The Government are inviting bids to the £7.5 million
Local Digital Fund from Councils seeking to transform their
public services through digital innovation.
Grants of up to £100,000 will be available for projects which
demonstrate they benefit local public services and have the
potential to be rolled out more widely across the country.
The opening of this £7.5 million fund comes after the government
made a "digital pledge" with the launch of a Local Digital
Declaration in July. The declaration aims to connect the work
of local government digital teams to deliver better local public
services.
Councils and central government departments in England are
eligible to submit an expression of interest, whether individually
or in partnership with other local authorities. All bids will need
to demonstrate input from at least two local authorities.
The bidding is not open to non-public sector organisations but
there are no restrictions on commissioning a private company to
help deliver the project.
The deadline to submit an expression of interest is 5 October
2018. A decision on which projects have been chosen is expected to
be announced by 3 December.
A blog about the
fund's opening is also available