Mental health funder Prudence Trust is offering charities in the sector grants to “bolster their ability to gather and make use of data in their work”.

The funder is making £1m worth of funding available for up to three years and anticipates making five to six grants available.

It is expected the money will be used by charities on salaries, software, consultancy fees and training to improve their use of data.

The deadline for applications is 4pm 3 March, with invitations sent to charities for the second stage of the process by the end of that month. Grants are expected to be awarded in June.

Applications are being sought from mental health support charities that already collect mental health or wellbeing data and primarily work with young people aged between 10 and 30. They need to be registered charities or community interest companies, have an annual income above £250,000 and two years of published accounts.

“We believe well-evidenced practice is vital to advancing young people’s mental health and we believe this sector can have even more impact when they have the skills and tools to make the most of what they know,” said the funder.

“We know that youth mental health charities are doing amazing work, and have access to a wealth of information to help themselves and fellow charities improve and grow services.

“We know they are passionate about offering the best possible support, but don’t always have the capacity or essential infrastructure needed to harness that information. We want to help.”

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