Get commissioned

2021 Commissioning Round now open

Digital R&D Commissions

Arts and cultural organisations based in England, including museums, libraries, community organisations and local councils with a cultural project, can apply for a digital R&D commission of up to £9,000 (excluding VAT).

Commissions are for you to develop and deliver a creative digital project for online audiences. This might be a video or audio project, or an interactive or immersive experience.

As the cultural sector begins to rebuild following the Covid-19 pandemic, we want applicants to reflect on their experiences and learning from 2020-21 and consider what digital elements you wish to develop for the medium and long-term.

If your application is successful, we can provide support in areas where you may need help, e.g., digital production, content distribution, audience development and online rights.

The deadline for applications is 12pm (midday) Thursday 8 July 2021

We will let you know if your application is successful by 17 September 2021. Your project should be something your organisation can publish before the end of March 2022. We will be commissioning up to 20 creative digital projects in this round. There will be a similar commissioning round launched in early 2022 for projects to be published by December 2022.

How to apply

Access the online application form

Please read the following before applying:

Guidance for Applicants

Guidance for Applicants (PDF 281 Kb) or

Easy Read Guidance for Applicants (5.4MB)

We have also produced a podcast episode and short audio extracts summarising the Guidance for Applicants and giving some additional tips.

Budget Template

Budget Template (XLS 20 Kb)

Terms and conditions

Terms and Conditions (PDF 127 Kb) or
Terms and Conditions (DOCX 110 Kb)

Support for applicants

We can arrange help to complete the application form, to apply in different ways, or for information to be provided in different formats.

Please contact us to discuss your needs.

You can email commissioning@thespace.org or telephone 0121 663 1488 and leave a message with your contact details. Due to Covid-19, our office is not currently staffed but we will respond to voice messages and emails.

In order to help with your online application, you can download a PDF copy of the questions (155 Kb)

Listen to the 2021 Commissioning Podcast

In addition to reading the Guidance for Applicants, you may want to listen to our 2021 Commissioning Podcast where CEO and Creative Director Fiona Morris speaks to audio producer Clare Freeman and shares her thoughts on the projects that we are looking to commission in the 2021 R&D commissioning round.