Nuffield FoundationGrant

Up to £500,000 Employment Skills Grant

Dec 10, 2026 23:59:00 GMT

Opportunity type

Grant

Funding

Fully Funded

Location

United Kingdom

Deadline

Dec 10, 2026 23:59:00 GMT

About this opportunity

The Nuffield Foundation, a UK charity that funds research on education and society, is offering grants of up to GBP 500,000 to rigorously evaluate UK programmes that help young people aged 16 to 24 facing significant barriers to work build essential employment skills such as communication, teamwork and problem solving. Applications come from partnerships between an evaluator and a frontline delivery organisation, with the evaluation partner as lead applicant. This is the outline stage; shortlisted teams are invited to a full application.

What you get:

A grant of up to GBP 500,000 for evaluation, with most expected between GBP 200,000 and GBP 400,000
Possible additional funding towards programme delivery costs where these are not covered from other sources
Support from the Foundation throughout the project, including with communications and impact
Introductions to other grant holders and the Foundation's wider stakeholder network
Optional feedback on a one-page project description before applying, by email to eesf@nuffieldfoundation.org

What you'll do:

Run an existing programme with some evidence of promise that explicitly develops at least one essential employment skill
Deliver a robust impact evaluation tracking skills and progress towards employment, using control or comparison groups or high-quality qualitative impact designs
Carry out a process and implementation evaluation
Show how the views of young people have shaped, or will shape, the programme's design and delivery

Key dates:

Outline applications close 10 December 2026
Shortlisting decisions communicated February 2027
Full application deadline March 2027
Funding decisions made July 2027
Earliest project start September 2027

More information:

The Foundation says FAQs will be published on the fund page by the end of October 2026
General eligibility rules are in Section 3 of the Nuffield Foundation Guide for Applicants
Queries on the fund: eesf@nuffieldfoundation.org. Queries on the application process: applications@nuffieldfoundation.org

Who can apply

Grants go to organisations (the host institution), not individuals
Lead organisation must be based in the UK; overseas organisations only in exceptional cases where no UK host is feasible
Applications are expected from a partnership of an evaluator and a delivery organisation, established before applying, with a co-developed research design
The evaluation partner is expected to be the lead applicant, and a named Principal Investigator employed by the host institution leads the project
The programme must serve young people aged 16 to 24 (or a narrower band within that range) living in the UK who face significant barriers to work
Projects led by schools or further education colleges, by undergraduates or master's students, or by unaffiliated individuals are ineligible
Must be an existing programme with some evidence of promise and a clear theory of change, not a new programme launched from scratch

AI Verification

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Good to know

+From the Nuffield Foundation, an established UK charity, for programmes helping 16 to 24 year olds facing barriers to work
+Free to apply, and you can email a one-page summary for feedback first
+This first stage is a short outline; full applications come later by invitation

Worth checking yourself

!Outline applications close 10 December 2026
!Young people cannot apply themselves: it is for a UK partnership of an evaluation organisation and a delivery organisation, with the evaluator leading
!£500,000 is the ceiling; most grants are expected to be £200,000 to £400,000
!The programme must already exist with some evidence it works, not be a new idea

Sources checked

OPopportunitiesforyouth.orgOfficialNUnuffieldfoundation.orgApplyNUnuffieldfoundation.orgApplyNUnuffieldfoundation.tfaforms.netOfficial

LOT finds and checks opportunities from public sources. Always confirm details on the organiser’s own page before applying.