What LocalGov Drupal does

LocalGov Drupal is an open-source Drupal distribution that provides a content management system and microsites platform purpose-built for UK and Irish local government. The platform is built on Drupal 9/10 with PHP/MySQL and integrates natively with GOV.UK Notify, GOV.UK Pay, Open Referral UK, and Mautic, and ships with council-specific modules for services pages, directories, events, news, consultations, elections, secure areas, and bus data. It targets WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility and GOV.UK Service Standard compliance out of the box, with 75+ live council sites and 81 microsites deployed across more than 50 UK councils plus Tipperary County Council in Ireland.

The software is free and distributed under GPLv2, with revenue generated through voluntary council subscriptions on a sliding scale (£1,000-£9,750/year based on population and turnover) and tiered certified supplier subscriptions ranging from £700 to £15,000/year based on FTE count. Approximately 70% of subscription fees are reinvested in product development, with the balance supporting community operations. The Community Fund enables councils and suppliers to co-fund new modules, and features are built once and shared across the entire user base. The project is sustained by a network of 17 certified suppliers, 600+ active Slack community members, and structured governance via the Subscriber Group, Product Group, and Technical Group.

The organisation operates under the Open Digital Cooperative, a non-profit cooperative established in 2023 to provide financial sustainability and member-owned governance. The core leadership comprises a Community Lead, Technical Lead, Product Lead, and Communications Lead, supported by a small core team of 1-10 people. The project receives institutional backing from the UK Government's Local Digital Fund under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and was established following the Local Digital Declaration.

Name

LocalGov Drupal

Legal name

LocalGov Drupal

Website

https://localgovdrupal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LocalGov Drupal provides a free, open-source Drupal-based CMS and microsites platform for UK and Irish local government councils, with built-in accessibility, GOV.UK compliance, and integrations with GOV.UK Notify, GOV.UK Pay, and Open Referral UK. Revenue is generated via voluntary council subscriptions and tiered certified supplier fees, with features co-developed and shared across a community of 50+ councils.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Council Subscriptions: LocalGov Drupal generates revenue primarily through voluntary annual subscriptions from participating councils. Subscription fees are calculated on a sliding scale based on council turnover and population, ranging from £1,000 to £9,750 per year. Approximately 70% of subscription fees go directly towards product development (release management, technical leadership, product backlog management), and 30% towards community support, communications, and collaborative resources.
2. Certified Supplier Subscriptions: Certified suppliers pay annual subscription fees on a sliding scale based on FTE count: £700 (1-2 FTE), £3,000 (3-10), £6,000 (11-20), £13,750 (21-50), £15,000 (51+). Higher-tier certified suppliers (Gold, Silver, Bronze) receive enhanced benefits and accreditation based on their contribution credits to the project.
3. Slack Workspace Access (Suppliers): Suppliers can access the LGD Slack workspace for a fixed fee: £150 (1-2 FTE), £300 (3-5), £500 (6-10), £750 (11-20), £1,250 (21-50), £2,000 (51+), with 10 users included.
4. Community Fund Co-Funding: The Community Fund enables councils and suppliers to co-fund new feature development. Individual projects are funded collaboratively — councils contribute money and/or time, and features are built once and shared with all. Examples include the Publications Importer (funded by Southwark and West Lindsey) and the Consultations module (part-funded by Walsall Council).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

LocalGov Drupal provides a free, open-source Drupal distribution (built on Drupal CMS 9/10) that serves as a content management system and microsites platform for UK and Irish local government councils. Its core products are the LocalGov Drupal CMS for citizen-facing council websites and the LocalGov Drupal Microsites platform for centrally managing multiple brand-specific microsites, both delivered under GPLv2 and compliant with GOV.UK design standards and WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility.

Product overview

LocalGov Drupal is an open-source Drupal distribution built by and for UK and Ireland councils. The product portfolio consists of the core LocalGov Drupal CMS platform, the LocalGov Drupal Microsites platform for managing multiple council microsites, and a suite of add-on modules delivered through the Community Fund collaborative model. Key modules include the award-winning AI-powered Publications Importer, Elections module, Consultations module with Mautic integration, Bus Data module, Committee Management System (Quorum), and Finders module. The platform is designed to meet GOV.UK standards for digital service delivery, with over 50 councils using the CMS and 81 live microsites.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LocalGov Drupal CMS: The main content management system platform for council websites.
• LocalGov Drupal Microsites
• Publications Importer
• Microsites Theme Settings Exporter/Importer
• Community Fund

Products and services

• LocalGov Drupal CMS Open-source content management system built on Drupal CMS (Drupal 9/10) for UK and Irish local government councils. Provides services pages, directories, events, news, alert banners, workflows, search, and GOV.UK/WCAG 2.2 AA compliance. Trusted by over 50 councils with 75 live council sites.
• LocalGov Drupal Microsites Centrally managed Drupal platform that enables councils to create, manage, and decommission multiple brand-specific microsites (each with its own editors, content, domain, and appearance) from a single installation. Reuses CMS features and shares the same codebase; 81 live microsites deployed.
• Publications Importer AI-powered Drupal module that converts PDF documents (including graphically heavy materials) into accessible HTML pages, reducing manual conversion work for council content designers. Developed by Chicken, co-funded by Southwark Council, West Lindsey, and the Community Fund.
• LocalGov Drupal Intranet Intranet solution built on the LocalGov Drupal platform for internal council communications, featuring private content types, authentication capabilities, and features to support Local Government Reorganisation.
• Committee Management System (Quorum) Open-source committee management system for councils, built collaboratively using the same community model as LocalGov Drupal. Developed by Chicken and contributed through the Community Fund.
• Elections Module Council module that ingests uploaded spreadsheet data and publishes election results via three distinct presentations: admin view, public website view, and carousel. Developed by Webcurl for Milton Keynes Council.
• Consultations Module Module for publishing council consultations, capturing structured citizen feedback, and managing timelines. Part-funded by Walsall Council, with planned Mautic integration for automated citizen notifications at consultation milestones.
• Bus Data Module Council module developed by Cumberland Council to publish local bus service information on council websites. Part of the Community Fund roadmap; stability and security review planned.
• Microsites Theme Settings Exporter and Importer Tool that exports microsite theme settings (colours, fonts, spacing, logos, favicons) as a zip file and imports them to another microsite, enabling shared theme reuse across the council community.
• LocalGov Drupal Community Fund Collaborative funding programme that lets councils and suppliers pool money and time to co-develop new modules. Features are built once and shared across all participating councils; outputs to date include the Publications Importer, multi-seat Elections, Bus Data, and Consultations modules.
• Finders Module Module that generalises the LGD Directories concept to event calendars, blogs, news, and other content types, providing editors with searchable, curated lists of content.
• Council Subscription (voluntary annual subscription) Voluntary annual subscription for councils, sliding scale £1,000–£9,750/year based on council population and turnover. Roughly 70% funds product development (release management, technical leadership, product backlog) and 30% funds community support and communications. Confers eligibility for Open Digital Cooperative membership.
• Certified Supplier Subscription Annual subscription for Drupal agencies serving councils, priced on an FTE-based sliding scale from £700 (1-2 FTE) to £15,000 (51+ FTE) per year. Standard tier plus Bronze (50 credits), Silver (100 credits), and Gold (300 credits) tiers unlock enhanced benefits and accreditation. Includes access to council tech procurement opportunities with priority weighting on Open Digital Cooperative bids.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces cost of building a new council website by up to 80%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability3 records

Feature15 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Open Digital CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2023, the LocalGov Drupal community established Open Digital Cooperative, a non-profit cooperative company to ensure the financial sustainability of the software and community. The Co-op board is responsible for financial sustainability, strategic transition from government-funded to independent organisation, and governance alongside the Subscriber Group. Subscribing councils are eligible for Co-op membership, can nominate and vote for directors, and have partial ownership.
• Drupal (Dries Buytaert / Drupal Association)coreTechnology or IntegrationLocalGov Drupal is a Drupal distribution built on Drupal CMS (supporting Drupal 9 and 10). It uses Drupal's package management (Composer), module ecosystem, and testing infrastructure. Drupal is a registered trademark of Dries Buytaert. LocalGov Drupal leverages the Drupal Association's credit system and infrastructure for tracking contributions.
• GOV.UK (Government Digital Service)coreTechnology or IntegrationLocalGov Drupal is designed to comply with GOV.UK Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice, and Digital, Data and Technology Capability Framework. The platform integrates with GOV.UK Notify (for citizen email communications) and GOV.UK Pay (for payment processing). The project was influenced by and collaborates with the UK Government's Digital Service.
• Agile CollectiveminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAgile Collective is a worker-owned digital agency and certified LocalGov Drupal supplier. They provide Drupal development services for councils using the platform and contribute to the project's development. Listed as a gold sponsor of LocalGov Drupal Camp 2026.
• AnnertechminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAnnertech is a certified LocalGov Drupal supplier and the publisher of the news article about local government website accessibility. Listed as a gold sponsor of LocalGov Drupal Camp 2026 and Dev Days 2026, and silver sponsor of LocalGov Drupal Week 2025.
• Big Blue DoorminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBig Blue Door is an open-source digital development and hosting agency and certified LocalGov Drupal supplier. They sponsor LocalGov Drupal events and contribute to development. Working with Essex County Council on Open Referral UK implementation.
• Code EnigmaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCode Enigma is a Drupal development, hosting, and support agency and certified LocalGov Drupal supplier. Listed as a bronze sponsor of LocalGov Drupal Camp 2026.
• TPX ImpactminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTPX Impact is a certified LocalGov Drupal supplier. Ben Unsworth, Senior Partner at TPX Impact, is quoted as a supporter of LocalGov Drupal Week. Harry Barnard from TPX Impact is a member of the Technical Group.
• WebcurlminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWebcurl is a certified LocalGov Drupal supplier and Drupal development agency. They have implemented council websites for Bracknell Forest, Bath & North East Somerset, Milton Keynes, and others. Contributed features including GOV.UK Notify integration, GOV.UK Pay integration, Elections module, Consultations module, Secure Areas, and Voice Assistant Search.
• The Drop TimesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Drop Times is a Drupal-focused media outlet serving as a media partner for LocalGov Drupal Camp 2026, providing coverage and promotion for the event.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Civica: Civica is a large UK software vendor with a broad local-government portfolio spanning revenues, benefits, regulatory and digital customer services; it competes with LocalGov Drupal at the wider local-authority IT layer.
• Sitecore: Sitecore is a major enterprise CMS/DXP vendor with significant public-sector deployments; it competes with LocalGov Drupal for council digital experience contracts where proprietary enterprise platforms are acceptable.
• WordPress VIP: WordPress VIP is the enterprise-grade WordPress offering used by several governments and large public bodies; it competes with LocalGov Drupal for high-traffic, accessibility-compliant council and government websites.
• Capita Local Public Services: Capita is a large UK outsourcer serving local government IT and digital services; it competes broadly with LocalGov Drupal where councils procure full-stack digital services rather than just a website platform.

Direct peers

• Granicus: Granicus is a major provider of government communication, digital experience, and workflow tools for local councils and public bodies in the UK and globally; it directly competes with LocalGov Drupal for council website and citizen engagement contracts.
• GOSS Digital: GOSS provides a digital platform for UK local authorities covering websites, customer accounts, and service requests; it is a direct competitor to LocalGov Drupal in the UK council digital publishing market.
• Drupal Open Social: Open Social is another Drupal distribution with a similar community-based commercial model, targeting associations, governments, and member organisations; it competes with LocalGov Drupal for the same Drupal-distribution ecosystem and government customers.
• Jadu (Netcall): Jadu, now part of Netcall, is a long-established UK council website and forms platform widely used by local authorities; it competes head-to-head with LocalGov Drupal for council web publishing and digital service delivery budgets.

Emerging players

• Liferay: Liferay is an open-source enterprise portal and digital experience platform used in many public-sector contexts; it competes with LocalGov Drupal for complex council web and intranet deployments requiring portals rather than CMSes.
• Wagtail / Torchbox: Wagtail is the leading open-source Django CMS used across several UK government departments; Torchbox is a major agency implementing Wagtail for public sector clients and competes with LocalGov Drupal for open-source council website builds.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/localgovdrupal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgOTBrkZvJwCuODRpHxZIIA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/localgovdrupal

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LocalGov Drupal