant local strategies, etc.
- Your Time to Change Hub’s activities
2.a / This is a key section and your chance to tell us about your vision and objectives for your Hub.
You should include details of any existing mental health related activity or networks and how a local Time to Change Hub would link to and compliment these.
2.b / We do not expect firm plans to be presented here, as these would be developed with the wider Hub partnership once established. However, we would like to have a feel for the sort of activity you envisage your Hub delivering at this stage.You might want to consider;
Where and when might you run events?
Why might you choose certain sites and dates?
Who might you expect to reach with your events, including any priority community groups identified?
Who might take the lead in organising certain events?
What might your TTC Hub have in place to ensure successful delivery of the events?
Which local festivals, shows or conferences might provide a platform for events?
2.c / Which forms of local media would be utilised in order to amplify the message of your local Time to Change campaign?
Include any resources or local networks that your Hub might have in place to ensure successful delivery of this activity. This might include print press, blogs, and local television. We would like to see how you have considered how you will reach those communities you have identified as experiencing multiple disadvantage.
2.d / Include anything your Hub might have in place to ensure successful delivery of this activity. This might include utilising the social media accounts of Hub partners, or promotion of the campaign in a banner on the local authority website.
2.e / Please outline the organisations, networks or routes available to your Hub to ensure the priority groups identified in section B.1 are engaged.
If possible, please also let us know how you might engage with the groups that Time to Change have identified as a national priority to engage with in this phase of our programme; Children and Young People, African and Caribbean People, and Men.
Section C: Your capacity to run a Time to Change Hub
- Management of the Time to Change Hub
1.a / Tell us about your experience of running similar initiatives, aimed at changing perceptions and behaviour. We would like to hear about any mental health related campaigns, but relevant examples that are not directly related to mental health campaigns are equally valid.
If you are able to provide a case study example, please provide an overview of the initiatives, intended outcomes and the activity delivered. If you have links to any further information or websites, etc., please include these.
Wherever possible, please also include your Hub members’ experience of engaging marginalised groups through campaigns.
1.b / Lived experience leadership is a core value of Time to Change. We would like to hear how you would ensure this is lived out in your Hub.
We will be able to support you with the involvement and leadership of people with experience of mental health problems in the Hub itself, but we would also like to hear your vision for how they will placed be at the heart of all activity.
For more information about lived experience leadership see:
1.c / We are looking for an indication that you have thought about the practical implications of running a Hub and that there is a commitment to ensure sufficient staff capacity is made available to ensure it operates effectively.
For example, these staff might be responsible for day to day communications within your Hub and with Time to Change. They might be Time to Change’s first point or liaise with partners so ensure agreed Hub partnership actions are completed in time, etc.
If any identified support will be a new post which has not yet been created or recruited to then please indicate here.
We would also expect to see the anticipated roles and levels of engagement of the senior individuals named in sections A2.a, A2.b and A2.c outlined here.
The ‘time available for Hub work’ provides a rough indication of the proportion of each staff member’s time you expect to be allocated to Hub work. This should be written as either 0.2 FTE or 1 day a week, etc.
- Risk Register
2 / Please provide what you envisage to be the key risks to the effectiveness of a local Time to Change Hub in your area, and explain how you will manage these risks.
Section D: Sustainability
A key aspect of local Hubs is that they continue to work to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination for as long as possible after the 18 months of direct support from Time to Change. This is an open section for you to tell us how you expect to be able to continue this work or embed principles and best practice across Hub partners.
This should include how your Time to Change Hub partners will ensure your activities focussed on changing your local communities’ attitudes and behaviours around mental health continue once Time to Change’s direct support eases off.For example, you might want to tell us about;
The potential availability of financial resources to support continued hub activity or the ability to secure external funding
A commitment to maintaining a certain level of staff time on Hub activity
How the hub might evolve as a network or forum or how its work could be embedded elsewhere
How local organisations, communities and individuals might be equipped with the skills to own and continue mental health anti-stigma and discrimination work
Evidence of a successful local / partner track record in embedding and sustaining similar initiatives
Committing to tackling mental health stigma and discrimination within the next Health and Wellbeing Strategy for your local area
Section E: Signatures
Your application must be signed by a senior-level individual who is able to endorse this organisation’s commitment to this initiative
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