Today, the Home Office has announced £770,000 of funding is being awarded to 31 organisations as part of the latest round of the Building a Stronger Britain Together (BSBT) campaign.
What is the BSBT programme?
The BSBT programme supports civil society and community organisations who work to create more resilient communities, stand up to extremism in all its forms and offer vulnerable individuals a positive alternative, regardless of race, faith, sexuality, age and gender.
The programme allows organisations that share these aims to bid for in-kind support and grant funding for specific programmes that deliver goals set out in the Counter Extremism Strategy.
What support is available and who is it available for?
The programme offers two forms of support through an open and competitive bidding process:
- in-kind support - support made available to civil society and community organisations to improve their reach and capacity to deliver BSBT and Counter Extremism Strategy objectives.
- this can take the form of social media training, technical assistance to help a group improve their website, or capacity building
- grants - targeted funding for civil society and community organisations to deliver projects which deliver BSBT and Counter Extremism Strategy objectives
This support is available for projects that meet one of more of the BSBT’s programme outcomes, as well as evidencing local need for the work:
- fewer people holding attitudes, beliefs and feelings that oppose shared values
- an increased sense of belonging and civic participation at the local level
- more resilient communities
How long has it been running?
The scheme was first launched in September 2016.
How much funding has been provided?
More than £8 million of grant funding has been provided to groups since the programme started in 2016. The full list of groups that have benefited is available on gov.uk.
What has the impact of BSBT been?
The BSBT interim progress report found that, as of July 2019:
- 253 projects have been supported by £8.8 million BSBT grant funding.
- 98% of these organisations felt that their BSBT project would not have happened in the same way without grant funding
- 115 in-kind packages have completed.
- 241 organisations are part of the BSBT network.
- 34 counter-extremism community coordinators are in post to improve understanding of extremism at a local level, identifying local partners working to counter extremism and supporting them to amplify their messages and extend their reach.
Significant shifts were found in attitudinal changes that research show are highly relevant in building resistance to extremist narratives. These include
- Those involved in BSBT projects felt 27% more confident to challenge negative views expressed by others.
- 29% increase in the number of individuals who felt able to contribute to their local area.
- 24% increase in the number of individuals who felt a sense of belonging towards their local area.
Further information
There is a misconception that BSBT is part of the Government’s counter terrorism strategy. This is incorrect. BSBT is part of the Government's Counter Extremism strategy, which is separate to the Counter Terrorism Strategy.
The Counter Terrorism Strategy aims to reduce the risk to the UK and its citizens from all forms of terrorism. Prevent is part of the Counter Terrorism strategy and seeks to tackle the influences of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism.
Note: This factsheet was updated on 5th November 2019.