Supporting Communities Fund: evaluation

3. Funding activities

3.1 Activities delivered

The data in the following table is based on monitoring data submitted by CAOs. This was categorised and entered into the initial survey to record the data in a standardised way. Of those organisations involved in the fund, 320 submitted monitoring data in time to be included in the analysis sample. All projects engaged in at least two activities and as such the total number of activities is not the same as the total number of funded projects.

3.2 People supported

Not every project recorded the number of people they supported. Those who did provided estimates and reported the number of people supported in a number of different ways. For example, some reported the number of meals delivered (where some duplication of families/individuals will be included) and others reported numbers of times digital content was shared or viewed online.

Of the 320 groups who submitted monitoring information, 152 did not provide specific or detailed information on the numbers of people helped by their project. A lack of reporting requirements also meant that the way in which groups classified how many households or people they helped is not standardised. For example, some organisations reported the number of households supported, while others reported the number of individuals. Numbers are therefore not comparable across projects, anchor organisations or geographically.

Where information is available, a reported 11,267 households and 173,676 individuals were estimated to be assisted by projects. However, due to the above data constraints, this is likely to be a significant underestimation.

3.3 Specific groups supported

The table below shows the number of projects that reported supporting a specific group of people with the funding they received. This data was self-reported by the CAOs in their end of project monitoring forms and, as previously mentioned,320 forms were submitted in time for analysis. Where the CAO reported they had supported a specific group, SG analysts pre-populated the initial survey with this information. The results are presented in Table 3. A number of projects supported more than one specific group so the total number of projects in the table below is greater than the total number of projects funded.

Not all projects reported supporting specific groups and a project not mentioning specific support does not imply it did not provide support to members of that group over the course of their project. It is also important to note that although SCF funding was offered as a whole community response many individual projects chose to support those areas of the community where local need was greatest. However, in many cases it is unlikely that beneficiaries were asked if they were part of the following groups.

3.4 Equality characteristics

The table below shows the numbers of projects who reported supporting a specific group of people from one of the equality groups as defined by the Equality Act 2010. This analysis is based on the 320 organisations that submitted monitoring data in time to be included for analysis. A number of projects targeted more than one specific group and as such, the total number of projects in the table below is greater than the total number of projects included in the analysis.

Not all projects reported targeting one of the equality groups and a project not mentioning specific support does not imply it did not provide support to members of that group over the course of their project. As discussed in section 3.3, this data is self-reported by the CAOs and beneficiaries may not have chosen to identify as part of these groups.