Nuffield Foundation Essential Employment Skills Fund 2026-2027: Research Grant for Youth Employment Programmes

Scholarship Overview

Overview

The Nuffield Foundation Essential Employment Skills Fund is a UK-based research funding programme designed to build high-quality evidence on effective approaches to supporting young people facing significant barriers to work. The fund offers grants of up to £500,000 for independent evaluations of programmes that develop essential employment skills among UK youth aged 16-24.

This initiative addresses a critical evidence gap: while employers consistently report difficulty finding young people with necessary workplace skills, robust research on what actually works to develop these skills—particularly for disadvantaged populations—remains limited.

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What the Fund Covers

The Essential Employment Skills Fund provides:

• Evaluation funding: Up to £500,000 per grant, with most awards expected between £200,000 and £400,000
• Delivery cost support: Potential additional funding for programme delivery where costs are not covered by other sources, including through partnership funding models
• Ongoing support: Communications assistance, impact support, and networking with other grant-holders and stakeholders

Funded projects typically run for multiple years, with the earliest possible start date of September 2027.

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Who Can Apply

Eligibility requirements are specific and restrictive:

• Collaborative applications required: Teams must combine expertise in programme evaluation AND frontline delivery. Single-organisation applications are not accepted.
• Established partnerships mandatory: The evaluator-delivery organisation partnership must exist before applying, with co-developed research design
• Geographic focus: Programmes must operate in the UK and serve UK-resident young people aged 16-24 (or a narrower age band within this range)
• Target population: Clear focus on young people facing significant barriers to work, such as:

— Low or no academic qualifications
— Persistent school absence or exclusion
— Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), especially with Education, Health and Care Plans
— Mental health difficulties
— Care experience
— Young parenthood
— Young caring responsibilities
— Gypsy, Roma or Traveller community membership
— Residence in high youth unemployment areas

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Note for African applicants: This fund is restricted to UK-based programmes and UK-resident youth. Researchers or organisations based in Zimbabwe, SADC, or other African regions cannot apply unless they have established UK partnerships and the evaluated programme serves UK young people.

Programme Requirements

To be eligible, proposed programmes must include:

• Explicit skills focus: Development of at least one essential employment skill (collaboration, communication, creative thinking, information literacy, organising/planning/prioritising, or problem solving/decision making)
• Theory of change: Clear, compelling framework underpinned by prior testing or relevant literature
• Evidence of promise: Existing programmes with some demonstrated effectiveness; the fund does not support launches of entirely new programmes
• Robust impact evaluation: Minimum requirements include tracking changes in target skills and employment progress indicators (job starts, apprenticeships, work experience, training enrolment)
• Process and implementation evaluation: Assessment of contextual factors affecting delivery
• Youth voice integration: Evidence that programme design incorporates contemporary views of young people on employment challenges

Application Timeline

How to Apply

The application process follows the Nuffield Foundation’s standard Outline Application procedure:

1. Pre-application consultation (recommended): Email a one-page project description to eesf@nuffieldfoundation.org for feedback
2. Review guidance: Carefully read the Nuffield Foundation Guide for Applicants, Section 3 (eligibility) and Essential Employment Skills Fund specific requirements
3. Develop partnership: Ensure evaluator-delivery organisation collaboration is formalised and research design is co-developed
4. Submit outline application: The evaluation partner should serve as lead applicant
5. Full application (if shortlisted): Develop detailed proposal following invitation

For delivery cost funding inquiries, contact the Foundation before applying to discuss partnership funding models.

Support Available

The Nuffield Foundation offers several support mechanisms:

• Pre-application feedback on one-page project descriptions (email: eesf@nuffieldfoundation.org)
• Referral list of evaluators willing to be contacted by potential applicants (available on request)
• Application process queries: applications@nuffieldfoundation.org
• Funded project support including communications, impact guidance, and networking opportunities

Why This Fund Matters

UK youth unemployment and economic inactivity rates have reached concerning levels, with 12.8% of 16-24 year olds classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) at end-2025. Nearly half of NEET young people remain so for over a year, creating long-term scarring effects on earnings and wellbeing.

Research shows that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have fewer opportunities to develop essential employment skills through extracurricular activities, work experience, and social networks. The multiplicative effect of risk factors means those with two or more barriers face disproportionately worse employment prospects.

This fund directly addresses the evidence gap identified by the Youth Futures Foundation: the need for rigorous UK-based evaluations examining the relationship between soft skills training and actual employment outcomes for high-risk young people.