At first glance a grant may be viewed simply as money being given to those who deserve and need it. Yet grants are always so much more than this.

When Selfridges first opened its doors in 1909, it drew crowds by turning shopping into an adventure, using theatre and innovation. Bleriot’s monoplane was displayed there fresh from its maiden Channel crossing and John Logie Baird chose the store to first demonstrate television to the public.

Retailers need to stop expecting business to return to “normal”. 

Today’s consumers are experiencing a renewed appreciation of the value of retail, as well as the importance that shopping brings to their quality of life.

In my previous article I looked at the many types of fraud that government grant makers need to identify and take steps to prevent.

Grants are an important tool for central and local government to support citizens and businesses, and improve lives, the economy and society.

Is online the future, and are high streets flourishing? Just as they have for centuries, bricks and mortar retailers are reinventing themselves – competing and complementing the online option, and even stealing a march on it.

Retail technology is perhaps one of the fastest growing industries coming out of the pandemic, with digitisation being one of the key aspects of this transformation.

A new report, Supporting local communities and people: are local government grants effective?’, published today by CIPFA in partnership with Capita plc.

As declared by Dr Dominique Hes in 2017, there is quite simply “no sustainability without community engagement”. The topic of how organisations bring their staff and customers ’with them’ on cultural and transformative journeys is never far away.