The Worklessness Innovations Fund is part of the overall Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF), which is managed by the city's local strategic partnership, Be Birmingham.  The fund provides small grants for research and feasibility studies, in addition to the opportunity for testing innovative approaches which tackle the issues of worklessness within Birmingham's super output areas.  The fund is open to all organisations contributing to the worklessness agenda.  Both large and small scale projects are welcome.  Round one closing date is 6 July 2009.

Recommendations on the way forward for VCS Matters have been published following an independent Programme Evaluation carried out by Alun Severn from Third Sector Services.

A free handbook on evaluating outcomes has been published, with the title ‘What difference does it make?' It is intended as a resource for workers delivering services at community level to help them respond to the demands for evidence of outcomes.

Birmingham Community Foundation are keen to receive applications for Grassroots Grants from small voluntary/community organisations that are able to demonstrate that their project will build their capacity and bring benefit to the local community.

The team at Ineed2know (Birmingham's Children's Services Directory) is undertaking a questionnaire survey about where people in Birmingham go to find information.