About the fund

The 2023/24 Revenue Budget Report, approved by Cabinet on 22 February, established the East Ayrshire Council Innovation Fund (EACIF) designed to support services to review, streamline or modernise Council procedures or interventions, delivering long term financial savings, after the original grant has been repaid.

The EACIF is open to any Council Department, Service, or Team to support the identification of early initiatives aimed at incurring one-off costs which would then result in longer term savings and improved outcomes, for example:

• the development and rollout of early intervention and prevention project
• the development and implementation of efficient digital services
• the development of collaborative partnerships
• residents most disproportionately impacted by health inequalities

Application Criteria

All projects must:

• take place between March 2024 and February 2026
• start within 2 months of receiving the grant
• run for 6 to 12 months
• managed in line with the Council’s Project Management Framework and adopt rigorous Benefits Realisation processes

The fund doesn’t cover:

• ongoing financial support once the project has ended
• payments for the project or purchases that have already happened

Applications submitted via this webpage will be submitted to CMT for initial approval, with successful bids summitted to Cabinet for final approval.