Commission’s three-year programme set to include improving online services for trustees, reviewing collection and use of data, better targeting of advice and regulation and easier public access to charity data

The Charity Commission for England and Wales plans to spend £9.5m on a three-year digital transformation programme from April 2026, as part of delivering its strategic plan published in 2024.

The commission has published a future opportunity notice, asking potential suppliers to confirm their interest and answer a series of questions by 10 September. It said that all of its digital services and casework are within the scope of the transformation programme, which covers business processes and ways of working as well as technology. It plans its market approach in November this year and will spend £500,000 in 2026-27, the first year of the programme, £5m in 2027-28 and £4m in 2028-29.

The notice added that all of the commission’s software runs on Microsoft Azure with the core case management platform using Microsoft Dynamics 365 and new digital service front-ends using the open source Java framework Spring Boot.

One of the commission’s 2024 strategic plan’s five priorities was to “embrace technological innovation and strengthen how we use our data”. This included improving existing online services, with a focus on how charity trustees interact with the commission. “Well-run, compliant charities will always find that our enhanced digital services enable them to deal with us simply and straightforwardly,” it said.

The plan also said the commission would review its collection, organisation and use of data in regulatory decision making, including more precise classification of charities by purpose and location, allowing for more targeted regulation and advice.

The commission said it would also improve its public register of charities to help the public make informed choices on donating as well as providing accessible and accurate data to interested parties.