UK Local Digital Fund & DLUHC IT-Förderung 2026 (GB)

The Local Digital Fund is a grant programme administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in partnership with the Government Digital Service. It was established to help English local authorities move away from expensive, proprietary legacy IT systems and towards shared, open-source, and reusable digital solutions. The fund operates under the Local Digital Declaration — a commitment signed by over 250 councils — which sets out principles of user-centred design, open standards, and collaboration. In 2026, the fund's strategic focus areas include cyber resilience, AI-readiness in public services, and cross-council data-sharing infrastructure.

Eligibility is restricted to local authorities in England, including district, borough, county, unitary, and metropolitan councils. Bids must be collaborative, involving a minimum of two local authority partners, with one acting as lead applicant and accountable body. NHS integrated care boards and other public sector bodies may participate as delivery partners but cannot act as lead applicants. Organisations must have signed the Local Digital Declaration and must not be subject to active financial intervention by DLUHC at the time of application.

Funding is available at up to £250,000 per project for discovery, alpha, and beta phases. Projects must follow the GDS Service Standard, adopt agile delivery practices, and publish all outputs as open-source code on GitHub under an open licence. From 2025 onwards, all applicant councils must also complete a self-assessment against the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) as a condition of funding. Projects that produce reusable components are expected to register them on the DLUHC Local Digital tools and services catalogue to maximise cross-sector benefit.

Applications are submitted through the localdigital.gov.uk portal during published funding rounds (typically Q1 and Q3 of each financial year). The application requires a problem statement, user research evidence, a project plan with milestones, a breakdown of costs, and letters of support from all partner councils. Successful applicants receive funding in tranches tied to delivery milestones. DLUHC provides a dedicated support team and community of practice to assist applicants throughout the process, including pre-application webinars and peer-review sessions.

Note: This article is not a substitute for legal or professional advice. Please consult a qualified specialist for guidance specific to your organisation's circumstances.

Umsetzungs-Checkliste

1. Sign the Local Digital Declaration at localdigital.gov.uk if your council has not already done so
2. Identify at least one partner local authority for a collaborative bid
3. Complete the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) self-assessment and document results
4. Define a clear problem statement backed by user research evidence
5. Prepare a costed project plan covering discovery, alpha, or beta phases
6. Register on the localdigital.gov.uk portal and monitor for funding round announcements
7. Attend a DLUHC pre-application webinar for the relevant funding round
8. Commit to publishing all project outputs as open-source code on GitHub under an open licence