How funding works on GovTech Catalyst
The £20 million GovTech Fund is used to develop, test and access innovative solutions to complex public sector problems.
The GovTech Fund comes out of the £4.7 billion research and development allocation of the National Productivity and Investment Fund, held in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The GovTech Catalyst team help transfer funds from BEIS to challenge owners.
How this is done depends on whether the challenge owner is:
- part of central government or a devolved administration
- a local authority or agency in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
- a local authority in England
Read more about the GovTech Catalyst.
Central government departments and devolved administrations
Fund transfers to central government departments and devolved administrations are made using funding transfer requests. The GovTech Catalyst team works with the challenge owner’s accounting officer to request a budget transfer from BEIS.
Local authority or agency in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
Fund transfers to local authorities or agencies in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland follow the same process as devolved administrations, with an additional step. Once the funding is with the relevant devolved administration, they then transfer it to the challenge owner.
Local authority in England
When the challenge owner is an English local authority or funded by a local authority, BEIS transfers the funds using a section 31 grant. The GovTech Catalyst team works with HM Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to get approval for the grant.
Role of the GovTech Catalyst team
The GovTech Catalyst team works with BEIS, challenge owners and any other organisations involved to make sure funds are transferred correctly and on time.
Their work includes:
- setting up the transfer schedule after a challenge is selected
- providing funding transfer request templates for challenge owners to send to BEIS
- completing section 31 documentation for transfers to local authorities
Challenge owners should contact the GovTech Catalyst team for questions about:
- when funds will be transferred
- how much will be transferred
- what to do about underspends