Check out the new Convergence homepage for the latest information about investments, case studies and media releases.

> Convergence homepage

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced the successful organisations in the competition for its new Procurement Framework. Providers have been allocated to 11 "Lot" areas, with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly included in the South West Lot for the Work Programme. The Framework will be the primary route for tendering of all major welfare to work programmes, including the DWP European Social Fund (ESF) Convergence tender for delivery from 2011-13. The first programme to be tendered through the Framework is the Work Programme; a revised Work Programme Prospectus and details of the Framework Providers can be found via the link below. The Invitation to Tender for the Work Programme will be issued to the Framework providers during December. The ESF Convergence specification will follow in the New Year.

> Find out more

A £10 million investment in innovative learning, teaching and research facilities at the Tremough Campus in Penryn will help the University of Exeter and University College Falmouth to achieve their shared vision to create a world-class campus for Cornwall.

> The Exchange

Gwellheans Ltd, an organisation supporting people with drugs and alcohol-related problems to get back into work, has won the Award for Best Training in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills National Training Awards. Emotional intelligence training delivered by BCS International Ltd resulted in more positive relationships, leading to more clients being successfully rehabilitated. Four advisers delivering DWP ESF Convergence programmes supporting people into work have also received this training. Following positive feedback work is underway to see how this might be factored into future delivery.

> Read more

“Although at times difficult, if you stand aside from the re-focusing of policy by the Coalition Government, the seismic shifts in public sector budgets and the changes in the machinery of government 2010 has been a great year for Convergence.  The momentum and performance of both programmes has kept building and included:

• Royal openings of the Peninsula Dental School at Treliske and Pool Innovation Centre;

• Public curtain raising of the Performance Centre at University College Falmouth, Tremough;

Announcement of a suite of major Combined Universities in Cornwall investments:

• European Centre for Environment and Human Health at Treliske;
• Environmental Sustainability Institute, Exeter University, Tremough;
• Academy of Innovation and Research, University College Falmouth, Tremough;

• Next Generation Broadband joint investment between BT (over £78m) and ERDF Convergence (over £53m) – the largest ERDF investment of its kind anywhere in the EU;

• Impressive nominees and winners at the South West ESF Awards, South West Adult Learners Week Awards, Cornwall Works WISE Awards, and the local and national ESF Cross Cutting Theme Awards.

Continued strong performance across ESF Convergence, including:

• Jobcentre Plus co-financed Cornwall Works programmes – the best performing in the country;
• Skills Funding Agency co-financed skills programmes, and the strongest performing NEETs programme in England;
• Unlocking Cornish Potential – continuing to place graduates in businesses, even in these tough economic climes;

• Learning how to accelerate business growth and expansion: including gap funding for workspace development; grants for business investment; and targeted support for ambitious businesses and those looking to export.

“2011 will be the year when the changes in Government priorities and budgets increasingly become realities – whatever this means for individuals and organisations, the opportunities of the Convergence programmes for improving people’s employability and skills and the productivity of the businesses of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly remain.”

A major development to increase grain storage facilities at Kernow Grain, near Bodmin, is complete and four new silos, each with 1,000 tonnes capacity, are now operational. Kernow Grain began work to install the new grain silos in April this year (2010) after receiving investment of c £380,000 from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

> RDPE investment at Kernow Grain

It is now five years since Entry Level Stewardship was introduced and farmers and land managers whose agreements are coming up for renewal are invited to attend one of a series of free workshops across the region during November and December.

> Entry Level Stewardship workshops

More information about the Rural Development Programme in the South West can be found on the SW Rural Gateway website and in the RDPE Update, a monthly e-newsletter.

Information and contact details for the Rural Development Programme can also be found on the Convergence website.

Cornwall’s fishing community has been chosen to receive nearly €1m (€985,000) from the European Fisheries Fund Axis 4 programme. The fund, which is run in England by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), aims to develop smaller communities in England which largely depend on fishing for employment. The Cornwall group was one of eight to apply for funding from the scheme and was chosen by a judging panel in recognition of the challenges facing the local fishing industry, and the difference additional funding could make to the community and environment.

> Marine Management Organisation

The Innovation Fund was set up to support new ideas which could improve the way the under-10 metre sector operates in England. Up to 90 per cent of funding will be provided towards projects seeking to develop new, more sustainable ways of working, which in turn may help the long-term future of the sector.

> Innovation Fund

More than £3 million in grants has been awarded to the English fishing industry from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the Marine Management Organisation. A total of 11 projects were approved by the EFF selection panel in October 2010. The biggest single grant awarded at the panel meeting was £1.22 million for the regeneration of Southwold harbour, Suffolk.  For full details please see:

> EFF Selection Panel

For contact details and information about the fisheries programme, visit the Convergence website.