Issue - meetings
Westhive Criteria
Meeting: 20/11/2024 - Executive (Item 254)
254 Westhive Criteria 
PDF 74 KB
Purpose:
To consider the strengthening and clarification of established criteria for Westhive civic crowdfunding platform
Recommendations:
That the Executive resolves to:
1. Agree the strengthened criteria and scheme outline for Westhive Crowdfund.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Executive Member for Stronger, Healthy Communities introduced the report that considered the strengthening and clarification of established criteria for Westhive civic crowdfunding platform.
It was explained that in March 2023, the Council agreed to commission Spacehive Ltd to create a Westhive ‘movement’ on its civic crowdfunding platform. This movement enabled local people to promote ideas for civic projects and to raise money from local supporters including the Council, businesses and residents. Officers and the Westhive Members Panel review and determine the Council pledges in line with the Westhive criteria. Since the launch of Westhive in October 2023, three rounds of pledge review meetings had taken place – in January 2024, June 2024 and October 2024.
Five projects had successfully reached their project targets. The organisations were from a variety of sectors. Officers had drawn together the criteria agreed in all relevant reports to the Executive and as set out in original project initiation documents. Consideration has been given to wording used in previous Council grant schemes. Officers had also considered the approach taken by Cotswold District Council in relation to Crowdfund Cotswold. The Council Plan Priorities were the foundation for the Westhive criteria. It was reiterated that the scheme was doing more than what it had done previously and communities had raised more than what the Council was doing and the reach was double or triple of what was achieved in previous years whilst making money going further.
The Executive thanked Officers for the large amount of work that they dedicated to this scheme.
Councillor Rachel Crouch proposed that the Executive agree the recommendations as listed on the report. This was seconded by the Executive Member for Finance, Councillor Alaric Smith, was put to a vote, and was unanimously agreed by the Executive.
The Executive resolved to agree the Overview and Scrutiny’s recommendation that:
1. The Council would review how funding for the West Hive criteria was utilised with a view to ensure that the budget allocated by the Council could be distributed effectively and fully for benefit of the communities.
Meeting: 06/11/2024 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 62)
62 Westhive Criteria PDF 74 KB
Purpose:
For the Committee to consider the strengthening and clarification of established criteria for Westhive civic crowdfunding platform.
Recommendations:
That the Committee resolves to:
1. Agree any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Executive on 20 November 2024.
Invited:
Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance
Phil Martin, Director of Place
Janine Sparrowhawk - Community Funding Officer
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Community Funding Officer introduced the report that asked the Committee to consider the strengthening and clarification of established criteria for Westhive civic crowdfunding platform.
It was explained that Westhive was a ‘movement’ on Spacehive, set up to support community projects in West Oxfordshire. Westhive was launched in October 2023. The Civic Crowdfunding platform provided a new and accessible way that West Oxfordshire residents could be at the heart of civic change and provided a springboard for locally led ideas to attract funding more easily. The report served to confirm the established criteria and strengthen elements which have
been noted as requiring clarification.
The following points and suggestions were noted by the Committee:
· There has been six funding rounds over three years.
· There was no change to the criteria it was just being organised into one place. There would be a review and analysis after round four toward the spring/summer 2025. The technical process and supporting residents remained and there was a variety of projects and Officers were working through residents experiences and would bring back the lessoned learned at a later date.
· There was 1 application that was not successful because it did not meet the crowdfunding target out of 6 applications to date. 9 applications in this round.
· Officers would come back to the Committee on whether the Council could make a proportionate contribution.
· There were 2 pots of funding £125k and £175k. Current expenditure, Round 1 £14k, ££ UKSPF, Round 2 £5k, £28k UKSPF Round 3 not confirmed yet. Not hitting £120k this year because UKSPF had a time limit but it was only on capital and there was less demand on Council’s own allocation.
· £120k was funded from revenue contribution to capital. It had not been rolled over or lost. For 2025/26 this would be added in to the revenue account and whatever was left would be unspent capital. The spend for 2023/24 was not known.
· Members requested that there be more understanding provided in the next report as there were misgivings. It was proposed that be an audit that compared old grants impacts and impacts spend with the scheme. It was felt the Council should vote on whether it was rolled over. And an ideological debate on whether there should be an insistence on crowdfunding.
· It was explained this was not a grant and it gone through Executive and was agreed after a long period of review. The council used to give grants to the same groups every year and it was not necessary to roll it over. There was still £458k per year in total. Rolling over was not a great accounting approach and there could be a setup of an earmarked reserve with unspent funds. Earmarked reserves would then be approved at outturn time.
· The Cabinet Member for Finance explained that he was interested to hear feedback and this was about making Council funding go further. If this was approach was not working then other ways could be found to make it ... view the full minutes text for item 62