What is the Change Fund?
This is a Scottish Government fund to provide 'bridging finance' to each of the 32 local authority areas to work in partnership with NHS, private sector and third sector partners to deliver better outcomes for older people in their homes or in homely settings.

How much is available and how long is it for?
The Change Fund was announced in late December 2010 with a deadline for local partnership Change Plans of end of February 2011. The Falkirk allocation for 2011/12 is just under £1.9m. Here at the CVS, we worked with our local partners (predominantly Falkirk Community Health Partnership and Falkirk Council) to agree a Change Plan for the Falkirk area.

As part of the Scottish Government's budget announcements in October, it was confirmed that the Change Fund for older people will continue for a further 3 years, taking us to 2014/15. Also, the Scotland-wide budget for the Change Fund is to increase from £70m in 2011/12, to £80m in 2012/13, remain at £80m for 2013/14 and go back to £70m for 2014/15.

What's in Falkirk's Change Plan?
Click here to download a PDF of the Falkirk Change Plan

What does it mean for the third sector?
The Change Fund presents opportunities (as well as challenges) for the third sector. We're working with our statutory partners and third sector organisations (predominantly through the Falkirk Community Care and Health Forum we support) to ensure the third sector is able to maximise its contribution to this activity. The key focus at present is the Partnership Innovation Fund - a £300,000 investment in building community capacity. See the downloads below for more information on the Partnership Innovation Fund.

Partnership Innovation Fund
Download documentation here to find out more about the Innovation Fund and how to apply:
Partnership Innovation Fund Guidance document
Application Form
Application Form (in Microsoft Word format)
Guidance on how to complete the Application Form

How often will this page be updated?
We'll update this page with new developments and documentation as it becomes available. We expect it to be updated at least once each month. To find out more please contact us.