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‘Ask and Act’ are new duties proposed in the Housing (Scotland) Bill that requires public bodies to ask about a person’s housing situation early—and take action to prevent homelessness before it happens. The Scottish Government’s Homelessness Prevention Pilot Fund (up to £4 million) supports a range of bodies including, local authorities, Health Boards, the police service, registered social landlords, prisons, along with 3rd Sector Organisations experienced in preventing homelessness. The pilots will develop, test, scale and cost the new prevention duties in real-world settings. The fund is being administered by Advice Direct Scotland. It is designed to help public bodies, alongside third sector organisations experienced in preventing homelessness, prepare for and test the practical application of the new prevention duties with a particular focus on how ‘Ask and Act’ can be effectively embedded in day-to-day practice. It will also help relevant bodies and others to scope out the groups most at risk of homelessness, identify resource requirements, and best practice approaches.Examples of the types of approaches the fund will support are:- Early intervention and targeted prevention activity.- Multi-agency approaches to support people navigating housing, healthand social care services.- Partnership models and processes that can be replicated and scaled.- Collaborations involving shared resources, data and transitional orreferred services.- Initiatives that centre people at risk of homelessness and/or people with direct experience of homelessness in the design and delivery of theservice.- Initiatives that target groups at risk of homelessness and critical points- in service pathways that have been identified as leading tohomelessness.

This fund supports community engagement activities that help shape Scotland's policies and strategies on:- infection prevention and control (IPC)- antimicrobial resistance (AMR).Successful organisations will recruit and host a community voice and engagement co-ordinator. The co-ordinator will work with communities to gather and share insights that support national health strategies, campaigns and action plans.A particular focus will be on engaging people and groups whose views are not often represented in policy development.You can use funding for: - staff costs- project delivery costs- reasonable participant incentives- equipment costs that support project deliveryProjects should start in August 2026, with all funding spent by March 2027.

Rosa’s Rise Fund provides organisational development funding for Black and racially minoritised-led women’s and girls’ organisations across the UK. The funding is for organisational development work relating to areas such as strategy, governance, leadership, alliances and partnerships, funding, demonstrating impact and systems and processes. Rise Fund aims to achieve the following outcomes: - Women and girls will be supported by women’s and girls’ organisations led by and for Black and racially minoritised women, ensuring women and girls can be safe, healthy and equal. - Women’s and girls’ organisations will be empowered and strengthened, meaning that they will be in a stronger position to survive, thrive and grow into the future. Organisations will be able to report one or more of these changes: - A clearer strategy - More effective governance - More effective leadership - Stronger alliances with other women’s organisations - More financial sustainability - More able to attract funding from other sources - More able to demonstrate the impact of your work - More effective systems and processes

The Local Employability Partnership (LEP), Employability Funding Midlothian is a Scottish Government fund delivered in partnership with Midlothian Council. It supports employability programmes that help Midlothian people overcome employment barriers.

CivTech is a Scottish Government programme that brings people from the public, private and third sectors together to build things that make the world a better place.The Round 11 Challenges are focused across a wide range of areas including education, the natural environments (land and marine), the economy and health, core government functions, the Gaelic language, and more. Individuals, teams, pre-starts, start-ups, early stage or established SMEs, and large companies are all welcome to apply. For more details on the process and to view all of the current challenges, visit the CivTech website.

The West Lothian Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund supports local third sector organisations to deliver community-based activities that promote good mental health and wellbeing for adults across West Lothian.The fund was established in 2021 and is part of a national Scottish Government programme, delivered locally through Third Sector Interfaces. To date, it has supported a wide range of grassroots initiatives helping people to stay well, feel connected and access support within their own communities.The fund has a strong focus on prevention and early intervention, aiming to support people before mental health challenges reach crisis point.

The Fore offers development funding and strategic support to early-stage charities and social enterprises. It makes unrestricted grants which have the potential to have a transformational impact on an organisation. For example enabling your organisation to take a step forward in its development or giving you the chance to do something you couldn’t before. It will also match successful applicants with friendly professional support including ongoing mentoring, strategic advice, governance support or other assistance.

Maoin nan Ealan Gàidhlig is a scheme funded by Creative Scotland and administered on its behalf by Fèisean nan Gàidheal. It is open to organisations and individuals. Maoin nan Ealan Gàidhlig is designed to assist the delivery of Gaelic arts projects. In 2026-27, priority will be given to arts projects which:- Are delivered through the medium of Gaelic- Contribute to the use or learning of Gaelic- Enable individual artists, groups of artists, or arts organisations to create and/or present work - Involve international partnerships- Enable individual artists to address personal development needs- Develop skills within arts organisations or communities as a means to creating sustainability.

The Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship allows a creative organisation to host a mid-career or established writer for a year. There is funding available for a host organisation, and also for an author. This funding is to enable them to focus on new work. Following appointment of a host organisation, they would be expected to manage the recruitment process for selecting a writer.

The Digital Specialist Advice Grant offers organisations based in the Highlands and Islands area towards the costs of obtaining digital specialist advice. Introducing digital technologies into your business has many advantages, including cutting costs, speeding up processes, improving customer insights, creating the ability to make faster business decisions and increase revenue. This funding is available to cover the costs of one-to-one consultancy on digital technologies leading to an action plan or a feasibility study for your business.Digital technologies may include:- robots/robotics/cobotics- sensor technologies- Internet of Things- data innovation- artificial intelligence- cyber security/risks- software development- augmented reality/virtual reality/3D visualisations- additive manufacturing and laser machining- cyber security solutionsProjects that have an element of ‘deep tech’ will also be considered (e.g. blockchain, photonics, aerospace and space technologies, electronics, cyber threat intelligence, fusion power and quantum computing).This funding can be used for projects focused on the adoption of advanced digital technologies including artificial intelligence or robotics.The funding is for consultancy costs to develop a feasibility study or action plan for digital technologies leading to, for example, increased productivity, impact on jobs, skills or workforce development, efficiency gains, reducing energy costs, or carbon reduction.The consultancy can include:- market research / testing, opportunity analysis and market assessments- energy efficiency feasibility study associated with application of a digital technologies- project feasibility, identify and appraise options and preparing a business case for investment- feasibility and impact analysis of new workplace practices and organisational structures and approaches to learning and development to reduce costs or improve resource utilisation- research supporting emerging digital technologies e.g. Industry 4.0 related, within the business- specialists to fill a skills gap relating to adoption of digital technologies