EPIC Futures NI Phase 2 Policy Commissioning Call Webinar

EPIC Futures Policy Commissioning Call

Together, we aim to create evidence-based solutions for fair and inclusive employment across Northern Ireland.

This is the second phase of our two-stage grant funding initiative. In Phase 1, we funded nine projects with a total of £250,000. In Phase 2, we have £750,000 available to support projects that advance knowledge, generate new insights and innovation to inform policy and practice in support of a more inclusive and sustainable labour market in Northern Ireland (NI).

The call will examine a range of thematic issues and socio-economic factors related to skills, the labour market and supporting individuals with fair and inclusive employment.

Topics will include areas such as skills inequalities for underrepresented groups, pathways to work for young people, place-based strategies, economic and societal value of activation to employment, inclusive access to the green economy, health and work and AI and digital capabilities.

A full call specification, including details of priority topics, will be released on the week of the 4th of August 2025, closing on the 9th of September 2025 at 5pm.

Who should attend?

This online session will be of interest to academics and researchers, policymakers, the community and voluntary sector, skills and economy stakeholders, the special educational needs and disability sector, children and youth/childcare professionals, health and social care sector professionals, AI, and digital capability contributors and those working in the climate and environment sectors.

Types of projects we are seeking to fund

We have both small and large award categories ranging from £10K up to £100K. This reflects our openness to explorative approaches including scoping studies, literature reviews, benchmarking studies of “what works” in both NI and other countries (where lessons can be drawn for the NI context), alongside larger empirical data (quantitative and qualitative) based studies. We also are interested in the development of innovative methods and tools which can aid data collection, analysis and/or which can be used to target marginalized groups.

We wish to fund projects which are policy-orientated and can demonstrate impact in various ways. The size of funding sought must be commensurate with the scale, ambition and impact that can be achieved.

Who can apply for the funding?

Applications are welcome from all types of organisations, not only academic institutions. However, an academic partner must be part of any application collecting data from participants. We particularly encourage collaborative proposals between academia and the community, voluntary, or business sectors that offer insights into the lived experiences of individuals facing barriers to skills development and employability.

The lead applicant must be a UK-based organisation. However, collaborations may involve partners from other regions or countries, particularly other devolved regions, Ireland or those with similar cultural and historical contexts, provided there is a clear link to learning and policy relevance for Northern Ireland. Funding limits for non-UK partners will be specified in the call documentation.

Please note:

• Funding limits for individual proposals and full eligibility criteria will be outlined in the webinar and detailed in the call specification.
• If your proposal involves data collection, an academic partner from a university capable of securing institutional ethical approval is required.
• We will fund projects up to a maximum of 9 months duration but also encourage projects which can be completed in shorter time frames.
• All projects need to be completed, and all expenses incurred by October 2026.

Funder EPIC Futures NI is a Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) hub, led by Ulster University and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The webinar will be recorded and made available to all attendees after the event and uploaded to epicfuturesni.org. Please sign up to our mailing list- EPIC Futures NI Stakeholder Contact List to be notified of this if you are unable to join the webinar.

Please note- this is an online event- webinar details will be sent to those registered.

Any queries, please contact epicfutures@ulster.ac.uk