Charities are being invited to help deliver a £30m grant programme to support young people.
The government’s Youth Investment Fund Capital seeks to address an increasingly limited supply of youth centres and spaces for young people to go.
The proposed outcomes include improved health and wellbeing, equipping young people with skills for work and life, and empowering them to be active members of their communities, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said.
The department said it wanted to support “left-behind” areas in England, assessing and funding their proposals for capital investment to transform their local youth facility provision.
A list of approximately 60 top-tier local authorities will be pre-selected by the DCMS before the fund’s launch.
The department will then seek capital bids through a limited competition among top-tier local authorities, investing in the most viable and impactful projects.
The fund’s investment priorities include financing the use of modular buildings that could rapidly deliver new facilities within the financial year, investment that facilitates new, in-demand activities, and opening up youth activities to new audiences that couldn’t access existing provisions.
DCMS said on its website: “We are seeking a grant administration partner to manage the delivery of YIF Capital. Our current preference is a VCSE or youth sector organisation with experience in grant delivery, capital expertise and knowledge of the youth sector.
“The grant administrator will need to demonstrate experience of technical assessment and timely management of capital projects, and the ability to work with local and national stakeholders in the youth sector.
“This could be delivered by individual organisations or consortia where skills gaps are identified.”
The deadline for expressions of interest is 28 May.