Guidance

Common Ground Award 2026 to 2027: prospectus

Updated 14 September 2026

Applies to England

Grant summary

Purpose

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is committed to building cohesive and resilient communities. The Common Ground Award was first launched in 2025 to 2026 to invest capital funding into Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations that are building social connections across and between different communities.

MHCLG is now launching the second round of the Common Ground Award for 2026 to 2027 to continue supporting the cost of constructing or renovating facilities, spaces, and equipment that enables organisations to deliver services that brings people from different backgrounds together to build community cohesion and resilience.

Type of grant

Competed

Who can apply

The grant is open to applications from VCSE organisations based and operating in England, with charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes. VCSE organisations can also apply as part of a consortium where collaboration is key to maximising an organisation’s impact and building sustainability, networks and innovation.

However, if your organisation is applying as part of a consortium, you are not eligible to make a separate individual application.

If your organisation is applying individually, you are not eligible to make a separate application as part of a consortium.

Funding available

Up to £2.5 million capital funding, within the 2026 to 2027 financial year, distributed in payments of £20,000 up to £50,000 per individual organisation. Individual applicants can set out how capital investment could be scaled up to a maximum of £100,000, which may be considered in exceptional cases - where there is clear evidence of need, with both significant expected impacts and high likelihood to deliver, supported by an exceptional application.

When an application is made by a consortium, the consortium can apply for funding of £100,000 up to £250,000 in total.

Important dates

Prospectus published: 28 August 2026

Application window opens: 14 September 2026

Deadline for applications: 12 October 2026  

Notification of application outcomes: December 2026

Likely payment to successful applicants: January 2027

Introduction

Strong, connected communities are fundamental to a cohesive and resilient society. Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations play a vital role in bringing people together, building understanding between different communities, and creating meaningful social connection. Through this work they help reduce divisions and build cohesion and resilience in our communities.

The UK government’s Common Ground Award aims to recognise good practice across England, in promoting community cohesion and resilience, by directly investing in organisations making a positive impact.

As part of the overarching Common Ground Resilience Fund, the Common Ground Award grant will continue to support VCSE organisations to invest in the physical facilities, spaces and equipment that allows people from different backgrounds to come together.

Organisations will be assessed based on how their objectives and activities seek to build social connections across and between different communities.

For example, applicants can work to build cohesion and resilience across and between communities from different faiths and beliefs, ethnicities, ages, geographies, cultures, and nationalities.

Applicants must have building social connections across and between different communities and people from different backgrounds as a core focus of their work.

To be eligible for the Common Ground Award, organisations and consortiums applying to this grant scheme must therefore directly work on at least one of the following core themes:

• encouraging and enabling social mixing, promoting understanding and reducing divisions between different communities and people from different backgrounds
• reducing prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed toward individuals and communities because of their background
• resolving conflict and addressing tensions across and between communities

We will not assess applications from organisations where building social connections across and between different communities is not the primary purpose of their work. Therefore, organisations must ensure they align with one or more of the themes above.

Organisations who receive the award will also be invited to participate in a community of practice, to enable knowledge sharing between organisations, and contribute to a wider discussion on building social cohesion across the country, with government stakeholders.

Aims and objectives

The Common Ground Award aims to:

• identify and reward good practice in building social connections across and between different communities and people from different backgrounds
• invest in the shared physical facilities, spaces and equipment that builds cohesion and resilience through enabling people from different backgrounds to come together
• build a community of practice, for knowledge sharing across the voluntary and community sector and with government

Organisations will be assessed based on how their objectives and activities seek to build social connections across and between different communities. To apply for the Common Ground Award, organisations and consortiums must therefore directly work on one of the following core themes:

• encouraging and enabling social mixing, promoting understanding and reducing divisions between different communities and people from different backgrounds
• reducing prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed toward individuals and communities because of their background
• resolving conflict and addressing tensions across and between communities

Who can apply – in detail

To apply for this grant, your organisation must be a VCSE organisation with a base and operating in England, with charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes. This includes:

• an organisation registered as a charity with the Charity Commission
• a charitable incorporated organisation registered with Companies House and with the Charity Commission
• a company limited by guarantee registered with Companies House, that is established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes
• a community interest company registered with Companies House
• a community benefit society registered by the Financial Conduct Authority
• an unincorporated community group or organisation, or an unincorporated association that is:
  • established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes
  • has a governing body with at least 3 members
  • has an inclusive membership policy
  • has a governing document
  • can provide accounts for the last two financial years
  • has its own UK business bank account
  • can hold land or property and enter into contracts either by itself or via trustees

Your organisation must have an annual turnover or income below £5 million. Where you are applying as a consortium, each individual organisation within the consortium must have an annual turnover or income below £5 million. This refers to the turnover or income figure reported in your organisation’s submitted accounts for its last financial year.

You can apply individually or as part of a consortium even if you previously applied to the 2025 to 2026 Common Ground Award, regardless of the outcome of your application.

Those who are not eligible to apply include:

• local authorities and other public sector organisations
• profit distributing organisations
• Individuals
• regulated education sector organisations (e.g. schools, further and higher education institutions, universities)

Consortiums

Collaboration is key to maximising an organisation’s impact and building long-term sustainability, networks and innovation. Therefore, for the 2026 to 2027 Common Ground Award, we will accept applications from consortiums.

For the purposes of this fund a consortium is a collaborative partnership of two or more independent organisations that come together to jointly plan, apply for, and deliver a single funded project.

Applying as a consortium might be considered as a more suitable option for organisations that are already working closely or in partnership, and where programme aims overlap or align. This route makes increased funding awards possible, but you must demonstrate how your proposal will be delivered within the required delivery period, and generate additional reach, impact and outcomes.

For example: VCSE organisation X owns a community centre which runs activities for members of the local community. They are partnering with VCSE organisation Y and VCSE organisation Z to jointly run sports activities to bring members of the local community together, and they are applying for funding for new sports equipment that organisation X will own.

If applying as part of a consortium, you should identify a lead organisation who will make the application on behalf of the consortium. We will also ask for information on each organisation in the consortium in order to perform due diligence checks should your consortium be successful.

Each individual organisation in the consortium must:

• be an eligible VCSE organisation based and operating in England with charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes
• have building social connections across and between different communities and people from different backgrounds as a core focus of their work
• directly work on one of the three core themes of the Common Ground Award fund
• deliver shared services or operate shared facilities as part of the consortium
• have an annual turnover or income below £5 million. (This refers to the turnover or income figure reported in the organisation’s submitted accounts for its last financial year).

The applicant will also need to confirm as the lead organisation they are fully accountable for delivery and funds. We expect successful applicants to have in place a formal agreement between all consortium members before any funding agreement is entered into with MHCLG – we will provide further information on this should your application be successful.

If you are applying as part of a consortium, you are not eligible to separately make an individual application.

Policy alignment

Organisations will be assessed based on how their objectives and activities seek to build social connections across and between different communities. To apply for the Common Ground Award, organisations and consortiums must therefore directly work on one of the following themes:

• encouraging and enabling social mixing, promoting understanding and reducing divisions between different communities and people from different backgrounds
• reducing prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed toward individuals and communities because of their background
• resolving conflict and addressing tensions across and between communities

Example 1

A community interest company registered with Companies House works to support people from different faith and belief backgrounds to come together to build understanding and tolerance through social mixing and activities that require participants to collaborate to achieve shared goals.

This organisation would meet the eligibility criteria, and aligns with both the core objective of the fund, and Theme 1 (encouraging and enabling social mixing). Therefore, we would encourage them to apply for the Common Ground Award.

Example 2

A charitable organisation works to support people recovering from poor health outcomes, including through a weekly support group.

This organisation would meet the eligibility criteria. However, it does not align with the core objective of the fund, or any of the themes and would therefore not be able to apply.

Example 3

A secondary school hosts a regular forum that enables students to meet and discuss how to reduce prejudice and discrimination in their local area.

This organisation would not meet the eligibility criteria, and would therefore not be able to apply.

Example 4

A consortium of three organisations each work within a shared building. Each organisation is a charity registered with the Charity Commission, and works on community engagement with people from different nationalities to increase social mixing with settled residents in the local area.

Each organisation would meet the eligibility criteria, and each organisation aligns with both the core objective of the fund, and Theme 1. Therefore, we would encourage them to apply for the Common Ground Award.

Example 5

A consortium of two organisations work in partnership. Organisation A is a community interest company that addresses inter-community tensions through dialogue. Organisation B is a registered charity that support former prisoners in accessing employment.

Both organisations would meet the eligibility criteria. Organisation A aligns with both the core objective of the fund, and Theme 3. However, Organisation B does not align with the core objective of the fund, or any of the themes. The consortium would be unsuccessful in any application.

We would encourage Organisation A to consider applying for the Common Ground Award as an independent applicant. If Organisation A and Organisation B submit an application as a consortium, it would be unsuccessful.

As part of our standard processes, we will carry out full due diligence checks on applicants before any funding is released, including each member of a consortium.

We aim to ensure a broad geographic spread of awards, as well as a range of organisations, projects and activities, across England to enable the benefits of funding to reach a diverse range of communities. There will not be a fixed allocation by region, or project/activity, however in the event of a large number of applications, consideration will be given to these factors.

Organisations are eligible to make one application. Eligible organisations must therefore decide whether to apply independently or as part of a consortium.

If you are applying as part of a consortium you are not eligible to make a separate individual application.

If an organisation makes multiple individual applications, then we will only assess the first one that is submitted.

Funding available

The maximum budget for the 2026 to 2027 financial year is £2.5 million, which we will award as soon as possible after the application window. This is likely to take place in January 2027.

Individual applicants can apply for a grant between £20,000 and £50,000. Individual applicants can set out how capital investment could be scaled up to a maximum of £100,000, which may be considered in exceptional cases - where there is clear evidence of need, with both significant expected impacts and high likelihood to deliver, supported by an exceptional application.

Successful individual organisations will be awarded up to £100,000 as a capital grant.

When an application is made by a consortium, the consortium can apply for a grant between £100,000 and £250,000 as a capital grant.

Applications from both individual applicants and consortiums will be assessed on an equal basis. No funding is ringfenced for applications from consortiums.

Applications must state the level of funding required. Applicants should plan for grant funding to be spent by 31 March 2027 and should demonstrate a credible delivery plan that enables expenditure to be incurred within this time frame. Exceptions will only be considered in limited circumstances and must be agreed in advance. Expenditure is generally considered to be incurred when an organisation has become legally committed or liable for the cost, even if the money has not yet physically left the bank account.

Grant funding awards will be confirmed through a grant funding agreement. Organisations may be offered a lower amount of funding than requested.

Capital grants can be used to support new builds, refurbishment, and expansion of facilities used to build connections across and between different communities. Funding can also cover essential equipment, such as laptops or furniture for the property.

Assessment criteria

The application form is designed to keep the process proportionate and accessible to smaller organisations, whilst capturing the essential information needed to assess alignment with the grant’s objectives.

Within each section of questions, consortium applications should be clear on how each organisation within the consortium contributes to the project, and on the value and impact each organisation brings to the project/ activities.

Applications will be assessed with 5 criteria. The application form will ask you about:

• Strategic alignment – how do your organisation’s/ consortium’s aims and activities align with the fund’s objective to build social connections across and between different communities, and align with at least one of the core themes?

• Community engagement – how does your organisation/ consortium engage communities and other organisations effectively, in the planning and delivery of its work?

• Community impact – what are the demonstrable outcomes from your organisation’s / consortium’s work to build cohesion between communities, aligning with at least one of the core themes, and how do you monitor the impact of your work in your communities?

• Use of funding – do you have a reasonable use and a clear plan for the capital investment requested, and how does the proposed use of funding align with the objectives of the grant?

• Risk and governance – how will you plan for any risks/ challenges and what structures do you have in place to manage the funds?

The same assessment criteria will be used for consortiums that apply.

Further guidance on the scoring criteria can be found in the Common Ground Award scoring framework. Please refer to this guidance when completing your application.

The assessment criteria are not intended to create a narrow definition of good practice, as we recognise that organisations working in this space are diverse in context, community and approach.

Instead, the criteria allow for a wide range of evidence to show how your organisation is effectively building social connections across and between different communities, while meeting one of the three themes.

The criteria can be met in many ways. Each of the 5 criteria will be scored from 0 (no evidence) to 3 (exceptional evidence), and any applications scoring 0 against any criterion will not be eligible for funding. The weighting of each section is set out below.

Due to the high volume of applications we may receive, we may not be able to provide the opportunity for further clarification on any part of your submission for the purposes of our assessment. Make sure all information is clear and detailed to give your application the best chance of success.

MHCLG and ministers reserve the right to vary these conditions, the right to not make an award, and to either withdraw or reduce the funding to the grant recipient if reasonably required.

Sections

Section 1: Organisation details

This section is not assessed, but will determine eligibility for the award.

We’ll ask for:

• organisation name and address
• details of primary contact
• basic eligibility details (legal status of your organisation, and charity or company number if applicable)
• where your organisation is based and operating
• how many years your organisation has been operating
• the turnover or income of your organisation based on your last financial year’s submitted accounts
• if you are a consortium you will be asked to provide details of each participating organisation that is involved in the application

Section 2: Strategic alignment

This section is assessed. It is weighted at 25% overall. We have outlined the individual weighting of each question within this section.

We’ll ask for:

• the key aims and objectives of your organisation/ consortium (12.5%)
• the key activities of your organisation/consortium and how these align with the objective and core themes of the fund to build social connections across and between different communities (12.5%)

If you are applying as part of a consortium, ensure you demonstrate how each participating organisation aligns with the grant objectives and core themes.

Section 3: Community engagement

This section is assessed. It is weighted at 15%.

We’ll ask for:

• how your organisation or consortium engages and collaborates with your communities (7.5%)
• how your organisation/ consortium collaborates with other organisations to benefit your communities (7.5%)

Positive evidence could reference (but is not limited to):

• how relationships are built in communities
• working across multiple and diverse communities
• engaging communities in the co-design of projects
• relevant partnership working with other organisations
• seeking feedback to improve projects
• participation from historically excluded groups

Section 4: Community impact

This section is assessed. It is weighted at 25%.

We’ll ask:

• how your organisation or consortium has made a positive impact on the communities it serves, through activities that align with the objectives and core themes of the Common Ground Award (10%)

You will be asked to include recent relevant examples to illustrate your impact.  Positive evidence could reference (but is not limited to):

• greater levels of interaction, trust, understanding and acceptance across and between different communities and people from different backgrounds
• formation of new networks, partnerships and friendships across and between different communities and people from different backgrounds
• reduced prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed toward individuals and communities because of their background
• resolution of conflicts or tensions across and between communities

You should ensure that your impacts align with at least one of the core themes.

• how your organisation/ consortium will continue to make an impact in the future. You will be asked to include recent relevant examples (10%)
• how your organisation/ consortium will monitor the impact of your project on your communities (5%)

Section 5: Use of Funding

This section is assessed. It is weighted at 25% and will be used to determine the size of capital grant awards.

We’ll ask for:

• how much capital funding you are requesting (this question is not assessed)
• how you will use the funding, including an itemised breakdown (7.5%)
• the objectives of your project, and how they: (7.5%)
  • (1) meet the needs of the communities in the places where you are working
  • (2) How they align with the objectives and core themes of the Common Ground Award

If you are asking for a larger sum of money, you will be asked to demonstrate how increased funding levels will generate additional reach, impact and outcomes.

• your key delivery milestones and when you aim to achieve them (10%)

Please note that organisations and consortiums may be offered less funding than requested, so it is important to consider how your proposed improvements could be scaled down.

A Common Ground Award may contribute towards a project that also receives funding from other sources, provided that the same cost is not funded more than once. Applicants must declare any other funding sources, clearly identify which costs will be funded through the Common Ground Award, and ensure that total funding does not exceed the eligible project costs. Applicants are also responsible for ensuring that any co-funding arrangements comply with the conditions of all funding sources.

Section 6: Risk and governance

This section is assessed. It is weighted at 10%.

We’ll ask for:

• how you will mitigate risks throughout delivery (5%)
• what governance and decision-making structures you have in place (5%)

Section 7: Declarations

We’ll ask you to declare that:

• all information provided is true, complete and accurate. You understand that providing false or misleading information may result in rejection of this application, recovery of funds and/or further action.
• you meet the eligibility requirements set out in the prospectus and will comply with all grant conditions
• (if applicable) you have the authority to submit the application on behalf of your organisation/consortium
• (if applicable) you have confidence in all partners within the consortium to deliver
• (if applicable) as the lead organisation in the consortium, you acknowledge that the ownership and responsibility of the application and any funded activities lie with your organisation
• you confirm that appropriate governance, financial management and controls are in place to manage public funds. The organisation or consortium will not make a profit from the activities supported by grant funding.
• confirm that the grant funding will not be utilised for the purposes of facilitating exclusively religious activity, undertaking political activity or supporting ideological or extremist causes. As set out in the 2024 extremism definition: ‘Extremism’ is the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to: a. Negate or destroy the fundamental rights or freedoms of others; or b. Undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and
   democratic rights; or, c. Intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in (a) or (b).
• confirm that neither the organisation nor any person acting on its behalf has knowingly engaged in fraud, bribery, corruption or other unlawful conduct in relation to this application
• you have read and understood the Privacy Notice

Roles and responsibilities

MHCLG will:

• provide guidance and access to support through a mailbox
• assess applications against the assessment criteria and carry out due diligence checks
• notify applicants of funding decisions
• provide funding as agreed in the grant funding agreement
• set reporting and monitoring requirements

If successful, you must:

• act in good faith with MHCLG
• sign a grant funding agreement, based on the Cabinet Office template and your funding request
• provide evidence of costs, if requested
• be accountable for delivery of capital spend
• co-operate with due diligence checks
• take part in monitoring and evaluation
• comply with the Equality Act 2010
• be responsible for using the funding in accordance with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. In particular, this means informing MHCLG before accepting the funding if the funding might cross-subsidise an economic activity. For example, if the funded premises or equipment is used for the purpose of a business (excluding incidental or occasional use)

Successful applicants will be invited to join a community of practice, with other organisations working towards a shared goal to build connections across and between different communities in England. This may involve future invitation to events to share good practice across the VCSE sector.

Successful applicants will be asked whether they are content for their organisation to be added to a published directory of Common Ground Award recipients, and have contact details shared amongst the community of practice membership.

Scores will not be provided where one of the sections has scored a 0 and therefore the full application has not been assessed. If the full application has been assessed, final scores will be provided.

Apply for funding

Contact CGA@communities.gov.uk for any questions about the grant.

Common Ground Award Applicant Webinar

We will be hosting an applicant webinar from 12:30 to 1:15pm on 10 September to provide an overview of this year’s Common Ground Award, including key elements from the prospectus, scoring framework and application form. Participants will also have the opportunity to submit questions in advance, with responses provided to the most frequently raised themes during the session.

If you are unable to join us on this date, or are on the waiting list, a link to a recording of the webinar and an updated FAQs document will be sent to all who register.

Register for the webinar here.

Please note: The webinar is intended to clarify the published guidance and application materials. It will not introduce additional assessment criteria or provide information beyond that set out in the prospectus and supporting documents