Inspiring Voices Selection Criteria

1.    Definitions:
In the selection criteria references to the following terms shall have the following meaning:

“community”: a group of no less than three people, who hold in common a shared locality, geographical place or interest, but excluding any group that is bound by a single concern, political or otherwise, that can not be construed as having the potential to be “inspiring”;

"isolated, disadvantaged or voiceless": the environmental and personal circumstances that prevent individuals or communities from accessing or taking advantage of the opportunities that are available to other citizens;

"Website": Media Trust and Community Channel run the Website "Inspiring Voices", through which each application shall be submitted;

"inspiring": able to make a positive difference to either an individual’s personal or to a community’s development by, for example, helping to increase confidence or self belief or raising aspirations and that also relates to enabling an individual or community, through practical demonstration, to have greater creative expression and to inspire others to see how digital media can be of benefit to them.

2.    Criteria for Awards
2.1    Media Trust welcomes applications from any group, organisation or social enterprise, or any individual representing them. On this occasion, no application will be accepted from an individual not acting on behalf of a community.
2.2    As in clause 1 above, no application will be accepted from a single-interest group motivated by a concern that, whether due to its politicised or polarising message, does not have the capacity to inspire.
2.3    Applications must be submitted by being posted onto the designated ‘Inspiring Voices’ Website.
2.4    In making an application, the following three questions must be answered in no more than one thousand words:
a)    Is your community disadvantaged? Please explain how.
b)    Does your community use, or has your community used in the last twelve months, digital media to address its needs in terms of its disadvantage?  If so, please explain what form of digital media was used, and why.
c)    Can you demonstrate how this digital media work improves the lives of the people in your community?  Please explain how.
2.5    In addition to the written response applications may also be accompanied by, and applicants are encouraged to use, pictures, photographs, videos or any other media which can be uploaded to the Website, subject to the technical limitations of the Website.

3.    Submission of Ideas
3.1    You acknowledge that the invitation to make an application does not impose a contractual obligation on Media Trust to grant you an award. This Selection Criteria, and all materials or policies referred to in this document, will instead govern how your application is reviewed, and the obligations imposed on you in the event that you are awarded a grant. The selection of successful applicants shall be entirely at Media Trust's discretion.
3.2    You should be aware that the applications will be freely available for the public to review at the Website and if you have any concern over confidential or commercially sensitive information such information should not be posted.
3.3    You acknowledge that all ideas and proposals are submitted at your own risk and Media Trust cannot accept any responsibility or liability (other than liability that cannot, as a matter of law, be excluded) for any loss resulting to you from the use or loss of ideas, data or information submitted by you, including any loss of business or opportunity or loss of profit, particularly in the event that your application is not successful.

4.    Rules of Website use
4.1    In the course of making your application we may ask you for certain personal information such as username, email address, contact information, telephone numbers and your location. This information is stored on our database.
4.2    The provision of any personal information by you and the use of it by Media Trust is subject to the Community Channel website terms and conditions of use and privacy policy, which are incorporated into this document.
4.3    In addition to these incorporated terms and conditions, particularly clause 6 governing the use of data, you are asked to note:
a)    if you are under 16 please do not send us any personal information. If you are under 16 and represent a group within your community, please contact us through a parent or legal guardian. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a child who has submitted personal information please let us know by contacting us at communityvoices@mediatrust.org. We will delete all such personally identifiable information from our database as soon as possible following receipt of such notice.
b)    subject to clause 4.3(c) below, other than where required to do so by law, we will not disclose information about your individual visits to the Website or information which identifies you to any third parties unless we have your prior consent.
c)    by using the Website and submitting information in the course of acting on behalf of your group, organisation or business, you consent to our collection of and use of any personal information you provide, in relation to and for the furtherance of the Community Voices project.
4.4    You acknowledge that you are responsible for all content (including information, text, pictures, photographs, messages, notes, videos, software, and other files or material) that you upload or send to us to put on the Website or communicate to other users through the Website. If you did not create content that you post or otherwise make available via the Website, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the necessary consent from the owner of the content to use it on the Website. You also acknowledge that it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the necessary consents if you pass on a third party’s email address or any other details to Media Trust.
4.5    You acknowledge that in accordance with the House Rules set out in the incorporated Community Channel website terms and conditions, you are entirely responsible for the suitability of all content you upload onto the Website in making your application. In the event that any subsequent comment you make anywhere on the Website is deemed to be inappropriate you will remove it upon being requested to do so by us.
4.6    Media Trust reserves the right to refuse to accept and/or publish any application or information submitted in connection with an application for whatever reason, including failure to meet the Selection Criteria or breach of the House Rules. Such decisions are subject to Media Trust’s absolute discretion and should be understood to be final.
4.7   Media Trust shall be entitled to remove any materials that have been published on the Website and which are subsequently deemed to be ineligible for a grant or otherwise inappropriate. Such decisions are subject to Media Trust’s absolute discretion and should be understood to be final. Where we remove any application or content we will attempt to contact the individual concerned, but please note that the quantity of user-generated information generated by the Website means that Media Trust cannot guarantee that it will do so.

5.    Timing of Submissions
5.1    Applications may be submitted at any time up to and including 12 noon on the 14 January 2011. Submitted applications can be edited at any stage prior to 12 noon on the 14 January 2011. Any submitted applications that are amended after 12 noon on the 14 January 2011 may, at Media Trust’s absolute discretion, be deemed to be ineligible for an award.
5.2    Where an application is submitted before 14 January 2011, and where the information provided does not satisfy this Selection Criteria, Media Trust will endeavour to notify the applicant as soon as possible so that the necessary amendments can be made. Media Trust does not, however, guarantee that it will be able to do this in every case.
5.3    Where applications are successful, Media Trust will endeavour to notify the applicant as soon as possible after 14 January 2011, and in any event in the week commencing 24 January 2011.
5.4    Media Trust will publically announce the ten award winners in the week commencing 24 January 2011.

6.    Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
6.1    Where any materials or content that you submit are protected by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) it is your responsibility to make it clear that such materials or content are so protected. You accept that by submitting such materials you grant to Media Trust a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use and publish all such materials (or any part of it), which may be edited, cropped or otherwise modified by Media Trust in any way and at any time and in any media, for the purposes of furthering the Community Voices project.
6.2    You or the IPR owner shall, however, remain the owner of the IPR in any such content and shall be free to republish it wherever you or the owner so wish.

7.    Selection Process
7.1    Media Trust may, at its absolute discretion, award a grant to any applicant who submits an application that Media Trust believes is one of the ten strongest it has received.
7.2    The selection of the award winners will be made by a committee of five people, who will be drawn from across the Media Trust organisation.
7.3    In the event that Media Trust, at its absolute discretion, determines that there are fewer than ten winners, Media Trust reserves the right to award only those applications that it considers to have met the Selection Criteria and which have the capacity to be inspiring to other communities.
7.4    There are a limited number of circumstances in which a project will not be eligible to receive an award. These are:
a)    Purely promotional work about an organisation and its functions for marketing purposes (including, but not limited to, websites, flyers, advertising materials and videos).
b)    Individual applicants, including sole traders.
c)    Where the project has been run purely for profit without either meeting a community need or benefiting the community.
d)    Registered political parties or organisations connected to or affiliated with a registered political party (including any lobbying organisation), or any other group that has a stated political opinion or objective or an objective or aim that is polarising.
e)    Projects where the majority of beneficiaries live outside England, for example Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
f)    Applicants who have been or are in receipt of other Media Trust grants, or who have already been awarded a grant under this Inspiring Voices project.

8.    Other Considerations
In considering the applications for an award Media Trust will seek to ensure that there is a good spread of projects in terms of:
a)    Type of community (as defined by its geography and ‘interests’).
b)    Geography (seeking to ensure that communities benefit across England).
c)    Urban and rural communities.
d)    Type of media used in the project (for example, web, mobile, social media, digital photography, film, video and radio).

9.    Award of Funding
9.1    Once an initial selection has been made and before any grant will be made, Media Trust will ask each selected applicant to provide two references from people of good standing who have either worked with the applicant on the project, or benefited from the delivery of the project.
9.2    Once these references have been received and reviewed, and Media Trust is satisfied that the application is genuine, Media Trust will inform the applicant via a confirmation letter and the applicant will be issued a cheque for £500.
9.3    In cases where the cheque is to be paid to an individual person, Media Trust will undertake additional checks at its own discretion to ensure that the award will be used to benefit the community in question and not simply reward the individual.
9.4    Where it cannot be demonstrated that the award will be used to benefit the community, Media Trust reserves the right to substitute the cash award for an equivalent award, for example £500 worth of training from Media Trust’s training courses to members of the community. Where no alternative award can be found Media Trust reserves the right to withdraw the offer of the award.
9.5    Media Trust’s decision as to the award and payment of that award shall be considered final and no negotiation will be entered into regarding its selection.

10.    Conditions of Funding
It is a condition of all awards made and by submitting your application you agree to undertake the following:
(a)    to apply and/or spend the award for the benefit of your community before 31st March 2011;
(b)    to comply with any reasonable request of Media Trust to report on the impact that the award has had on the community and to provide supporting documents and materials. Such a request may be made at any time after the award has been granted, subject to Media Trust providing reasonable prior notice. Although the grant must be spent by 31st March 2011, a request to provide evidence of its use may be made after this date, as far as it is reasonable to do so; and
(c)    to partake in any promotional or publicity that Media Trust undertakes in connection with the grant of the award.

11.    Contacting Us
The award of funding and the management of this application process is carried out by Media Trust as part of its Inspiring Voices campaign.
Should you have any questions regarding the submission of applications, the award allocation process or any other concern, please contact: communityvoices@mediatrust.org or telephone 020 7871 5658.