Improving the applicant experience, together
In 2024, an independent survey was carried out to gather feedback on applicants’ experiences of approaching Foundation North to request funding – see April 2024 news article.
Through phone surveys, interviews and focus groups, we heard back from over sixty organisations, large and small, from those with experience and those new to funding. Feedback acknowledged what we were doing well and also clearly highlighted areas where applicants had experienced friction, barriers, or confusion on their journey to access and request funding.
Much of this feedback centred on the need and desire for
- simpler and more streamlined processes
- guidance and advice in plainer language
The Applicant Experience (AX) Project
To make improvements promptly, an Applicant Experience (AX) project was designed in early 2025, involving teams from across Foundation North working together in ‘sprints’ -short, task-based periods of work focused on a specific topic.
To keep the community voice at the centre of this mahi, an advisory panel made up of people from various community organisations was formed to trial and test potential solutions, with their feedback directly guiding the improvements as they were being developed.
As we wrap up 2025, it’s time to celebrate the AX mahi we've completed together this year ironing out friction, removing barriers and making things more straightforward for applicants.
Improvements so far have been shaped directly by the voices of our applicants and the communities they represent. Your insights are helping us design a funding journey that is clearer, more transparent, and easier to navigate. There is more still to do, and this mahi will continue.
Together across four sprints of 2025, the AX project has delivered solutions for:
Funding Discovery – helping applicants understand who we fund, how we fund, and how to find important information — especially for those new to funding.
Mahi completed:
- Created a directory of funding information so applicants can build their own information pack.
- Identified gaps in our current resources and filled them with clearer guides and examples.
- Developed content for a new social media campaign to reach younger and first-time applicants.
- Improved access for people who speak languages other than English:
- Promoted our multilingual chatbot (now speaking 97 languages!)
- Added interpreter booking links to our website
- Shared browser translation tools
- Enhanced the chatbot with prompts based on real applicant questions.
Supporting Documents – to reduce stress, provide clarity, and support applicants as they prepare budgets, accounts, and other documents.
Mahi completed:
- Redesign of all budget templates, including one-year, multi-year, events, and operational-only examples.
- Combined template and guidance into one easier resource, now live on the website.
- Created an easy, one-click ‘Letter of Support’ template.
- Simplified guidance around annual accounts with better links to Tier 4 support.
- Fixed a common UX issue by automating document naming to prevent submission delays.
- Surveyed applicants to understand real pain points around supporting documentation — insights now shaping our next steps.
Application Form Completion – to reduce confusion and effort when completing the form, especially for less experienced applicants.
Mahi completed:
- Simplified question wording and added helper text and examples of “good” responses.
- Removed the requirement for applicants to choose a focus area — we now select the strongest alignment internally.
- Removed the demographic breakdown section and replaced it with simpler, more meaningful data collection.
- Completed a full redesign of the Quick Response Grant form, with simplified funding questions and a more intuitive flow.
This work is due to be tested and implemented in January 2026
Receiving a Decision or Payment – to reduce uncertainty and improve communication when applicants receive a funding decision.
Mahi completed:
- Introduced clear estimated decision dates at key stages of the assessment journey.
- Updated public guidance: decisions under $100K typically take 2.5–3 months.
- Rewrote declined and partially funded decision letters to be more empathetic and transparent.
- Built a system for assessors to provide clearer, constructive feedback.
- Enhanced payment processes, clarified bank document instructions, and explored automated bank verification.
The work on decision letters is due to be tested and implemented in February 2026
We hope everyone has a safe, restful and happy holiday – see you in 2026!
