Two Phases

The CIC’s funding plan has two phases. In Phase One, a one-off seed fund pays for setting up the organisation and for its first operating year. In Phase Two, the CIC is funded by fees for its work. The part of the seed held as a reserve is kept throughout, so that we can continue to support existing clients when new work is slow.

Phase One: Seed

One-off seed funding: £250,000

A smaller initial seed of £15–50k covers set-up work from January to April 2027. We intend the main £250,000 seed to be in place from September 2027; this is a target, and the funding is not yet secured. The seed pays for the three founding directors (two senior software engineers and a senior client manager with security and compliance experience), associates, premises, insurance, certifications, tools and a working capital buffer. The £250,000 is sized to cover the Phase One operating year and to leave a reserve, so that the CIC can keep supporting the systems it has delivered when new projects are slow to arrive.

The aim of Phase One is to show, through completed projects that we report publicly, that a small team of experienced engineers using agentic development tools (software that writes and tests code under an engineer’s direction) can deliver working software that the client owns, at a price that public bodies and community organisations can afford.

What the seed funds

• The three founding directors: two senior software engineers and a senior client manager with security and compliance experience.
• Associates, who are independent specialists engaged for individual projects and paid at market rates.
• Operating premises, professional indemnity insurance, and Cyber Essentials Plus certification.
• Software tools, hosting and other technical costs.
• A reserve fund, held so that we can continue to support existing clients when new work is slow.

What success looks like

• Several completed projects in use by their clients, each with a named person on the client’s side who can run the system day to day.
• At least one client independently confirming a measurable cost saving or efficiency gain.
• Fees, charged at cost plus a margin, covering the direct costs of each project and contributing to fixed overheads.
• The reserve fund intact, and every Phase One client still receiving the support it needs.
• Enough contracted and expected work to move into Phase Two without further outside investment.

Phase Two: Self-sustaining CIC

Funding from project fees

Phase Two begins once project fees cover operating costs, which we expect from late 2028. We do not plan a second funding round. Clients are charged the cost of the work plus a margin. The fees cover staff, associates and overheads, and the margin is used to keep the reserve fund at the level it needs to be. The reserve from Phase One stays in place so that we can continue to support every client for as long as they need us.

In this plan, self-sustaining means that fees cover operating costs, the reserve covers support commitments during quiet periods, and the CIC does not depend on grants or investment to keep operating.

How the steady state works

• The three founding directors continue to run the CIC. Further engineers are recruited when there is confirmed work for them.
• New associates are added through referrals, or after they have worked with us successfully on a project.
• The CIC takes on a mix of short and longer projects, and aims to avoid depending on any single client or sector.
• Operating margin is used to maintain the reserve, which covers support for existing clients, and to pay for training and tools.
• If the CIC closes, the asset lock requires the reserve fund to be transferred to another community-interest organisation; it cannot be paid out to directors or anyone else.

What success looks like

• Project fees cover operating costs each year without grant funding.
• The reserve fund is kept at the level needed to support existing clients.
• Current projects are spread across more than one sector.
• An independent advisory board oversees whether the CIC is meeting its public-benefit purpose.
• Our working methods and tools are documented and published so that other organisations can use them.