The latest news in the Future of Essex Newsletter including;

Time to Start the Nominations!
Local Charities Collaborate to Help The Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse
Free Event for Creative Businesses
The First Event of its Kind – Ambitious Young People in Business
Getting Started with Open Data

Welcome to the September 2023 edition of the Future of Essex Newsletter.

In this month’s issue, we ask for your nominations for the annual Essex Activity Awards, and share details of Ambitious Essex’s ‘Young People in Business’, and ‘Innovation in the Creative Sector’ events, giving aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to hear from young business owners, and creatives the chance to learn about upcoming grant opportunities.

Community360 also share with us how their One Colchester partnership are supporting the Centre of Action on Rape and Abuse, through the ‘Feel Well’ Funding Programme.

Time to Start the Nominations!

The annual Essex Activity Awards, delivered by Active Essex, returns for its 12th year to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Essex, Southend and Thurrock individuals, organisations and groups, and those who have inspired and supported the county to find their active.

The county is being encouraged to put forward nominations, whether that be someone who has recently found their active, a group who has gone above and beyond to support participants mental wellbeing, or elite level athletes who have succeeded in their sport. The awards are about celebrating achievements, no matter how big or small to show the real impact physical activity and sport can make on the lives of our residents across the county. We welcome as many nominations as possible and hope our awards are the perfect opportunity to showcase some amazing stories.
Nominations must be submitted by Sunday 1st October 2023 and can be made here

Local Charities Collaborate to Help The Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse

One Colchester, the local strategic partnership for the City Council and chaired by Community360, have helped to identify funds, for the Centre of Action on Rape and Abuse, (CARA) through the ‘Feel Well’ Funding Programme.
CARA works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs. CARA received a grant of £50,000 from the North East Essex Feel Well Fund to support their new Integrated Support Service. The funding was very timely and has enabled them to develop and extend their projects, providing a range of additional services aimed specifically at victims and survivors who are in crisis or have complex needs, and for whom counselling is not currently appropriate.

Helen Parr of CARA Commented:Since we received the Feel Well Fund grant, C360 have worked closely with us to understand our new service and how we hope to see it develop in the future.  Six months into the grant, C360 approached CARA to offer their support in identifying funding streams to support the service in the long-term.   They have introduced us to another local funder, Colchester Catalyst Charity, with a view to facilitating a follow-on grant for the project and have also offered to work with Colchester Catalyst and CARA to explore long-term sources of funding. This collaborative approach feels extremely positive and encouraging and we very much hope it will help us to secure the future of this new and very much needed service for victims and survivors.”

Rodney Appleyard, Development Manager for the Colchester Catalyst Charity, said he was delighted to work with such forward-thinking partners in the area, like Community360:

“This partnership working has benefited CARA and we very much look forward to working with them all in the future.”

For further information on funding please contact: 01206 505250 or email infomation@community360.org.uk      https://www.community360.org.uk/what-we-do/funding-support/

Free Event for Creative Businesses

Whether you’re an artist, musician, videographer or marketer, you’re invited to our next innovation event. Taking place on 17th October at the Mercury Theatre, this free event gives you the chance to hear from the experts and connect with likeminded entrepreneurs.

Delegates will hear from Create South East about upcoming grant opportunities for your business. Dave Norton from LimboTech will also be discussing how his business has used digital technologies to develop bold art installations

Find out more and secure your free space today.

The First Event of its Kind – Ambitious Young People in Business

Do you know an inspirational young person? Perhaps you work closely with a young entrepreneur or aspiring business owner.

Let them know about this exciting opportunity on Tuesday 26th September!

Ambitious Essex is hosting its first event for young people. Taking place at Patch (Chelmsford), delegates will hear from young business owners who have successfully launched their own start-ups. They will also have the chance to network with likeminded business owners and aspiring CEOs.

Find out more on Eventbrite.

Getting Started with Open Data

Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share. Governments, businesses, and individuals can use open data to bring about social, economic and environmental benefits, it’s a tremendous resource that is as yet largely untapped. The Essex Open Data site is a shared resource for the entire county, shaped by information owners.

Learn how open data can work for you! From providing communities with real-time service information, to reducing freedom of information requests on your team, and enabling local companies, community groups and individuals to use data to plan and respond to community needs and growth – the possibilities are endless.

Find out how to get started with open data via the Open Data Institute online learning programme. The free 90-minute course, tailored at beginner level, covers 16 themes including What is open data; Unlocking value from open data; Measuring success; and Achieving impact with open data.

Access the online training throughout September and October and discover how open data is changing the lives of everyone on our planet.

https://data.europa.eu/elearning/en/#/id/co-01