ESF Objective 2

European Social Fund European Regional Development Fund		Objective 2
Location	Objective 2 areas are Luton, Southend on Sea, Waveney and Great Yarmouth, Breakland District, North Norfolk Coast. A number of transitional areas are also eligible. For exact locations see the Summary of the Objective 2 Single Programming Document.
Dates	Launch date: March 2000 Deadline for applications: This funding opportunity is ongoing
Aims	Objective of the funding opportunity: The funding aims to address local needs and each area covered has its own local priorities. The overall objective of the funding is to create and maintain economic growth and stimulate economic development. It aims to increase jobs and prosperity and to improve quality of life for people living in the areas covered. Key priorities include support for small businesses and key economic sectors and community economic regeneration.
	It aims to help the following client groups:
	The economically inactive The Unemployed Those in work Under-exploited sources of labour Entrepreneurs	Those lacking basic skills Those working for SMEs Women Those with higher level skills Those with intermediate level skills
FRESA priorities	The funding opportunity fits with the following FRESA priorities:
	Top Priorities: Skills for employability High priorities: Sector skills Under exploited sources of labour Higher level skills Increase of take up of training by SMEs Inward investment	Medium priorities: Enterprise Increasing employment rates ICT Business Investment Innovation
	More information on the FRESA The following labour market factsheets contain evidence to support bids for this funding: Skills for Employability
Eligibility	Eligible organisations: Any organisation. Match funding of 55% is required. Of this, 10% should be from public sources such as local government.
Accreditation	Organisations must have the following accreditation to bid: No accreditation is needed
Amount available	Total funding available: £96 million between 2000 and 2006. £34.2 million has already been allocated, particularly in certain priorities, but in others significant funds remain available. Typical bid size: Average bids range from £100,000 to £200,000. There is no maximum bid size and the smallest bids accepted are usually around £30,000. Smaller bids are not excluded but it is unlikely to be cost effective to make a bid for less than £10,000.
Previous bids	Successful projects: For examples of successful projects see the Go-East website
Application	How to apply for this funding: Organisations wishing to apply for objective 2 funding should do so through their Local Area Group. You may find the following documents useful: Project selection criteria - January 2004 Summary of Single Programming Document
Contact	For further information contact: Government Office for the East of England Eastbrook Shaftsbury Road Cambridge CB2 2DF Tel: 01223 372709 Fax: 01223 372864 email: EuropeanUnit@goeast.gsi.gov.uk http://www.go-east.gov.uk/goeast/european_funding/objective_2
Weblinks	Other useful links: www.esf.gov.uk