Programmes

The Grants Office of the Velocity Interoperability Network administers six grant programmes on behalf of the Velocity Interoperability Network. Each programme has its own purpose, its own range of award and its own closing date; each is assessed against published criteria and decided by the Director of the Grants Office on the recommendation of the Grants Panel. The programmes open to application between 14 September and 5 October 2026.

Provision for the six programmes in the transitional period ending 31 December 2026 is 1.86m credits, appropriated within the transitional budget of the Network. Where a programme is undersubscribed at its closing date, the Office may move provision to another programme; any such transfer is recorded in the quarterly statistical release. Provision for the financial year 2027 will be set in the estimates and announced in the Newsroom.

1.86m

Credits of provision for award in the period to 31 December 2026

412,500

Credits awarded under interim arrangements to 5 September 2026

37

Awards made under interim arrangements and carried over to the Office

6

Programmes open to application from September 2026

The open programmes. Amounts are in credits. Awards are made for the work described in the application and for no other purpose.

What each programme funds. The descriptions below govern what an application may seek. An application that falls outside the purpose of every programme is refused at the eligibility check, and the applicant is told why.

Interoperability Development Grants

Fund work by member organisations to adopt the technical standards of the Network: the alteration of existing systems, the building of interfaces, and the testing and certification that adoption requires. Applications must name the standards concerned and the systems to be altered.

Research and Measurement Grants

Fund independent research into the performance, reliability and measurement of the Network, and the publication of its results. Applicants must be research or education bodies, and results must be published without restriction within twelve months of the end of the funded work.

Skills and Training Grants

Fund the training of technical staff at member organisations in the standards, tools and operating practice of the Network, including the preparation of training material that other members may use.

Shared Facilities Grants

Fund equipment and premises used in common by more than one member organisation, including measurement and test equipment, shared operations rooms and the alteration of premises. Applications must be made jointly by at least two member organisations.

Community Connectivity Grants

Fund public access to the services of the Network provided by community bodies: access points in libraries, halls and community premises, the equipment they require and the assistance offered to those using them.

Small Project Grants

Meet costs of up to 3,000 credits where a small sum, decided quickly, allows work of value to the Network to proceed. Applications are assessed as they are received and decided within fifteen working days.

Decisions and first payments. Four programmes are decided by the Grants Panel at a meeting after their closing date. The Community Connectivity Grants and the Small Project Grants are assessed as applications are received, the former up to its closing date of 26 February 2027.

Costs a grant may not meet. No grant meets work already carried out before the date of the award, the ordinary running costs of an organisation, the purchase of land, the repayment of debt, or expenditure for which a grant has been made by another body of the Network. Where an application includes such costs, the Office may make an award for the remainder.

For the procedure by which an application is made and assessed, see How to Apply; for the conditions attached to every award, see Conditions of Grant. Awards already made are recorded in the Register of Awards. Enquiries about a programme may be sent to contact@grants.gov.vin.