Guidance

NDA group Socio-Economic Grant Funding Programme: Applicants Guidance

Updated 31 March 2025

1. Introduction

This guidance is intended for people who wish to apply to NDA [i]group for socio-economic funding. It provides information on both the application and decision-making process.  

The approach described in this document will help applicants to understand:

1. What the NDA group socio-economic programme is and why it exists.
2. What we will and will-not fund through our socio-economic programme.
3. How to apply for funding.
4. Measures and targets to report progress.
5. How and why NDA group makes its funding decisions.
6. Things you will be expected to do if you are successful in obtaining funding.
7. Other legal and regulatory matters.
8. Roles and Responsibilities

2. What the NDA group socio-economic programme is and why it exists.

The Energy Act (2004) provides the NDA with the unique legal duty to have regard for the impact of its activities on communities living near its sites, as well as the wider responsibilities all public bodies have under the Social Value act (2012).

The NDA’s function in this regard is underwritten in s.10(2)c of the Energy Act, which states: ‘the powers of the NDA include, in particular, power to make grants or loans to persons undertaking activities that benefit the social or economic life of communities living near designated installations, designated sites or designated facilities or that produce other environmental benefits for such communities’.

To this end, the NDA group operates a grant-giving programme which is managed in partnership with our Operating Companies.

Our Social Impact and Communities Strategy (2024) sets out a framework for our grant-giving programme including identification of our priority areas. It has been drawn up in consultation with local authorities and other key stakeholders and sets our main priorities.

The funding provided by the NDA through our grant-giving is intended to ensure that our decommissioning work leaves a positive long-lasting legacy in our local communities. To do this, we fund projects which align with the following strategic themes:

• Resilient economies – enabling and supporting the conditions for local economic output, improved productivity, and growth.
• Thriving communities – enabling and supporting the conditions for social cohesion, supporting disadvantaged groups and other social benefits.
• Sustainable incomes –improving aspirations and access to work through a programme of high impact education, skills, personal development and employability support activities.
• Sustainable growth - reflecting the importance of the climate agenda and working to achieve economic, social and competitive advantage for our nuclear communities by integrating sustainable growth into our socio-economic interventions.
• Social value chains – working closely with our suppliers to create social impacts with our supply chain.
• Collective impact - leveraging social impact and investment by working with our stakeholders, partners and communities to practice an integrated approach and culture of delivery.

3. What we will and will-not fund through our socio-economic programme.

This guidance covers three categories of funding:                                                        

• Small projects – NDA group contribution up to £10,000.
• Medium projects – NDA group contribution between £10,000 and £200,000.
• Large projects – NDA group contribution over £200,000.

Our funding principles apply to all three of these categories, but we apply our governance proportionately.

3.1 Eligibility for funding

We will only support projects that are near one of our sites. This is generally defined as being within a reasonable travel-to-work distance of an NDA site and would normally be within the local authority area where the site is located. The district council area where each site is located is as follows:

• Berkeley (Gloucestershire)
• Bradwell (Maldon)
• Chapelcross (Dumfries and Galloway)
• Dounreay (Caithness and North Sutherland area of Highland)
• Dungeness A (Folkestone & Hythe)
• Harwell (Vale of White Horse)
• Hinkley Point A (Somerset covering Sedgemoor, Somerset West & Taunton)
• Hunterston (North Ayrshire)
• Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) (Cumberland - formerly Copeland)
• Oldbury (South Gloucestershire)
• Sizewell A (East Suffolk)
• Sellafield (Cumberland - formerly Copeland and Allerdale)
• Trawsfynydd (Gwynedd)
• Winfrith (Dorset)
• Wylfa (Isle of Anglesey)

Additionally projects close to the Sellafield office at Risley, Warrington may be funded under the Sellafield Social Impact Multiplied (SiX) programme.

Within these geographical restrictions, the NDA group can fund organisations provided they are compliant with subsidy control rules and are one of the following:

• Constituted community/voluntary/charity groups - local branches of national charities are only eligible if money raised is spent locally.
• State funded education providers or pre-school groups (outside of statutory provision or the obligations of other public authorities or departments).
• Public sector bodies.
• A company. We reserve the right to take or require legal advice before determining eligibility for companies.

The NDA group cannot fund private individuals.

NDA will not accept applications from organisations that previously received NDA group funding and failed to comply with our conditions (e.g. completion of end of project reports, evidencing spend).

3.2 What we can fund

All funding is allocated via an application process. Applications should be made using the appropriate NDA group form via the online portal. It is important that applications provide a clear explanation of what a project is, what it seeks to deliver and what benefits will be gained from funding a project. Full details of costs, timescales and delivery plans are required for us to make good investment decisions.

The NDA can provide funding for both capital and revenue elements of projects subject to clear explanation of how funding will be used being provided in the application.

The NDA will consider funding feasibility studies and work to develop business cases for large projects where an application demonstrates clear links to strategic priorities and future delivery potential.

In common with much of the public sector, the NDA works within annual budget allocations. The NDA may consider multi-year commitments where there is a clear and robust business case with a delivery profile spanning multiple years, and subject to future budget availability.

3.3 What we cannot fund

The following activities are ineligible for funding:

• Spend that does not meet project objectives.
• Spend on benefits delivered outside of our geographical boundaries.
• Religious or political benefits.
• Aims that are contrary to UK Government policy.
• Paid for lobbying:
  • which means using grant funds to fund lobbying (via an external firm or in-house staff) in order to undertake activities intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, Government or political activity; or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action.
  • using grant funds to directly enable one part of government to challenge another on topics unrelated to the agreed purpose of the grant.
  • using grant funding to petition for additional funding.
• Expenses such as for entertaining, specifically aimed at exerting undue influence to change government policy.
• VAT that you can recover.
• Activities that other organisations (eg Local Authority/Local Education Authority/National Charities) have an obligation and/or statutory duty to provide.
• Payments for works or activities which the grant recipient, or any member of their Partnership has a statutory duty to undertake, or that are fully funded by other sources.
• Sponsorships to individuals or groups and other activities raising money for 3rd parties.
• Loan payments.
• Interest payments or service charge payments for finance leases.
• National charities where funding is collected and administered centrally, exceptions may be made where local branches raise and spend their own funding.
• Hospitality, awards, sponsorships or the purchase of tables at events.
• Prizes or associated costs for fundraising events.
• Retrospective expenditure.
• Gifts.
• Statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties.
• Bad debts
• Payments for unfair dismissal or other compensation.

4. How to apply for funding.

Before completing a funding application we encourage applicants to discuss their project with the Socio-Economic Team in the relevant Operating Company.  Contact details can be found on our website:   www.gov.uk/government/collections/working-with-our-communities

As a publicly funded body it is important that we apply good governance and demonstrate that our funding is used effectively. All projects need to be supported by an application for funding. This will normally be done via the online application portal. If you are unable to use this facility, please discuss this with your local Socio-Economic team.

The level of information required from applicants is proportionate to the amount of funding requested. For this reason there are two application forms covering small and medium/large funding requests.

For medium and large grants, the NDA Group is required to perform due diligence checks on all applicants. Applicants will be required to submit their most recent financial accounts (where available) to support their application.

4.1 Small Applications

Small applications up to £10,000 require a shortened application form to be completed. This form fulfils the basic requirements for any project to be considered. This includes:

• Project summary
• Outputs
• Measures/targets
• Funding details
• Legal requirements/obligations

Details of what is required for each section can be found in the application form.

Applicants should note that an End of Project Report including evidence of spend will be required for all projects. These requirements will be agreed when a grant offer is made.

Failure to comply with these requirements may result in funding being withheld and/or future applications for funding being rejected.

4.2 Medium applications

In addition to the basic project information described above, medium and large applications are required to follow the HM Treasury Green Book five case model. This requires an assessment of the following:

• Strategic case
• Economic case
• Commercial case
• Financial case
• Management case

Further information on each of the 5 cases can be found below:

4.3 Large applications

Large applications must provide the same information as required for medium projects with the addition of a stand-alone business case following the 5-case model. If a project business case does not exist, applicants are advised to discuss this with the relevant Group Socio-Economic Team before applying. 

We expect a summary of the project to be included in the application form, plus a more detailed self-standing business case with appendices. You may wish to look at the HM Treasury general rules for project appraisal, sometimes known as the “Green Book”, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-governent.

The Socio-Economic teams in each NDA Operating Company will be responsible for ensuring the completeness of applications before submission to the appropriate decision-making committee. We may require further evidence from the applicant and decide not to progress an application where there is insufficient information available.

4.4 HM Green Book 5 case model

The information below provides a summary of requirements for each of the 5 cases.

Strategic Case – Is the proposal needed?

The strategic case sets out why the funding you are applying for is needed and why the project you are seeking support for should go ahead. To assess the strategic case, the NDA group will assess your application and any additional evidence you provide which covers:

• The local need or opportunity your project is addressing.
• Whether your project is aligned with the NDA Social Impact and Communities Strategy (2024).
• What the project will do (outputs) and also what it is trying to achieve (outcomes).
• How you are measuring success.
• Levels of local support for your project and how this local support is expressed (for example financial support, in-kind, policy).
• How the project is consistent with, and ideally supports, national or local government strategies.

Economic Case – Is it value for money?

This Economic Case is designed to help us assess the economic costs and benefits of the project to the local community. It covers:

• Why NDA support is needed and what the likely economic/social/environmental impacts would be due to a lack of any support.
• Information to demonstrate why your organisation cannot fund the project itself.
• That other methods to achieve the same/similar outcomes have been ruled out.
• That you have thought about other ways to deliver the outcomes of your proposed project and have ruled them out for sensible reasons.
• How much of the expected outcomes might happen anyway without NDA support.

Commercial Case – Is it viable?

This is concerned with feasibility and sustainability and the effect of funding changes on deliverability. It should address any procurement required, such as the purchase of goods or services. It should clarify contractual questions, including contractual milestones and delivery dates.   It should set out who is responsible for agreed outputs. Risk management should also be included here. We are expecting to see:

• Evidence that the project regarded is feasible and deliverable.
• Evidence that the organisation delivering the project is a sustainable, reliable partner.
• Clear and credible milestones and delivery dates.
• What (if any) procurement is required and is there a procurement strategy?
• Identification of risks and a plan to mitigate against them.
• Any major dependencies – in other words, whether the project is dependent on any decisions or events outside of the applicant’s control.
• Supporting evidence should be included to underpin any statements made.

Financial Case - Is it affordable?

The financial case is concerned with issues of affordability and sources of funding, including all expected costs. It also deals with contingencies and match-funding. The financial case sets out: 

• The proportion of funding the NDA is being asked to provide in relation to total cost of the project. The NDA encourages applicants to seek a minimum of 50% of the funding from other sources, unless there is strong evidence that no other funding is available.
• Whether match funding is secured from all parties (written confirmation will be required that match funding is secure before any funding can be released).
• A clear justification if the NDA is first to commit funding.
• What contingencies are in place for cost-overruns.
• Breakdown of costs.

Management Case – Is it achievable?

The management case is concerned with deliverability. It sets out management responsibilities, governance and reporting arrangements, as well as any gate review and post-project review arrangements evidencing accountability. The NDA will look for evidence that:

• Detailed delivery plans are in place.
• There are appropriate gates or a staged process.
• There is a performance monitoring and reporting system.
• There are appropriate governance arrangements in place.
• The application includes relevant information on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion issues:
  • Does the proposal actively seek to support under-represented     groups?
  • Is there a risk that it could be discriminatory?
• Environmental issues: whether the proposal actively seeks to make environmental improvements and whether there is a risk that it could be environmentally damaging.
• Does the proposal require project management techniques? Are those skills available to the applicant?
• What PR and communication is required? Has the applicant got the necessary skills?

5. Measures and targets to report progress.

All projects funded by the NDA group should report on what they deliver. We ask our applicants to identify suitable measures from the standard set which is found in our grant application system. Applicants are asked to set and agree targets against which we can monitor and report on progress and achievements. 

The standard measures and descriptors can be found in appendix A.

6. How and why NDA group makes its funding decisions.

6.1 Small projects up to £10,000

NDA, NRS, Sellafield and NWS each have their own panels which make decisions to fund small projects.

1. Applicant submits project
2. Final decision by appropriate panel in Operating Company

6.2 Medium projects between £10,000 and £200,000

All medium-sized projects are assessed by an advisory panel managed by the relevant Operating Company. The final decision is taken by a person or committee with the appropriate delegated financial authority within the Operating Company.

1. Applicant  submits project
2. Considered by the OpCo panel
3. Final decision by delegated budget holder

6.3 Large project over £200,000

All large projects are assessed first by an advisory panel managed by the relevant Operating Company. If supported, the project then passes to a “One NDA Socio-economic panel” which brings together relevant representatives and experts from the NDA businesses. The panel is also advisory in nature. The final decision is then taken by a person or committee with the appropriate delegated financial authority within the Operating Company.

This single One NDA approach means that all decisions are made on the same basis across the estate.

1. Applicant  submits project
2. Considered by the OpCo panel
3. Considered by the One NDA panel
4. Final decision by delegated budget holder

7. # Notification of a decision

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application. If successful applicants will also receive a Grant Acceptance Letter (GAL) or Grant Acceptance Schedule (GAS) (depending on size of grant) which sets out the conditions of funding and requirements which need to be met. These are explained further below.  Applicants must accept the terms set out in the GAL/GAS in order for funding to be confirmed.

8. Things you will be expected to do if you are successful in obtaining funding.

If successful, you will receive a Grant Acceptance Letter (GAL) or a Grant Acceptance Schedule (GAS) for medium and large projects.

The GAL/GAS will clearly state the purpose for which the grant is awarded, provide details of approved activities, set out categories of eligible and ineligible expenditure, and establish reporting and evidence requirements. The GAL/GAS also sets out the legal and regulatory rules which apply to our grants. Applicants are required to accept the terms of the GAL/GAS and formally confirm this via a link sent out by email before any funding can be released.

Applicants will be required to submit regular progress reports. The exact requirements and timetable for reporting will be detailed in the GAL/GAS, but as a minimum will be as follows:

• Small projects – End of Project Report is mandatory.
• Medium/Large projects – 6 monthly reporting followed by End of Project Report.

In some cases more frequent reporting may be agreed with the applicant and set out in the GAL/GAS.

Upon completion, all projects must submit an End of Project Report. Compliance with reporting requirements is mandatory for all projects.

Applicants are also required to provide evidence to show they have spent their grant appropriately. This will be both evidence of spend and evidence of delivery.

Evidence of spend would typically be an itemised list of spending (ie spreadsheet of invoices paid) for the whole project (not just NDA funded element), accompanied by a letter from the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer or Fund Manager confirming that the funding has been spent as agreed.

To comply with audit requirements, additional evidence may be requested by NDA to support your claim.

Evidence of delivery may include formal reports, media, photographs, or site visits which demonstrate that delivery has been achieved.

The NDA reserves the right to withhold or clawback funding for projects that do not comply with reporting requirements and/or fail to provide evidence to show that the grant has been spent in accordance with the GAS.

9. Other Legal and Regulatory Matters

9.1 Subsidy Control Rules (formerly State Aid)

The NDA group is subject to the UK’s Subsidy Control Regime (formerly State Aid). As a result, applications will be considered in-light-of subsidy control rules, and applicants may be requested to provide further information in support of this assessment. Grants above the defined threshold will be recorded by the NDA Group on a publicly accessible database. 

Where grants cannot be made in compliance with these rules funding will not be provided. Where funding is subsequently found to breach Subsidy Control rules it may be recovered from the recipient organisation. More information on UK subsidy control can be found on GOV.UK.

9.2 Payment of Grants

Small applications are normally paid in advance of need, recognising that applicants are unlikely to have access to upfront cash flow with which to deliver projects. We will require copies of quotes for work to be submitted before we can release payments.

For medium and large applications, in accordance with ‘Managing Public Money’, it is expected that we will not normally make payment in advance of need. Where possible, we will seek to link the release of regular payments to the receipt of satisfactorily completed reports, with the submission of reports triggering the release of payments subject to validation.

By exception, and where there is justification, we may be able to consider payment in advance of need for larger projects to enable efficient delivery. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis upon receipt of a written request and justification for payment in advance of need and will be subject to governance.

9.3 Change control

Any changes to the scope of the project (i.e. repurposing of funding, changes to project end dates, or changes to milestones etc) require prior approval from the NDA. Approval must be sought via a Project Variance Form to be completed and submitted by the applicant. This will be reviewed by the relevant panel and the decision to approve or reject the request will be made in writing to the applicant.

Before submitting a Project Variance Form, we encourage applicants to discuss the issue with the fund manager in the relevant Operating Company.

9.4 GDPR

Our obligations under GDPR are detailed in the NDA Socio-Economic Privacy Notice.  All NDA Group Socio-Economic teams are required to comply with these GDPR obligations which can be found in Appendix B.   

10. Roles and Responsibilities

The following information relates to the operation of the whole NDA Socio-Economic programme, including but not limited to our grant-giving programme. It is provided to help applicants to understand how we work.

10.1 NDA Central Team

• Develops group wide guidance and strategy in consultation with the rest of the NDA group.
• Responsible for group wide reporting.
• Maintains group wide grants management systems.
• Helps the team comply with policy and guidelines.
• Monitors spend and performance.
• Exception reporting and enforcement.
• Prepares annual estate-wide performance report.
• Runs NDA Socio-economic Panel and One NDA Socio-economic panel.
• Maintains group wide pages on gov.uk.
• Develops case studies for publication.
• Manages the NDA centrally retained socio-economic budget.
• Respond to requests from other NDA functions, including Finance and Internal Audit.
• Conducts spot checks and recommends actions in relation to use of the grant management system.

10.2 Operating Companies

• Deliver Socio-economic programmes in line with NDA and OpCo strategy, policies and procedures.
• Provide regular updates on spend, activity, progress and outcomes.
• Collect and store evidence of progress and spend from applicants.
• Maintain positive stakeholder relations with local economic development organisations.
• Work with local economic development organisations to develop appropriate interventions.
• Prepare annual Socio-economic performance reports.
• Run Socio-economic panels in accordance with business governance standards.
• Contribute to One NDA Socio-Economic panel.
• Use grant management system in line with detailed procedures.

10.3 Applicants

• Carries out activities in line with the Grant Acceptance Letter (GAL) or Grant Acceptance Schedule (GAS).
• Submits documentation In line with GAL/GAS.
• Submits performance reports and evidence of spend and other supporting evidence in line with GAL/GAS.
• Responds to ad-hoc requests for information specifically related to project delivery.
• Upon request makes themselves and documentation available for audit.
• Acknowledges NDA and/or relevant Operating Company in any PR activities unless otherwise notified in GAL/GAS.
• Submits an end of project report.
• Supports the development of case studies as required.
• Complies with all conditions of funding as set out in grant award.

11. Appendix A

11.1 Sustainable Incomes

Measure	Details
Does your project create jobs? If so, how many Full Time Equivalent jobs will be created?	Please provide an estimate of how many Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs will be created as a direct result of this project. This can be either a) being directly employed on the project or b) as a result of the project providing beneficiaries with an employment opportunity elsewhere. Indicate whether these are for the duration of the project or provide details if for a different duration.
Will your project provide support to help people to access employment through activities such as CV writing, interview skills, digital skills, career guidance, entrepreneur mentoring etc?  If so, how many people will benefit from this support?	Please estimate how many people will benefit from support over the duration of the project.
Will your project provide or create any apprenticeships?  If so, how many?	Provide details of how many apprenticeships (including graduate apprenticeships) will be created over the duration of the project and the typical length of these apprenticeships
Will your project provide local school and/or college engagement (eg visits, presentations, workshops etc) aimed at helping young people to do well in education? How many individuals will benefit?	Please provide the total number of individual attendances at an educational activity (eg   presentation/visit/workshop) during the project. If sessions are delivered in groups, please estimate the number of people who will attend and count each person individually.  Individuals attending multiple sessions should be counted separately for each attendance.
Will your project provide formal qualifications?  If so, how many people will achieve formal qualifications?	Please indicate how many people you expect to provide with formal qualifications over the duration of the project. Provide details to support this estimate.
Will your project provide mentoring, education or training to young people who are disengaged from formal education or who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)?	Please estimate how many hours of support will be provided to mentor, educate or train young people who are otherwise disengaged from formal education, training or employment. This figure should be calculated as a total number of hours of support provided to all beneficiaries.
	If measured in weeks, please calculate hours based on 35 hours per person per week.
	If measured in days, please calculate hours based on 7 hours per person per day.
	If measure in half days, please calculate hours based on 3.5 hours per person per half day.”

11.2 Thriving Communities

Measure	Details
Does your project create volunteering opportunities? If so, how many hours of volunteering do you expect to secure?	Please estimate how many volunteering hours will be secured through the project. Include any volunteering (ie public, corporate, supply chain etc).
Will your project help people with their physical health?  If so, how many people?	Estimate how many people will potentially benefit from physical health improvements as a result of your project. Include those actively participating in sport as a result of the project. Specify if this benefit is the result of general participation in a healthy activity or long-term benefits as a result of a focussed individual programme or intervention.”
Will your project increase access to art and culture?  If so, how many people will participate?	Please estimate how many people will access art and culture as a result of your project.  Provide details of the type of activity and frequency.
Will your project help to reduce crime or antisocial behaviour?	provide an estimate for how many individuals will be assisted during the project

11.3 Sustainable Growth

Measure	Details
Will your project save CO2 emissions? If so, how many tonnes will be saved?	You may wish to use a carbon footprint calculator, for example the business climate hub carbon footprint calculator
Will your project reduce car miles as a result of active or green travel programmes (eg cycling, walking etc)?  Estimate how many car miles will be saved.	Provide an estimate of how many car miles can be saved over the duration of the project through either moving to active travel modes or not travelling. Please provide details of how this has been calculated.

11.4 Resilient Economies

Measure	Details
Will your project increase revenue for local businesses?  If so by how much?	Provide an estimate of increased revenue for local businesses resulting from the project.  Give details of how this has been estimated and the type/sector of the local businesses expected to benefit.
Will you provide free expert advice to local businesses or charities (eg SME’s. start-ups etc)	Please estimate how many hours of free expert advice will be provided over the duration of the project.  Provide details of how this has been calculated.
Will your project attract visitors into the area for tourism and/or event attendance?	Please estimate how many individual day visits you will generate.  Visits over multiples days should be measured cumulatively (ie 3 days = 3 visits).
Will your project result in a project proposal or business case which will increase the potential for inward investment or 3rd party funding?	Yes/No

11.5 Other

Measure	Details
Please include details of any other measurable benefit you feel would be achieved by your project.

12. Appendix B

12.1 NDA privacy notice for socio-economic grant funding

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under the Data Protection Act 2018, section 36(1).

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i The term NDA group refers to Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Nuclear Restoration Services (Sites Delivery Business), Nuclear Restoration Services (Dounreay Delivery Business), Nuclear Waste Services (excluding the Community Investment Funding arising from the delivery of the UK Government’s GDF siting process) and Sellafield Ltd.