The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has opened the fifth round of applications for support under its Local Digital Fund.
The ministry’s Local Digital Collaboration Unit (LDCU) has invited English local authorities to submit proposals for work on development platforms and software, emphasising the need for them to be aimed at solving problems that are widely shared in local government.
Projects under the development platforms banner can take in low code and open source technologies, along with solutions aimed at end-to-end service transformation. Those under software can be aimed at developing new solutions or services and reducing cyber vulnerability.
It emphasised that the round is only open to alpha projects, which can receive up to £150,000 each, and beta projects that can apply for a maximum of £350,000. The former have to deliver within 12 weeks and the latter within six months.
MHCLG said the new round has been designed on learnings from C-19 Challenge, which focused on dealing with issues raised by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Continuous Funding Model, which it launched in February to give councils more flexibility in their applications. This could be open for projects running beyond the beta phase.
The deadline for submissions is 26 September.
Image from iStock, Gocmen
