Following the announcement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (“DCMS”) of the significant uplift to the Community Radio Fund (“Fund”) in financial year 2025/26, this statement sets out Ofcom’s intended approach to administer the Fund for this period.
The uplift of £900,000 will be made available to provide grants to Ofcom licensed community radio stations. The increase in funding is a welcome boost to the community radio sector as the Fund has seen a steady increase in demand resulting in it being hugely oversubscribed in recent years. This will enable the award of vital funding to help further the financial stability and future sustainability of community radio services across the country.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank DCMS for securing this uplift. The Chair of the Community Radio Fund Panel, Mark Jones, said:
"With the fund more than doubling for this year, we'll be able to create roles at even more stations to help develop sustainable community radio"
Due to the significant uplift, Ofcom has agreed with DCMS that it will administer one round of funding rather than the usual two. This is to allow applicants more time to prepare their applications and enable Ofcom to utilise its resources efficiently whilst allowing sufficient time to administer applications and awards. The application window for the 2025-26 round is expected to open in early September. Ofcom is publishing this statement now to ensure that any Licensee who wishes to apply for funding can start preparations for their application at an early stage.
The scope of the Fund will remain unchanged meaning funding will be used to support the sustainability of Ofcom-licensed community radio stations as set out in the guidance notes.
In light of the uplift and the single round, stations who are considering applying are reminded to act on any specific feedback received in previous funding rounds, as well as ensuring they have read and actioned the panels most recent ‘Issue of note’ which provides feedback for all applicants. Minor changes will be made to the guidance notes and application form which will be published when the funding round is open in early September. However, services should note that these changes will be minor in nature because the purpose of the Fund and the types of funding which the Panel will consider will not change for this funding round.
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