The Cumbria Rural Infrastructure Support Programme (CRISP) will spend �855,000 over the next three years.

Its aim is to help Cumbrians find innovative ways of creating or securing the services.

Funded by Cumbria County Council and Rural Regeneration Cumbria, CRISP will be launched at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal on Friday.

Organisers hope to support schemes like the Storth post office project, which saw residents of the South Lakeland village save their post office from closure by turning it into a community run venture.

CRISP will consider applications from various types of organisations and will support a wide range of activities such as community shops, pubs and childcare facilities.

Cumbria County Council leader Tim Stoddard said: "Here in Cumbria we have a larger proportion of the population living in rural or 'super sparse' areas than any other county in England.

"It may be part of what makes Cumbria so special, but it also makes getting and retaining services very challenging."