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4ST Partnership Fund

4ST Partnership Fund

Discover how NCSS enable innovation and collaboration within the sector.

Last updated 6 January 2025

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Overview

The 4ST (Social Service Sector Strategic Thrusts) Partnership Fund aims to mobilise the sector to co-develop solutions that promote innovation, collaboration and empowerment, with the end goal of improving the quality of life of service users, including families, children and youth, and persons with mental health conditions.

Type of funding

Fundings and criteria

Criteria	Seed funding	Grow funding
Who can apply	Solution owners have to ensure solutions feature partnerships either in the form of inter-organization organisation information sharing, or interaction through activities, between two or more parties for better service outcomes.	Lead applicants must be NCSS members with IPC status in collaboration with another entity/individual. Non-NCSS members, including SEs and ground-up groups without the Institution of Public Character (IPC)/Charity Status can also apply as a co-applicant. Non-Charity status agencies (regardless of registration type) are required to make a declaration on the not-for-profit nature of the programme, and that the service users are local communities.
Ideas & Initiatives	For ideas with potential to meet a need in the sector and would like to test their concepts.	For initiatives with a working proof of concept, would like to further develop and test their solution OR Initiatives with a proven model and would like to scale.
Funding parameters	Up to 100% of the project's Total Operating Expenses (TOE) with a maximum of $10,000 per year.	Up to 90% of the project's TOE, with a maximum of $400,000 per year (excluding an evaluation budget of up to $80,000 for each approved project).
Duration	Up to 1 year	Up to 3 years
Deliverables	Articulate proof of concept, refine the value proposition of the solution in the landscape, share learnings and insights from prototype testing with the wider sector and use learnings to improve the solution.	Adopt the NCSS Service Standards in service delivery, achieve outcomes under the Sector Evaluation Framework, submit evaluation research reports, complete the Organisational Health Framework for Social Services (OHFSS) assessment.

Eligibility criteria

The 4ST Partnership Fund supports solutions that are innovative, collaborative, empowering and strategic.

The applicant must be a social service agency (SSA), social enterprise (SE), or a ground-up group collaborating with another entity or individual. Non-NCSS members, including SEs and ground-up groups without Institution of Public Character (IPC) or Charity Status can also apply^*.

^*Where possible, the project should be fronted by an organisation that is an NCSS member with IPC status. (Please refer to the Seed vs Grow table for eligible applicants for each category of funding.) Non-Charity status agencies (regardless of registration type) are required to make a declaration on the not-for-profit nature of the programme, and that the beneficiaries are local communities.

Key criteria for solutions supported by the 4ST Partnership Fund

Innovative	New and value-added approaches: Solutions should demonstrate that they are either new ideas/approaches to solve the identified problems or value-add to an existing solution to improve service user outcomes.
Collaborative	Partnerships for better outcomes: Solutions should feature inter-organisational partnerships between two or more organisations, either in the form of joint projects or systematic alignment of work structures and systems.
Empowering	Person-centred and empowering: Solutions should be person-centred and allow service users to have access to relevant information, gain skills to improve capabilities, provide feedback to improve the quality-of-service delivery, and participate in service design/delivery.
Strategic	Targeted solutions: These solutions should focus on addressing these identified areas: Upstream support for low-income families. Support for persons with mental health conditions. Emerging needs and gaps.

For more information on these areas, please refer to the 4STPF Info Session slides.

How to apply

Application process

Starting from the October 2024 grant call, there will be a two-stage application process. For Stage 1, applicants will submit a brief concept note containing key information on the proposed project. If they are shortlisted to proceed to Stage 2, applicants will submit the application form with further details on the proposed project.

The timeline for the Oct 2024 grant call is as follows:

1 to 31 October 2024: Applicants to complete Stage 1 application.
By 15 November 2024: Applicants will be informed they are shortlisted to proceed to Stage 2.
By 31 December 2024: Shortlisted applicants to complete Stage 2 application.

Documents to be submitted

Stage 1:

Submit the 4ST Partnership Fund Concept Note via our form, along with the completed 4ST Partnership Fund Declaration Form [DOCX, 29 KB].

The declaration form should be signed by:

For organisations: The CEO.
For individuals (applicable for Seed applications only): The team leader.

Stage 2:

Shortlisted applicants are to submit the application form and budget template via Submittable (the link will be provided separately to shortlisted applicants only).

4ST Partnership Fund application form

4ST Partnership Fund budget template

Application form and budget template submitted by email will not be accepted.

Resources

To assist you in preparing your funding proposal, we offer a range of 4ST Partnership Fund resources to support innovation, collaboration, and empowerment. Additionally, you can explore the following resources for guidance in creating a more robust proposal: