Cyber Local

To lead a project, work alone, or collaborate, your organisation must be a UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• research and technology organisation (RTO)
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation

A business of any size, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO) can lead in any number of applications and can also be included as a collaborator in any number of applications.

Organisations that are leading or collaborating in multiple applications must be able to prove they can deliver on all applications. The funding required for the total number of applications must be not exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) limit.

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request between £25,000 and £150,000 (this can cover up to 100% of costs)
• last between one month and three months
• carry out its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• not start before 1 January 2025
• end by 31 March 2025
• have the endorsement of your area steering group

To obtain an endorsement please submit an Expression of Interest to the local steering group contact by email before the 27th of September.

Before submitting your application, you need to prove the endorsement of your local steering group. For that, please submit an Expression of Interest by email before the 27th of September outlining:

• description of your idea
• expected impact in the area
• estimated cost

Your email must be no more than 350 words.

Local steering group contacts:

• Northern Ireland – Jessica Galway jessica.galway@dsit.gov.uk
• North-West England – Adil Khan adil.khan2@dsit.gov.uk
• Yorkshire & Humber – Adil Khan adil.khan2@dsit.gov.uk
• South-West England – Lauren Metalle lauren.metalle@dsit.gov.uk
• Northeast England – Jennie Noble jennie.noble@dsit.gov.uk
• East Midlands – Brooke Spittles brooke.spittles@dsit.gov.uk
• West Midlands – Brooke Spittles brooke.spittles@dsit.gov.uk

The endorsement of your idea from the steering group will be communicated by the 4th of October.

Please attach your local steering group endorsement as an appendix to Question 6 when making your full application.

The aim of this competition is to develop impactful local activities and events that focus on supporting the growth of the cyber security sector and the development of cyber security skills.

These will be to resolve geographical disparities in the development and growth of the cyber security sector and to reduce the skills gap in the sector.

Your project must:

• be delivered in one of the seven specified areas (see above: for further information on these specific areas please see the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics guidance)
• demonstrate clear impact in the cyber security sector of the region through the development of strong and innovative cyber security ecosystems or increasing opportunities for activities to reduce the skills gap in the sector
• have the endorsement of your area steering group (see above)

Your project can:

• consider self-sustaining mechanisms to continue after the funding period
• consider scalability and how the idea could expand within the area or be replicated elsewhere
• demonstrate collaboration with other local organisations or government bodies to boost reach and impact

We welcome applications that support women into the cyber workforce and initiatives that are aimed at inspiring young girls to consider a technology career.

We also welcome applications that encourage the adoption of Government products, such as Cyber Essentials or the professional titles introduced by the UK Cyber Security Council.

Your project must focus on one or more of the following:

• cyber security skills for local people and communities to reduce the skills gap
• upskilling underrepresented demographics in the cyber security sector
• strengthening the local cyber security sector through area partnerships and forging links between industry, public sector and academia
• supporting the development of strong and innovative cyber security ecosystems
• increasing opportunities for local people to pursue a career in cyber security, paying particular attention to underrepresented communities

We are not funding projects that:

• are not in scope for this competition
• do not have clear impact in one or more of the seven specified areas
• do not have an impact or application in cyber security
• duplicate activities of the CyberFirst programme

An online briefing event was held on Thursday 19 September: click here to watch the recording.

Click here to download the briefing slides.