Nuffield Foundation Essential Employment Skills Fund 2026: Up to £500,000 to Strengthen Employment Outcomes for Young People in the UK

Overview

The Nuffield Foundation Essential Employment Skills Fund is a major funding initiative designed to build robust evidence regarding how young people facing significant barriers to employment can develop the skills, attributes, and behaviours needed to access and progress into good jobs. The initiative focuses on young people aged 16–24 living in the United Kingdom who face substantial hurdles in entering the labour market.

Rather than merely funding new interventions from scratch, the initiative prioritizes existing or promising programmes supported by a clear theory of change. Grants of up to £500,000 are available primarily for rigorous impact and implementation evaluations, with most awards anticipated to fall between £200,000 and £400,000. Additional support for programme-delivery costs may also be considered in appropriate circumstances where costs cannot be covered from other sources.

Eligibility

• Target Beneficiaries: Young people aged 16–24 living in the UK who face significant employment barriers (such as low or no academic qualifications, school exclusion, special educational needs, mental health difficulties, care experience, or residence in high youth-unemployment areas).
• Applicant Partnerships: Applications must be submitted through established partnerships between an independent evaluation/research organization and a frontline programme delivery organization.
• Lead Applicant: The evaluation partner is expected to act as the lead applicant, ensuring evaluation independence and impartiality.

How to Apply

Applicants must follow the Nuffield Foundation’s outline application process and carefully review the official Guide for Applicants before submitting. Prospective teams should ensure their research and evaluation design is co-developed jointly by the evaluation and delivery partners prior to application. Prospective applicants may also submit a brief one-page project description to seek initial feedback from the Foundation.

To submit your proposal or review full documentation, please visit the official application portal:

Apply for the Nuffield Foundation Essential Employment Skills Fund

Deadline

The outline application deadline is 10 December 2026. Shortlisting decisions will follow in February 2027, with full applications due in April 2027, final funding decisions in July 2027, and the earliest possible project start in September 2027.