Skills Capital Investment Fund

Version 1 – 05.08.15 12

Liverpool City Region

2015 - 16 and 2016 - 2017

Strand 1 (Round 2) - Sites and Premises

Guidance Note

Version 1 – 05.08.15 12

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Scheme Overview and Eligibility

2.1 Overall Eligibility Criteria

2.2 Strand 1 (Sites and Premises)

A: Capital Innovation

B: Larger Re-development

3. Appraisal Criteria

3.1 Gateway Appraisal

3.2 Main Appraisal Criteria

3.3 Property and Estate Considerations

4. Application Process and Notices

5. Expression of Interest and Fast Track Full Application Requirements

5.1 For Expressions of Interest and Fast Track Full Application Forms

5.2 For Expressions of Interest

5.3 For Fast Track Full Applications

6. How to Submit your Application

6.1 Submission Requirements

7. Approval and Contracting

8. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Introduction

This Guidance note sets out detailed information for applicants to the Liverpool City Region Skills Capital Investment Fund (the Fund).

In brief, the Fund is made up of 4 strands as follows:

· Strand 1 - Sites and Premises

· Strand 2 - Improved Facilities

· Strand 3 - Equipment

· Strand 4 - Low Carbon

This guidance note relates only to Strand 1 (Round 2).

For Strand 1 - Sites and Premises there is a two stage competitive application process as follows:

1) Expression of Interest (EOI), open from 5 August 2015.

2) Those successful in Expression of Interest Stage will be invited to develop detailed applications from January 2016.

However, to enable projects that are already reasonably well developed to be considered more quickly, there is the facility for applicants to take a Fast Track route.

Using this facility, applicants if they choose to do so, can submit an Expression of Interest at the same time as a Full Application for their project. All applications using this route are at the applicants own risk in terms of any professional fees incurred in developing a Full Application; which by its nature is more detailed and requires considerably more information than the Expression of Interest.

The additional information supplied as part of any Fast Track Full Application will only be considered if the proposal successfully passes the Expression of Interest stage.

It is strongly recommended that potential applicants read in full the Skills Capital Investment Fund Prospectus and review the other strategic documents, referenced by the web links. Potential applicants should do this before they consider making an Expression of Interest or Fast Track Full Application to the Fund.

2. Scheme Overview and Eligibility

2.1 Overall Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to make an application to the Liverpool City Region Skills Capital Investment Fund, the following criteria must be met:

Applicants must be:

A Further Education College or Other Approved Training Organisation based in the Liverpool City Region that is on the Register of Training Organisations and who hold a prime contract with the Skills Funding Agency to deliver education and training for 2015/16 and who are expecting to hold a contract in 2016/17.

Please note the following:

Sub contractors on the Register of Training Organisations and in receipt of Skills Funding Agency funding for education and training via an established prime contracting arrangement are not eligible to apply within their own right but can form part of a prime contractor consortia application.

Other Approved Training Organisations will need to demonstrate to the Liverpool City Region’s satisfaction that they are a significant deliverer of training within the local area or have plans to offer training within the City Region which is currently unavailable and aligns with the priorities set out in the Skills Capital Investment Fund Prospectus.

2.2 Strand 1 (Sites and Premises)

The Sites and Premises strand has been split into 2 elements, as follows:

1A: Capital Innovation

Description / For innovative smaller scale capital development or re-configuration projects
Eligibility / Further Education Colleges and Other Approved Training Organisations based in Liverpool City Region
Consortia bids welcomed
Minimum Total Project Value / £300,000
Minimum value of grant considered / £100,000 grant
Anticipated maximum value of grant / £500,000 grant*
Benchmark Intervention rate / 33% of eligible costs*
i.e. 2:1 ratio (applicant: the Fund) for match investment

1B: Larger Re-development

Description / Larger re-development schemes to enhance, improve or extend Further Education College facilities (this could be considerable re-configuration or new build)
Eligibility / Further Education Colleges and Other Approved Training Organisations based in Liverpool City Region
Consortia bids welcomed Consortia bids welcomed
Minimum Total Project Value / £1,500,000
Minimum value of grant considered / £500,000 grant
Anticipated maximum value of grant / £2,000,000 grant*
Benchmark Intervention rate / 33% of eligible costs*
i.e. 2:1 ratio (applicant: the Fund) for match investment

*However, if there is a compelling case on educational, financial and/or economic growth grounds both the anticipated maximum grant level and intervention rate may be varied. In addition the City Region may consider other forms of project related co-investment where this can be clearly evidenced.

3. Appraisal Criteria

The Liverpool City Region will use the following criteria to ensure applications align to local economic growth opportunities and the educational needs of learners as set out in the Skills Capital Investment Fund Prospectus.

3.1 Gateway Appraisal

As an essential requirement for an Expression of Interest/Fast Track Full Application to progress beyond the gateway, all proposed projects submitted for consideration must as a minimum demonstrate to the Liverpool City Region’s satisfaction that it is:

1. Responsive to employer demand, with high levels of named employer support for, and involvement in, the proposed project;

2. Able to meet demand and address market gaps in the Liverpool City Regions growth/ high volume employment sectors, as set out within the Liverpool City Region’s Skill Capital Investment Fund Prospectus;

3. Provides detail on the enhancements to the curriculum that will be delivered as a result of the proposed project being implemented, clearly demonstrating the benefits to and impact on learners and employers including the potential for the project to deliver new job opportunities or increase wage earnings for learners as a direct result of the project;

4. Able to meet the eligibility criteria set out in the guidance note at Section 2; and

5. Provides sufficient information for the Expression of Interest/Fast Track Full Application to be assessed, including in line with the economic, educational, technical and financial appraisal sections of the guidance note and application form.

Applicants must address, to the City Region’s satisfaction, the above 5 gateway criteria within their Expression of Interest/Fast Track Full Application to be considered for grant assistance under the Fund.

Applicants must qualify any assumptions made in terms of learner volumes and quantify any proposed outcomes, including information on how they will be achieved. For Fast Track Full Applications, applicants must clearly outline the impact of their project (return on investment) in terms of the value for money assessment.

Supporting evidence you may wish to include with the Expression of Interest to ensure it meets the Investment Gateway Criteria includes, for example:

· Formal letters of support from employers, including detail on how they will benefit from the proposed project;

· Clear gap and competitor analysis of how the proposed project is meeting a genuine market opportunity on a City Region level; and

· Reference to any relevant statistical information and information on current learner performance within your organisation (e.g. success and achievement rates) where appropriate.

3.2 Main Appraisal Criteria

In addition to the Gateway Appraisal, Expressions of Interest/Fast Track Full Applications will be appraised against the four main appraisal criteria as set out below.

1. Economic Appraisal – to establish how well the project meets the skills priorities set out within the prospectus.
Applicants should consider and provide evidence of how their project clearly:
· Contributes to meeting City Region gaps in current skills provision, with a focus on our key growth and high volume employment sectors as set out in the prospectus, (any projects seeking support outside of these sectors will require a compelling business case with evidence from named employers);
· Supports the delivery of the wider Liverpool City Region Growth Plan and Skills for Growth Annual Report 2014/15. In particular, how the project would deliver employer led, responsive and flexible provision that improves skills levels, progression and supports succession planning;
· Enables businesses and learners to adopt new technologies or business processes leading to an increase in take up of technical or specialist training;
· Delivers greater employer engagement, particularly from SMEs in Apprenticeships (including higher level) and Traineeships;
· Supports entrepreneurship and existing business growth, including inward investment opportunities;
· Creates wider employment and job creation outcomes;
· Attracts co-investment (cash or in-kind) from employers;
· Provides learning environments and up-to-date specialist equipment and machinery similar to that used in modern workplaces, (where this is integral to the sites and premises project i.e. in the same curriculum area and part of the building to be constructed or improved).
Quantitative evidence depending on the nature of the potential project may include:
· Job creation opportunities;
· Employment outcomes;
· Jobs safeguarded.
Other Evidence:
· Named employer support.
2. Educational Appraisal – to establish how well your project meets the needs of learners and employers.
Applicants should consider and provide evidence of how their project clearly:
· Enhances learner participation (particularly at 19+, 16-18 Apprenticeships and Higher Level Apprenticeships);
· Meets a current gap in adult (19+) learning provision at a Liverpool City Region level;
· Delivers innovation in curriculum content and/or improvements in the quality of teaching and learning for learners and employers as a result of the proposed project. (This criteria will be particularly important under Strand 1a);
· Assesses the impact on travel to learn patterns for the proposed provision;
· Efficiently accommodates and is versatile enough to adapt to future changes in curriculum, social and economic needs and / or educational delivery;
· Improves learner pathways, performance, success and achievement;
· Supports progression into employment, including delivering enhanced job outcomes and the potential of uplifts in wage earnings.
Quantitative evidence depending on the nature of the potential project may include:
· Learner numbers before and after the proposed project (see application).
Other Evidence:
· Summary level travel-to-learn information for your organisation at a Liverpool City Region level (current and predicted post-project completion);
· Relevant benchmarks demonstrating wider job outcomes and/or wage progression as a result of training and learning that would take place in the facilities proposed.
3. Technical Appraisal – to establish if the proposed project is fit for purpose.
Applicants should consider and provide evidence of how their project:
· Delivers buildings and facilities which are flexible, fit for purpose and provide value for money;
· Meets the Skills Funding Agency’s building costs model. Where costs exceed these benchmarks clear justification must be given;
· Delivers project operating savings: implementing projects which result in lower premises costs (£/m2) over an investment period of 20 years;
· Ensures appropriate environmental and sustainability issues are incorporated into projects e.g. ISO14001 and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating. The City Region will normally require new build projects to obtain a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ category and refurbishments to be categorised as ‘Very Good’;
· For Further Education Colleges is relevant to your organisations Property Strategy;
· For other approved training organisations shows projects should be driven by the strategic objectives of the applicant organisation and be part of a clear property strategy for the institution;
· Delivers investments in capital equipment covering elements which are not normally part of a Further Education College or Other Approved Training Provider’s capital upgrade programme, such as software, general IT and telephony equipment. If furniture costs are part of an overall submission, these will only be eligible if they are integral to the specific new build or refurbishment project which the application relates to;
· Be deliverable and has effective risk management procedures.
· Addresses efficiency and rationalisation issues by improving learning space which is inefficient and unfit for purpose, reducing operating costs, driving efficiencies and creating space which is versatile, fit for purpose and tolerant to change;
· Helps to ensure that estate is in good condition, is fit for purpose and is versatile enough to efficiently accommodate changes in curriculum, social and economic needs and/or educational delivery.
Other Evidence
Expression of Interest applicants will need to confirm the current state of the infrastructure that they wish to improve. It may be necessary for this to be verified by an RICS accredited surveyor’s report and should also be aligned to any data previously submitted to the Skills Funding Agency.
Assessment of Further Education College facilities condition will consider but will not be limited to the established A-D eMandate estate conditions categories and assessment data used by the Skills Funding Agency. See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfa-capital-funding-emandate-benchmarking-tool.
4. Financial Appraisal - to establish value for money and affordability.
Applicants will need to consider and evidence how their project:
· Demonstrates financial value for money, including an increased ability to raise income independently reducing dependency on public funding;
· Delivers the required co-investment;
· Evidences that the necessary matched funding requirements will be met and if submitting more than 1 bid under each strand applicants should show their priority for approval.
Other Evidence
· For Fast Track Full Applications only, demonstrates a positive return on investment, in terms of the investment appraisal / net present value (NPV) for the proposed project compared with the base case (do the minimum) option;
· All projects must demonstrate operating savings at Expression of Interest stage, evidenced by implementing projects which result in lower premises costs (£/m2) over an investment period of 20 years.

3.3 Property and Estate Considerations