Nominet DNS Fund Application
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1. Eligibility Criteria
- Applications must come from a formally registered legal entity in its country of operation, and which has a bank account in its registered name.
- Applicants must not be based in regimes subject to UK sanctions, and must not be listed on UK, EU, US, or UN sanctions lists, or subject to comprehensive UK security restrictions.
- Current Nominet employees, Nominet Board members, and DNS Fund Advisory Panel members and their immediate families are not eligible to apply for funding.
- The proposed activities must not depend on securing future funding from other sources.
- The proposed activities should complete within six months of the start date. We anticipate a start date in December 2025 with completion by June 2026. During implementation of your activities, Nominet will explore with you the need for, and feasibility of, continuation funding beyond this date.
2. Application Assessment
Applications will be assessed by the DNS Fund Expert Advisory Panel. This panel will make recommendations to Nominet on which proposals should be funded based on the following principles:
1. Public Benefit
To what extent your work enable safe, secure and resilient running or critical infrastructure, whose loss or compromise could severely impact society?
2. Core need
Is there a demonstrable need? To what extent does the successful, resilient operation of the global DNS depend on this solution to operate?
3. Proven use
Is the technology or capability already being used successfully and at scale?
4. The right people
Does the person or team have the skills, experience, and understanding needed for this task? Do they have a track record of getting similar things done?
5. Value and sustainability
Does the proposal represent good value for money, and would the funded activity help ensure long-term sustainability?
We recognise that some open source developers are making critical contributions across a high volume of projects – and that in this instance project specific funding may not be the best fit. If this applies to you, the application form has been designed to enable you to demonstrate your contribution, so that your funding needs can be evaluated accordingly. We are keen to support maintainers working across smaller, foundational projects.
As noted in #5 above, all other things being equal, we will prioritise applications which support long term sustainability. For example, we know that sometimes key technologies are maintained by just one individual. An application to enable this individual’s ongoing work could be made even stronger if it also sought to broaden the number of people capable of maintaining the technology, or proposed alternative solutions that would also make the technology more resilient and sustainable over time.
3. Selection process
We are committed to a transparent and fair selection process. The following stages outline the journey from initial submission to a final funding decision.
| Stage | Description | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
Stage 1: Submission | Applications are submitted exclusively via our online form. You will receive an automated confirmation of receipt. | Applications open 17th September Deadline for applications: 26th October |
Stage 2: Eligibility Review | The Fund’s team conducts an initial check to ensure the application meets all mandatory Eligibility Criteria. | Within 1 week of submission |
Stage 3: Assessment | Applications that pass the eligibility review are evaluated by the Expert Advisory Panel against the five Assessment Principles. The Panel will recommend applicants for funding. | Within 4 weeks of the deadline for applications. |
Stage 4: Scoping & Due Diligence | Recommended applicants will be reviewed by Nominet. Selected applicants will be invited to a collaborative scoping phase to refine deliverables, milestones, anticipated timelines, and budgets. | 2-4 weeks |
Stage 5: Final Decision & Contracting | Following successful scoping and due diligence, a final funding decision will be made and a contract prepared for signature. | 2-3 weeks |
4. Funding opportunity
In total the fund will distribute up to £370,000 in this round. The maximum amount we anticipate awarding to a single applicant is £100k. There is no minimum amount that must be applied for – we know there are lots of important pieces of work that may require smaller amounts of funding, and we will welcome the opportunity to support these. We are aiming to be responsive to the needs of both larger projects and individual maintainers, including those working across multiple projects. The funding amount will be inclusive of any applicable VAT or other sales taxes. No additional amounts shall be payable in respect of such taxes.
5. Payment
Applicants that reach Stage 4 (i.e. those that have been recommended by the Advisory Panel for funding) will be asked to outline their approach to delivery and quality assurance (QA). As code is released, and once any proportionate QA has been completed, payments will be made by Nominet.
An anticipated schedule of payments will be agreed with Nominet and reflected in the contract. We will be flexible and supportive if there is good reason to change the schedule.
We will tailor our approach to payments to ensure it’s appropriate to your circumstances, accounting for the scale of funding and activity, and depending on whether you’re working on a single project or making wider contributions. It could be as simple as asking for the URL to a pull request to see proof of work.
6. Licensing Requirements
A core condition of funding is that the outputs of the work benefit the entire community. All source code developed or modified with support from the Fund must be publicly released under a licence approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) or the Free Software Foundation (FSF). This includes popular, permissive licenses like MIT and Apache v2. All documentation must be released under a Creative Commons-style licence.
7. Reporting Requirements
At the beginning and end of your Nominet funded work you will be required to complete a brief reporting form and interview. These will be used to gather qualitative and quantitative information which will help us understand the impact the funding has had on you personally, your work, and the wider ecosystem.
8. Preparing your application
A strong application is clear, concise, and provides the specific evidence the advisory panel needs to evaluate your proposal against the assessment principles. To help you prepare a high-quality submission, this section provides a detailed preview of the questions and structure of our online application form. We strongly recommend drafting your responses offline before beginning the online submission process.
It’s important to note that word counts are provided to guide the maximum length of your answers – they are not a target. We realise you are busy, and if you prefer to submit a concise proposal significantly beneath the maximum word limits this will not count against you, so long as the Advisory Panel has the information they need to make a recommendation against the 5 assessment principles of the fund. Do not feel you have to write 200 words when 20 will suffice. Please also note that the word counts are “soft” rather than “hard” limits. Please don’t waste lots of time trying to eliminate 10 words here or there to rigidly abide by them.
9. Application queries and feedback
Catch up on the DNS Fund applicant webinar that we hosted during the first round of funding.
Frequently asked questions
Is funding available for diagnostics tools or testing tools?
Yes, as these tools can be crucial to ensuring the health and stability of DNS.
For successful applications, how would the functionality be defined and approved?
We’ll agree on a statement of work that defines deliverables and how they’ll be measured or quality assured before work begins. We’ll meet at the start, during and end of the project to check-in and monitor progress.
Can you apply for funding for the same work through multiple parties?
No, we would not fund the same work you are already funded to do.
Can you have multiple sources of funding on a project?
We recognise that sometimes these types of projects receive funding from different sources. We would not fund activities that another funder is already paying for, however if you require further funding to complement the funding you’re applying for or there are dependencies on other funding sources, we ask that you indicate this in your application. (Since the webinar we have added a question where you can address other funding sources)
Can you apply for multiple projects?
Yes, if you’ve got multiple projects in the works, then we welcome this. This can be indicated in the first question of the application.
Is the Fund open to international applicants?
Yes, we’re open to applications from both the UK and internationally, subject to a few restrictions such as sanctions.
Is funding available for both long-standing and new projects?
You can apply for funding for existing and new projects, so long as they contribute to the stability of the foundations of the internet through DNS. It’s more about the outcome than the timing or history. Please note our application principles which emphasise sustainability and contribution to public benefit. In this current round, our timelines invite projects which complete within six months of the start date. We anticipate a start date in December 2025 with completion by June 2026.
There are a lot of parameters in terms of DNS usage – what is the scope for funding and is there a preference towards a particular area?
We’re most interested in building strong foundations over uses or applications of DNS. We’re focused on making the internet more stable and resilient through DNS, and there are lots of ways to do that. We will be assessing applications on what will have the greatest impact, which will inform the scope or area. For example, if a smaller project addresses a significant risk to the internet, we’d be open to that.
When would the funds be released – in stages or on delivery?
It’s likely we’ll make milestone-based payments. We’ll have a light system of quality assurance (QA) that enables you to pass from one milestone to the next, with some flexibility which will be determined in consultation with successful applicants.
How long does an application take to complete?
We’ve done our best to make the application as quick and easy as possible to complete. It should take around 20 minutes to complete. You can also review the application questions in advance via a downloadable PDF so that you know what to expect upfront before clicking through the online submission form.
Can you apply for general operating support to sustain ongoing maintenance, or does it need to be a specific piece of work?
We’d prefer to focus on supporting specific projects that have a tangible and measurable outcome. That doesn’t mean you can’t request funding for a key piece of maintenance, but it must be a distinct piece of work.
What is the ideal price range or maximum amount available for funding?
While we don’t have an ideal price, we have a planned cap at £100,000 (around $135,000). We hope that by having no minimum this opens the opportunity for smaller, leaner projects.
Would funding be available for writing a book or a series of books?
Unfortunately, a long-term project like this is unlikely to be covered under the target time frame or lead to fundamental, foundational change in DNS. Our focus is on funding projects that make a tangible difference and so while it might be a complementary activity, applying for this alone would be out of scope.
Is funding available to purchase hardware for performance and scalability testing?
We wouldn’t want to just fund hardware, but we’d consider aiding progress towards the goal of supporting a healthy software lifecycle in the long run, if hardware is a small cost relative to the rest of the project. For example, renting or loan of capability to carry out some testing or performance work during the lifespan of the project phase. We would need to ensure key questions like maintenance, security and long-term ownership were addressed.
Is funding available for activities like training and conferences?
We wouldn’t want this to form the basis of an application. However, we understand that upskilling the next generation is a big challenge in the DNS space. Therefore, if a small part of the project involved upskilling, then we would consider funding this. Please indicate the relative amounts for training in your application or a breakdown of costs if relevant in the application question on your budget.
What is the ideal recipient for funding?
As long as funding goes towards a registered entity, i.e. a company, charity or non-profit (not an individual’s bank account), we’ll consider your application. The most important thing is the project itself. We ultimately want to fund projects that deliver stability in the DNS ecosystem; so, this might include bringing others into a program historically run by one person, or democratising a codebase.
If you have any additional queries or feedback please contact Adam and Amy. They will connect you with the most relevant person to answer your enquiry.
Adam Groves
Social Impact Lead, Nominet
Email: adam.groves@nominet.uk
Amy O’Donnell
Social Impact Lead, Nominet
Email: amy.odonnell@nominet.uk