England’s Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) can apply now for funding to support projects that embrace future digital trends, and utilise data, technologies, and equipment to improve their ability to prevent, prepare, respond and recover from emergencies.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is inviting the 38 Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) based in England to submit an expression to the new LRF Innovation Fund.

The LRF Innovation Fund will run for the next three years with a specific theme for each year. The expectation is that this will drive innovation within a certain area, concentrating proposals on specific elements so LRFs find it easier to work together on bids.

The theme for 2022/2023 is data and digital technology with the following three design challenges:

• Design challenge 1: utilise new approaches in data, technology and information to improve risk management. Local planners use a combination of national and local information to assess risk and plan mitigating activity accordingly.
• Design challenge 2: promote a ‘whole of society’ approach to resilience using data, technology and information. Individuals, businesses, and organisations all play a part in building resilience.
• Design challenge 3: use of data, technology and information to improve interoperability and co-operation between agencies and partners. Advancements in technology have created new and improved opportunities for collaboration between the Government and LRFs, amongst LRFs and constituent agencies. Applicants may wish to consider how data, technology and information can be utilised to improve interoperability within the resilience sector.

A total of £450,000 is available for 2022/23. No minimum or maximum grant levels have been published.

Applications will be accepted from:

• Single LRFs
• Small consortiums of three to five LRFs which may be neighbours or more widely geographically distributed.
• Larger partnerships made up of circa 10 to 12 LRFs (an indicative range), which may reflect existing regional partnerships or a group of LRFs with some common risk or context (eg, large urban areas, areas with major ports, areas with major industrial locations/CNI).

Whilst only LRFs in England are eligible to bid for LRF Innovation Fund, bids for projects which increase collaboration with and contribute to the work of regional resilience partnerships in Scotland, emergency preparedness groups in Northern Ireland and local resilience forums in Wales, are welcomed.

The full guidance notes are expected to be published on 11 November 2022 when the Fund opens for full applications.

Expressions of Interest are currently being accepted with a closing date of 11 November 2022.

 

How To Apply

There is a two-stage application process:

• The first step is complete an expression of interest survey by 11 November 2022. The EOI will indicate the intention to apply, provide a brief proposal description and any existing collaboration between LRFs that might underpin the project or willingness to collaborate with others.
• Full applications will be accepted from 11 November 2022 until it closes on 20 January 2023 (17:30).

The application form, guidance for completing the application form and scoring criteria will be published on 11 November 2022 on the GOV.UK website.