Strategic development fund
Funding that helps FE providers to respond to skills needs.
Applies to England
Overview
The Skills for Jobs white paper set out the government’s blueprint for reshaping the technical skills system to better support the needs of the local labour market and the wider economy.
As part of this new approach, the strategic development fund (SDF) was opened to collaborations of further education (FE) providers across all areas of England in spring 2022.
This followed a pilot year in which SDF was trialled in 18 areas across England.
The SDF provides capital and programme funding to:
- support changes in local teaching and training facilities and provision so as to better meet the needs of employers
- support local innovation and economic growth
- develop a more efficient overall delivery infrastructure
What the strategic development fund is
The SDF provides investment to enable areas across England to reshape their teaching and training provision and update their facilities in preparation for the rollout of local skills improvement plans.
The purpose of the fund is to:
- support providers across an area to upgrade their facilities, equipment and curriculum to better meet the needs of their local economy
- enable colleges and other FE providers to build their overall capacity to meet local skills priorities, and to drive more effective and efficient use of funds through a more coordinated FE offer
- support ongoing FE provider quality improvement through FE workforce training, developing sector-led approaches to peer-to-peer support, sharing good practice, including two-way industry exchanges with FE providers
- stimulate employer demand for and investment in skills leading to more sustainable provision, including by raising awareness about new technologies and driving the adoption of innovation in local businesses, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises
Funding
The deadline for applications for the second round of SDF was 13 May 2022.
Areas across England that will benefit from this funding will be announced in September 2022.
The second round of SDF consists of £92 million (£50 million of capital funding and £42 million of programme funding).
Each area could apply for up to £1.5 million of capital funding and £1.25 million of programme funding.
Further details of what the fund can support are in the .
Contact
Email any queries to SDF.PROGRAMME@education.gov.uk.
Updates to this page
Published 20 April 2021Last updated 4 August 2022 + show all updates
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Page updated to remove information about applying for funding for 2022 to 2023, as the application window has closed. Added that areas which will benefit from the funding will be announced in September 2022. Added a link to statutory guidance on local skills improvement plans.
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Updated as the application window for the Strategic Development Fund for 2022 to 2023 is now open.
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Removed information about the online event where prospective bidders can find out more about the Skills Accelerator as that has now taken place. Added a link to the video for the Skills Accelerator virtual conference.
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First published.