Guidance

Regulators' Pioneer Fund round 4: competition brief

Published 22 May 2025

Project requirements

• DSIT will invest approximately £5.5 million for regulator-led and local authority-led projects of 6 month to 12 month projects.
• Projects must start from 1 October 2025 and end by 30 September 2026.

The competition aims to position the UK at the forefront of regulatory innovation by funding projects led by regulators or local authorities. To do this, projects will look to address real world challenges or opportunities to support innovation, supported by:

• evidence of business need, and/or
• enhance regulator and/or
• local authority capability to work more innovatively themselves to improve the delivery of regulatory functions

These projects will focus on creating a regulatory environment that fosters business innovation and investment.

This funding round will serve as an early adopter of the DSIT Evaluation Strategy expecting applicants to align their project impact measurement accordingly. Selected applicants must track and report on the initiative’s impacts and performance. Further information on the evaluation of the programme will be provided if your application for funding is successful.

Your project must be:

• ambitious
• collaborative
• innovative
• demonstrating research-driven
• learning-focused, and
• experimental approaches to regulation

Project size

Your project must run:

• from 1 October 2025 until 30 September 2026
• for a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 12 months

Your project’s total funding can be up to £1,000,000, with a minimum of £50,000.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for funding you must be a body which meets the following three criteria:

• exercises a ‘regulatory function’, as defined in section 32(2)-(4) of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006;
• performs that regulatory function in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England or across the UK; and
• is subject to and follows the guidance in HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money handbook, or, if not subject to that guidance, is able to demonstrate compliance with Managing Public Money principles with respect to any funding received from the RPF.
• is capable of accepting the minimum terms, which are set out in the draft Statement of Main Terms

Only the regulator or local authority leading and sponsoring a project may submit an application and claim funding. They are the lead applicant.

For the avoidance of doubt, Combined Authorities are eligible and can apply as lead applicant. Local Government Association (LGA) describes Combined Authorities as a legal body set up using national legislation that enables a group of two or more councils to collaborate and take collective decisions across council boundaries.

Subject to subsidy control requirements (see below), the lead applicant may involve domestic and/or international partners (such as businesses, industry bodies, civil society groups, other regulators or academic institutions) in their proposed project where such participation is relevant to the purpose of their project and would be expected to improve or enhance the outcomes sought. However, the lead applicant will remain fully responsible themselves for the delivery of their project. DSIT will not organise or mediate working arrangements or agreements between bodies participating in a project.

Regulators and local authorities must meet public sector procurement rules in relation to any subcontractors they use in their RPF projects, or if not subject to those requirements, must be able to demonstrate compliance with public sector procurement principles with respect to any funding received from the RPF.

The lead applicant will have overall accountability for the use of all project funding (including for sub-contracted goods and services) in line with Managing Public Money principles.

Multiple applications

Regulators and local authorities are:

• limited to being the lead applicant on 3 applications
• not limited to the number of applications in which a regulator or local authority can be a partner.

Resubmissions

If your proposal was successful in earlier rounds of the RPF, you cannot submit the same proposal in this competition. Any new proposal must be materially different from those funded in the first three rounds. For example, a proposal that fully tests or implements a previously funded project would not be considered materially different.

However, a proposal that builds on the results of a past project to explore a new area would be deemed materially different. Proposals will not be viewed more favourably simply because they build on previous projects and will be assessed independently based on the eligibility criteria.

Funding

Funding type

Grant.

If your organisation is unable to receive grant funding, alternative arrangements can be made to deliver funding.

Funding details

We have allocated approximately £5.5 million to fund projects in this competition.

• Funding will be available from 1 October 2025 until 30 September 2026, by which date projects must end
• All projects are expected to commence from 1 October 2025.
• Your project’s total funding can be up to £1,000,000, with a minimum of £50,000.

RPF funding will be allocated in fiscal years and must be spent in its allocated fiscal year. Future year funding will be allocated on a provisional basis and subject to review points. The transfer of funding between different fiscal years will not be possible.

The project funding limit includes funds that would be paid or passed on to your collaborators or partners by you on a sub-contract basis. Funding can only be used for non-commercial activities (see the subsidy control section below for further detail). You can usually recover the VAT paid on goods and services purchased for use in your business by submitting a VAT return. VAT that can be recovered is not an eligible cost^{[footnote 1]}. If the lead applicant, as defined in the ‘Eligibility criteria’ is unable to recover VAT then this is an eligible cost under the RPF and can be claimed within the RPF funding amount. This will need to be detailed within the application submitted.

 The Lead Applicant can claim up to 20% of their staff costs as overhead costs in addition to staff costs. Where the Lead Applicant engages any third parties in the delivery of their project, the full overheads of these parties can be claimed.

Projects will not be able to claim in advance of need for activities or costs after the funding period ends this is particularly relevant for projects requiring the use of licenses, etc.

You should commit your own resources to the project wherever possible and describe this in your application. This could include matched funding – funding provided by your organisation - to finance some of the activities or spend needed for your project as well as staffing resource and equipment.

You must outline plans to ensure that your project has lasting benefits and/or impacts beyond the lifetime of the RPF-funded activity. 

Subsidy control

Depending on the circumstances, this award may represent a subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. If this is the case, there may be a requirement for your organisation to meet the contribution requirements of the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route^{[footnote 2]}, which should be reflected in your financial information.

Applicants will need to consider possible subsidy implications. Any UK organisation claiming RPF funding must be eligible to receive a subsidy at the time we confirm you will be awarded funding and must provide us with confirmation of eligibility. If you are unsure, please take legal advice. It is your responsibility to make sure that your organisation is eligible to receive subsidies.

Some activities carried out by or on behalf of the regulator or local authority in relation to its statutory obligations or functions as a regulator/local authority may be considered an economic activity, therefore may fall within subsidy control requirements. Any aid granted for non-economic activities should not be used to cross-subsidise commercial activities.

Government guidance for public authorities explaining the UK Subsidy Control Regime including further on the Research, Development and Streamlined Route.

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund projects that:

• are designed to enhance a regulator’s or local authority’s own performance without demonstrating significant positive benefits to businesses or innovators;
• would be reliant on ongoing government funding commitments beyond the duration of the project to deliver economic benefits;
• do not satisfy the essential requirements set out in this document;
• do not have (i) senior sponsorship at the applicant’s organisation and (ii) agreement that the findings, learnings and/or conclusions from the project will be shared with DSIT to facilitate the evaluation of the RPF policy measure as required by HM Treasury.

Are unable to clearly define and explain the impacts and performance of the value of the initiative, in alignment with the evaluation requirements of DSIT.

Your proposal

The RPF will sponsor projects led by regulators or local authorities which aim to create a UK regulatory environment that encourages business innovation and investment.

We are looking for project proposals that:

Are ambitious

• projects that drive significant improvements in a sector, such as a regulator adopting new approaches to enable innovative products and services to come to market such as through live-testing environments or dedicated support for innovators;
• demonstrate value for money; and
• show potential for lasting benefits beyond the duration of the project, with plans to scale up and share best practice.

Are collaborative

• bring together multiple regulators and/or local authorities together to explore ‘cross-cutting’ issues of mutual interest and/or provide a more joined-up, efficient and effective service to business. For example, multi-regulator projects that can support industries, or business activities which cross regulatory boundaries, such as the development of forums or a multi-agency advice service; and
• projects with partnerships that include businesses, industry bodies, civil society groups, regulators and academia – as well as regulators and local authorities in other jurisdictions and/or international standard-setting organisations.

Address one or more of the UK government’s priorities

We are looking for proposals that tackle regulatory challenges related to market innovation, emerging technology or new business models. These projects should promote “innovation friendly regulation” and help create a more attractive environment for investment in the UK. 

• In addition to addressing regulatory barriers and opportunities for innovation. While not limited to the following, we strongly encourage proposals relating to one or more of the following themes:
  • Driving economic growth both nationally and regionally by building on existing or emerging innovation strengths across the country
• Advancing the priority areas of the RIO, which currently include but are not limited to drones and connected autonomous vehicles, engineering biology, space, and AI and digital in healthcare, supporting transformative ambitions in regulatory innovation to advance key technologies and sectors and the conditions to foster their growth
  • Enhancing the performance and productivity of the government by improving people and business experience of engaging public services to make it easier, faster and more convenient for them.
  • Supporting the delivery of the government’s missions, including aligning with the modern industrial strategy and the outcomes of the government’s regulatory reform agenda.

Are discovery-driven

The project must be aimed at:

• finding
• acquiring, and
• disseminating

new knowledge towards a specific objective.

Are novel

The project must be based on a new idea or concept aimed at advancing on existing knowledge.

Are systematic

The project should be systematically performed and conducted, with the process and outcomes documented.

• a report summarising the project and the lessons learned must be published with key insights communicated to relevant stakeholders.

Are reproducible

Your project should lead to results that have the potential to be reproduced.

Linked to these themes, and beyond, we are interested in projects which:

• advance the priority sectors of the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), supporting transformative ambitions in:
  • regulatory innovation
  • aligning with our Plan for Change missions and
  • Industrial Strategy

Evaluation:

To align with the DSIT Evaluation Strategy, the project must adopt a systematic delivery approach,

including:

• Monitoring and Evaluation plans: create clear plans for monitoring and evaluating progress and results, including data capture and documentation. To enable the most effective evaluation Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be used.
• Data Access: to facilitate continuous learning and improvement, provide DSIT (and those acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for DSIT) with full access to data on the impact of the RPF-funded work.
• Publicity and Dissemination: to maintain transparency and broaden the impact of findings, obtain DSIT approval to publicise, conduct promotional activities, or disseminate knowledge related to the project.
• Reporting and Communication: foster a culture of continuous learning by publishing a report summarising the project and the lessons learned, with key insights communicated to relevant stakeholders.
• Senior Sponsorship and Agreement: ensure senior sponsorship at the applicant’s organisation and agreement that the findings, learnings, and conclusions from the project will be shared with DSIT.

Project types 

Below are the types of proposals we encourage:

• projects that harness new thinking, new methods and/or new technological approaches to improve regulatory delivery and performance, benefitting innovators, businesses and the public;
• short research and development projects that generate new learning by exploring:
  • solutions for a regulatory issue faced by innovators, businesses or the public; or
  • proactive measures to better support innovators, businesses and the public
• a short trial or pilot study testing a new initiative to improve regulatory approaches and better support innovators, businesses, or the public.

The application process

You will need to complete 3 sections.

1. Application details
2. Application questions
3. Project financial information

Application form

Download the application form (available on the RPF 4 main page) and send your completed form to regulators.pioneerfund@dsit.gov.uk.

1. Application details

The lead applicant must complete this section. Please provide the following:

• Lead organisation name:
• Regulatory functions undertaken:
• Joint collaborators:
• List all entities delivering the project, whether this is in-house within the lead organisation or collaborators, or an external party.
• Delivery mechanism:
• Project title:
• Project duration:
• Project end date (note project start date is expected to be 1 October 2025):
• List the other parties collaborating to deliver your project.
• Confirm eligibility to receive subsidies for your project:

Project summary

• Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it an innovation-supporting initiative
• Set out the challenge you wish to tackle and what the intended gains and learnings from your project will be and for whom.
• Explain how your proposed project reflects the purpose of the RPF programme and the real-world impact it seeks to achieve.
• List any organisations you have identified as partners or subcontractors.
• Your summary should be accessible and clear to a person who is not a specialist in your sector or field. Your answer may be up to 400 words long.

If your proposal does not reflect the eligibility criteria of the RPF programme, it will be rejected and not be sent for assessment. We will provide feedback.

Public description

• Describe your project in detail, and in a way that you would be prepared to see published
• Do not include information that is commercially sensitive or confidential to your organisation
• If your proposal is awarded funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before the start of your project
• Your answer may be up to 250 words long.

Public project high-level description

Public project high-level description: describe your project in 1-2 sentences, and in a way that you would be prepared to see published. This should include the expected output(s) of the project.

2. Application questions

Your answers to these questions will be scored by assessors. Marks are indicated in brackets (). You will receive feedback on your application.

Your answer to each question may be up to 300 words long. Do not include any URLs in your answers. Please provide clear, jargon-free, well-structured and well-reasoned answers.

Please note that DSIT reserves the right not to award at all.

Question 1: Rationale or demand (20 marks)

What is the problem or challenge for business that your proposal addresses? What evidence is there of demand for the change in regulatory approach? 

Describe or explain:

• the main motivation for the project, including the problem or challenge faced by businesses, the economic context, technological challenge and/or market opportunity
• the evidence, whether from the UK or overseas, that there is a demand for a change in regulatory approach
• any work you have already done to understand the issue, respond to this need, explaining whether your project will develop an existing capability or build a new one
• the real-world impact of your project in supporting business innovation and investment and/or improving the experience of business, innovators and the public in their interactions with yourselves

Question 2: Alignment (20 marks) 

How is the proposal aligned to your organisation’s priorities and/or the priorities of the UK government?

Describe or explain: 

• the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity
• which of the UK government priorities listed in page 9 of this document this proposal relates to (where relevant) or which of your organisation’s priorities
• how the proposal will help businesses and innovators to bring innovative products and services to market, and/or improve business/public experience
• the potential for the project to contribute to addressing the UK government’s priorities listed in page 9 of this document.

Question 3: Team and resources (20 marks)

What are the resources, equipment and facilities needed for your project and how will you provide or access them? 

Describe or explain: 

• the details of any vital external partners, including sub-contractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
• (if your project is collaborative) the current relationships between project partners, senior buy-in for your proposal among project partners and how the working relationship for this project will be run/managed
• any roles you will need to recruit for or resources you will need to acquire to deliver the project successfully
• who in your organisation will be the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for this project – their name and designation

Question 4: Governance and delivery (20 marks)

How will you manage the project effectively, ensuring timely progress, transparent reporting (including financial), robust governance and evaluation?

For this question you may also submit a project plan, no more than one side of A4, alongside your application form.

Describe or explain: 

• how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified.
• the main work packages of the project
• the nature of the outputs you expect from the project
• your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones
• your approach to project management, identifying any tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
• describe how you will monitor and evaluate your project including any key performance indicators you plan to implement
• the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial, legal, privacy/data protection and environmental risks
  • how you will mitigate these risks
• how your organisation’s internal governance will support your project.

Question 5: Added value (10 marks)

How will public funding through the RPF add value for the regulator or local authority, and how does your proposal offer society and the economy cost-effectiveness (using public resources in a way that creates and maximises public value)?

Describe or explain:

• How your proposal introduces new approaches or technologies not currently part of your regulatory activities.
• Potential for Positive Change: The project’s ability to create cultural, systemic, or institutional improvements within your organisation.
• Impact of RPF Funding: Whether the project could proceed without RPF funding and the added value that public funding would bring.
• Success Criteria and Metrics: What constitutes success for your project, including the metrics and indicators you will use to measure impact.
• Value for Money: How the project ensures efficient use of public resources, including cost savings for businesses and the critical role of sub-contractors.
• The potential to scale up and share best practice beyond the duration of your project, to other regulators including, where appropriate, internationally.
• What the longer-term plan for your project is, if your project were to be awarded, after the funding window were to conclude?
• How will you ensure your project’s benefits persist beyond the funding period and become part of regular practices?

For this question the applicant must answer the questions in the table below.

Question: How are resources used?

Criteria	Specific requirement
Economy	Describe how the initiative differs from existing activities.
Efficiency	Describe the strategic intent of the project and how the project meets it.
Risk	Describe how risks are managed.
Affordability	Describe how the project ensures the costs are controlled. Why is the investment required?
Ethics	Describe any ethical issues and how they are managed.
Equity (input)	Describe how the equity of the inputs is managed.

Question: What is the value created?

Criteria	Specific requirement
Effectiveness	Describe the outcomes of the projects (the immediate impacts on completion of the project)
Equity (output and outcomes)	Describe how the project enables an equitable outcome.
Impact	Describe a maximum of 3 enduring impacts beyond the delivery of the project and how they are measured.
Scalability	Describe how the beneficiaries of the project buy into the desired outcomes.

Question: Value vs the costs

Criteria	Specific requirement
Cost-effectiveness	Describe how the project justifies the cost.
Sustainability	Describe how the project manages its sustainability and any sustainability impacts.
Equity (impacts)	Describe the enduring impacts post project completion.

3. Project financial information

Depending on the circumstances, this award may represent a subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. If this is the case, there may be a requirement for your organisation to meet the contribution requirements of the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route, which should be reflected in your financial information.

Please provide a monthly breakdown of your anticipated project costs for the length of the project. You should set out clearly administrative costs, costs associated with training, patent filing, subcontracting, labour and/or materials as applicable. The Lead Applicant can claim up to 20% of their staff costs as overhead costs in addition to staff costs. Where the Lead Applicant engages any third parties in the delivery of their project, the full overheads of these parties can be claimed. These should be detailed in the table below.. Note that this overhead limit does not apply to third parties. Please include information on the matched funding your organisation will provide for your project. Contingency costs to cover the monetary impacts of project risks, uncertainties, unforeseen costs or situations should not be included in your project costs. Please set out your anticipated project costs using the Table template below. You may submit this separately, alongside your application form.

You can usually recover the VAT paid on goods and services purchased for use in your business by submitting a VAT return. VAT that can be recovered is not an eligible cost. If you are unable to recover VAT, please provide evidence and ensure your project costs include VAT, clearly indicating the amount and ensuring your anticipated project costs are within the limit of the grant based on the duration of your project.

Table template for anticipated project costs

Name	Cost
Total anticipated cost of project	no data
Does your project include VAT: (please note that if you do intend to recover VAT you need to state this here.  If it is not included and your project is selected we will not be able to provide additional funding to cover this)	no data
If VAT is included, please provide evidence that you are unable to recover this	no data

Type of costs	Breakdown of project costs in first month your project starts	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6	Total project spend
Staff costs	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
Contractor costs	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
Overhead costs (maximum 20% of staff costs for regulators and local authorities)	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
VAT amount (if not recoverable as per www.gov.uk/reclaim-vat)	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
Total anticipated funded  cost of project	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
Matched funding amount	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data

Application scoring criteria

Applications will be initially assessed and scored against the competition criteria, but once the awarding panel are making their final decisions, DSIT reserves the right to apply a ‘portfolio approach’ to ensure the competition meets policy objectives and ensures funds are allocated across strategic areas/sectors/regions identified in the scope of the competition. This may mean that a lower scoring proposal is successful over a higher scoring one.

The applicant’s application form score should reflect how well they have addressed the central question asked. It is not essential for each of the points listed under ‘describe or explain’ in the competition brief to be addressed for the applicant to receive a high score.

Scoring of each question should solely consider the response provided to that question. For example, evidence provided in response to question 1, should not increase or decrease the score for question 2.

For each question within the application form, the following scoring criteria will be used.

• A score of 0 to indicate the answer is completely unacceptable or has not been answered.
• Less than 25% of the marks available (i.e., 3 out of 20) to indicate an extremely poor response, one which completely misses the point of the question asked.
• Less than 50% of the marks available (i.e., 9 out of 20) to show that some useful evidence has been provided but the response has fallen well short of expectations.
• A score between 50% and 75% of marks available (i.e. between 10 – 14 out of 20) to indicate an acceptable response but one which is basic and could have been expanded upon. In this range, the response would be sufficient, but it would not inspire.
• A score of 75% or above of the marks available (i.e. between 15 - 19 out of 20 would suggest a good response, one which provides a high degree of assurance that the applicant has fully considered and addressed the question being asked.
• A score of 100% (20 out of 20) would be an exceptional response with no significant weaknesses identified.

Process after application

Only applications that meet the eligibility criteria will be sent for assessment. You will be notified if your application is out of scope with feedback. 

Following an assessment of proposals with respect to the criteria set out, an awarding panel will make the final decision on funding. 

Applications will be initially assessed and scored against the competition criteria, but once the awarding panel are making their final decisions, DSIT reserves the right to apply a ‘portfolio approach’ to ensure the competition meets policy objectives and ensures funds are allocated across strategic areas/sectors/regions identified in the scope of the competition. This may mean that a lower scoring proposal is successful over a higher scoring one. We aim to notify applicants about the decision by 30 September 2025.

Selected projects will be required to complete and sign a:

• Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) or a
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

where appropriate, with DSIT. A draft statement of main terms is available on the main RPF page, and a:

• RPF Application Form

DSIT reserves the right to amend the terms and applicants will be required to enter into the appropriate agreement as required by DSIT.

DSIT reserves the right to amend the terms and applicants will be required to enter into the appropriate agreement as required by DSIT.

Project evaluation

Selected projects will also be required to participate in the evaluation of the programme either through an independent evaluation partner or through another evaluation mechanism. This could include being contacted at intervals throughout the project, providing project data and participating in interviews and/or surveys. In order to track longer term outcomes, we will ask for a short update from you ‘one year on’ from project completion. Lessons learned from projects are also required to be published by projects. Further information on the evaluation of the programme will be provided if your application for funding is successful.

Please note that funding is not guaranteed. DSIT reserves the right to amend the amounts specified, including decreasing or increasing the total funding available, or not award at all.

You will be expected to report on your progress and financial spend to DSIT monthly.

How to apply

Download the application form (available on the RPF 4 main page) and send your completed form to regulators.pioneerfund@dsit.gov.uk.

Round 4 of the competition will close on Thursday 31 July 2025 at 11:59pm BST.

Clarification questions

You can email your question to: regulators.pioneerfund@dsit.gov.uk.

There are 2 deadlines for applicants to submit a clarification question.

Deadline to submit a clarification question	Date answers are published
Thursday 5 June	Friday 13 June
Thursday 19 June	Friday 27 June

We will respond to commercially sensitive questions directly and not publish on GOV.UK.

Late applications

In the case of applications being received after the deadline, proof will be required to prove the application was sent via email prior to Thursday 31 July 2025 at 11:59 BST or exactly at that time. Any applications received/sent after the competition closing deadline will not be accepted.

Timeline

Date	Stage
22 May 2025	Application window is open for round 4
5 June 2025	1st deadline for clarification questions from applicants
13 June 2025	Answers to 1st set of questions will be published
19 June 2025	2nd deadline for clarification questions from applicants
27 June 2025	Answers to 2nd set of questions will be published
31 July 2025 (11:59 BST)	Application window will close for round 4
1 August to 30 September 2025	Assessment of applications and due diligence
End of September 2025	Applicants will be notified about the awarding panel’s decision by letter via email and funding agreements issued to successful applicants
1 October 2025	Expected commencement date for awarded projects

FAQs

To be eligible to be the lead applicant, must you be exercising a regulatory function in the project? Or can you be lead applicant even if the regulatory function in the project is provided by someone else?

In principle the RPF requirement simply asks the lead applicant to be a body that exercises regulatory functions. It is not necessary the lead applicant to be exercising regulatory functions in the project itself. For example, if multiple regulators or local authorities are involved in a cross-sector issue, only one regulator needs to be the lead applicant, even if it’s not the regulatory body for all areas of the project.

Can a regulator or local authority collaborate or partner with others on an application?

Subject to subsidy control requirements, the lead applicant may involve domestic and/or international partners (such as businesses, industry bodies, civil society groups, other regulators or local authorities or academic institutions) in their proposed project where such participation is relevant to the purpose of the project and would be expected to improve or enhance the outcomes sought.

How much information about the use of contractors needs to be included in the application? Would it be better to point towards an existing supplier, or could it be less detailed, i.e. pointing to a tender process?

The contractor doesn’t need to be named in the application form if they will be appointed via a bidding process during the project. Equally, if you are planning to use a partner under an existing framework, and they are known, you can add this information to your bid. The score of your application will not be influenced by the contractor’s appointment. You may want to consider putting mitigation plans in place in case there are delays with appointing a contractor. You must meet public sector procurement rules in relation to any contractors you intend to use in your project.

Would including letters of support from business help our application?

Our awarding panel are not able to take letters of support into account when making their decision. We would recommend applicants provide evidence of the demand for their project in their application.

How much detail regarding ongoing work and/or consultations that cannot be shared more widely needs to be included in the RPF4 applications?

Applications will be assessed on the basis of the evidence provided in support. We would encourage applicants to be open about the information that cannot be included and the reason for this. We will not be publishing the application form and would only publish the public project summary should your project be selected for funding however, information from the application form will be shared across DSIT for assessment or other purposes and used at a later stage if the funding application were successful in being awarded. If an application contains sensitive information, we ask that this is flagged in the covering email.

1. https://www.gov.uk/reclaim-vat ↩

2. Research, development and innovation Streamlined Route guidance published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subsidy-control-act-2022-streamlined-routes ↩