Who you gonna call? Jargon busters!

Funding applications can be challenging to complete, not least because of the amount of jargon they contain '“ '˜governance', '˜capacity building', '˜matched funding' to name a few.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Feb 2016, 13:28 BST
Jeanna OHara (right) from Limavady, Project Development Officer with COAST (Causeway Older Active Strategic Team) and Elaine Simpson, Age NI Development Officer, during the official launch of Steps to Jargon Busting, a new Age NI publication, supported by Comic Relief, to help older peoples groups demystify the language of funding applications.Jeanna OHara (right) from Limavady, Project Development Officer with COAST (Causeway Older Active Strategic Team) and Elaine Simpson, Age NI Development Officer, during the official launch of Steps to Jargon Busting, a new Age NI publication, supported by Comic Relief, to help older peoples groups demystify the language of funding applications.
Jeanna OHara (right) from Limavady, Project Development Officer with COAST (Causeway Older Active Strategic Team) and Elaine Simpson, Age NI Development Officer, during the official launch of Steps to Jargon Busting, a new Age NI publication, supported by Comic Relief, to help older peoples groups demystify the language of funding applications.

A new Age NI publication, Steps to Jargon Busting, supported by Comic Relief, is helping older people’s groups by demystifying language that can often confuse and sometimes prevent them from accessing valuable funding sources.

Jeanna O’Hara, COAST Project Development Officer, commented: “Funding applications can often be difficult to negotiate. The Steps to Jargon Busters guide sheds much needed light on some of the more confusing terms that are used within the paperwork. We’ll ensure that older people’s groups in our area have access to it online or in hard copy – it’s a really great resource.”

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EJ Havlin, Age NI Development Manager, continued: “I manage Age NI’s Steps to Funding project, funded by Comic Relief, which helps older people’s groups access funding to support local events and activities. One of the issues the groups face time and time again is the level of jargon that funding applications contain – for many of the people tasked with completing an application form, it’s a completely different world that they’ve never dealt with before. Application forms are not written in everyday language and they can often be impenetrable if you don’t have experience of the system.

“ The Steps to Funding project is about supporting older people’s groups to support themselves, and that’s why we’ve created our Steps to Jargon Busting guide. It’s a simple booklet which lists the most common phrases that pepper applications forms. We highlight the phrase, detail the context and use an example of how it’s applied. It’s simple and straightforward and we’ve had lots of very positive feedback from local groups and organisations. It just goes to show that with a little bit of help, the complex world of funding applications can be a bit less daunting!”

Philip Davis, Programme Officer, Comic Relief, added: “We are pleased to support this jargon-busting initiative. Small groups, especially if they are new, can be overwhelmed by some of the language used in applications. This guide really helps play a part in demystifying the process and shows that all groups, no matter how small and/or new, are able to apply for funds along with the larger organisations!”

To download a copy of Steps to Jargon Busting visit www.ageni.org/stepstofunding