Ecorys & Baker Tilly assist Building Better Opportunities

Consulting firms Ecorys UK and Baker Tilly will together, under the flag of BBO ESF Support team, provide advice and support to organisations applying or receiving funding from the Building Better Opportunities programme.

Building Better Opportunities
The Building Better Opportunities (BBO) programme has been set up to bring together funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Big Lottery Fund, with the aim of tackling poverty and social exclusion faced by the most disadvantaged people, and boosting local jobs and growth in England.

Organisations that want to apply for the funds need to respond to one of the project outlines of the BBP programme, which all are based on five key principles. The projects must:

• Help the most disadvantaged
• Tackle social exclusion
• Be focused on the capabilities of each individual
• Lead to better coordinated services
• Create new opportunities for work

BBO ESF Support team
To provide guidance and advice to applying organisations, as well as those in receipt of funding, Ecorys and Baker Tilly partnered up to form the BBO ESF Support team. The team will offer support to help clients understand and implement the ESF rules and regulations, including eligibility, actual costs, record-keeping, data reporting, publicity and cross-cutting themes. “The purpose of this support is to increase the capability of organisations to handle European funds, both under the current BBO programme and in the future,” the BBO ESF Support team explains.

Ecorys will host a helpline, events and a website of resources to offer guidance, while Baker Tilly will be in charge of providing more intensive support to applicants who successfully proceed to the second application stage and to funded projects.