Better Commissioning Pathways

Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Closing in 39 days

Funding

Up to £2,029,600

Location

England, North East England +3 more

Applications

Open until 24 August 2026

Overview

The Better Commissioning Pathways programme offers up to £2.03 million in total funding. It pays for national training and guidance to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations build skills. The goal is to help these groups win public sector contracts. The deadline to apply is 24 August 2026.

Eligibility

Who can apply:

charitycicsocial enterprise
Who is this for?

This is for voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations based in England. You should apply if your organisation wants to build the skills needed to win public sector contracts. It is not aimed at private limited companies or sole traders.

Funder track record
Last published award 2025Open to first-time applicants

Awards published

1,400

Typical award

£23,800

Most awards

£13,200 to £32,119

Most funded region

London

348 awards in 2025, down from 1,052 the year before.

Recent awards include Greater Manchester Combined Authority (£30,000, 2025), Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council (£969,519, 2025) and Calderdale Council (£35,514, 2025).

This funder has made 1,400 awards with a typical award of £23,800. Would you qualify?

See if you'd qualify

Contains data from 360Giving publishers, used under open licence.

Full details from Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Better Commissioning Pathways programme (the “Pathways Programme”) is a funding package of up to £2.03 million to deliver a national training and guidance offer to support voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations (VCSEs) to develop the skills and capacity to enter into public sector supply chains.

How to apply

The source does not detail specific application steps or a portal. The deadline for applications is 24 August 2026. Check the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for application details.

Set up your organisation profile first

Takes about 5 minutes. This is what makes your checks specific to your business.

Set up profile

Get the full toolkit

Premium adds unlimited eligibility checks plus everything you need to apply, for any grant.

  • Unlimited eligibility checks
  • Get a step-by-step application plan
  • Generate a first draft you can work from
  • Review your draft against the criteria
  • Build a budget template
  • Read the grant in plain English

Get notified about grants like this

Create a free account to receive alerts when new charities & non-profit funding opens.

Create free account

Last updated: 16 July 2026