Are you ready to help shape the digital future of North East Scotland? The Aberdeen City Region Deal Digital Challenge Fund is seeking innovative project ideas that will drive digital transformation, close connectivity gaps, and deliver lasting benefits for our region.

What is the Challenge Fund?

The Challenge Fund will allocate over £2.3 million in capital funding to projects that support digital innovation, skills, and infrastructure across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. We’re looking for proposals that:

•         Address gaps in digital delivery and inclusion
•      Foster new ideas and approaches
•      Maximise the impact of available investment
•      Align with the Aberdeen City Region Deal and Regional Economic Strategy 2035 priorities

What does the fund aim to deliver?

The Challenge Fund aims to allocate the remaining Digital Theme capital funds to projects that support digital transformation across North East of Scotland. The fund will address gaps in digital delivery, encourage new ideas, and ensure maximum impact from available capital investment.

Key Outcomes

1. Increased broadband coverage
2. Improved digital skills in the workforce (This could be to use capital to create a regional no-code and AI (tooling) platform, including shared licences, reusable templates, and a digital skills sandbox that enables NE businesses (and the public sector) to experiment, prototype and adopt tools like Loveable. The capital assets (platform, toolkits, licences and digital templates) provide the foundation for a structured skills and adoption programme).
3. Digital delivery of public services
4. Data/digital infrastructure (e.g. data centres) including potential feasibility project/ pilot use case/ demonstrator(s)
5. Digital innovation and connectivity

Who Can Apply?

We welcome applications from project owners and types from the sectors including, but not limited to:

•      Entertainment
• Software design/development
• Gaming (design and commercial)
• Advanced manufacturing
• Social development including third sector
• Smart city and ‘internet of things’ (IoT) specific use-case development (across all sectors)
• Transport
• Agriculture
• Tourism
• Culture

Projects must demonstrate clear digital innovation or improvement, be deliverable by 31 December 2027, and may demonstrate match funding via application process (if any).

What Are We Looking For?

We want to hear about projects that will:

•       Increase broadband coverage, especially in rural and underserved areas
• Improve digital skills in the workforce and wider community
• Enable digital delivery of public services
• Enhance data and digital infrastructure (e.g., data centres, AI platforms)
• Drive digital innovation and connectivity (e.g., 5G, IoT, smart city solutions)

Constraints:

1. The Challenge Fund is restricted to capital spend and use case trial R&D activities.
2. Only projects aligned with ACRD and Regional Economic Strategy 2035 priorities are eligible.
3. Applicants must demonstrate need, deliverability, sustainability and digital innovation.

How to submit your application

The application is open from 23 February to 23 March 2026. Applications submitted after 9:00 AM on 23 March 2026 will not be accepted.

To submit your application:

1. Complete the application form (link below)
2. Complete outputs and outcomes sheet (link below)
3. Provide all necessary information following the application guidance (link below)

Please complete the application form and submit to externalfunding@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Projects that have submitted an EOI will need to resubmit a full application.

Link to Application Form

Link to Outputs and Outcomes sheet

Link to Application Guidance

If you have any queries about the application process, please email externalfunding@aberdeencity.gov.uk 

To find out more about the Aberdeen City Region Deal please visit this website.