Phase 2 Policy Commissioning Call
EPIC Futures NI aims to contribute towards a prosperous and sustainable future for Northern Ireland. With a ‘place-based’ focus the partnership brings together academia, policy makers, business, community, and voluntary sector to jointly co-design policy and programmes that will help improve equitable access to skills and employment opportunities.
Together, we aim to create evidence-based solutions to fair and inclusive employment across Northern Ireland.
The overall aim of the Phase 2 EPIC Futures NI Policy commissioning call is to build a robust evidence base around key themes that contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable labour market in Northern Ireland, particularly for people who are not in, or do not have access to, suitable paid employment or self-employment. It seeks to fund innovative projects that provide insights to advance theory, policy, and practice.
We strongly encourage proposals which are in collaboration with stakeholders from different backgrounds and disciplines. Bringing unique and innovative approaches to place-based challenges and provide insights into the lived experiences of individuals facing skills and employability challenges.
£1 million has been allocated to the EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Fund. The call is managed in two phases.
Phase 1. Funding of up to £30,000 was awarded to nine successful organisations in the phase one pilot from a budget of £250,000. These projects will be completed by November 2025.
Phase 2. This funding award will range from £10,000 to £100,000 from a budget of £750k. Small awards of up to £30,000 must be completed by 30th June 2026. Large awards of up to £100k must be completed by 30th September 2026.
This will be of interest to:
Tuesday 5th August 2025, 5pm
Tuesday 9th September 2025, 5pm
Email to EPICFutures@ulster.ac.uk by Thursday 19th August 2025.
Thank you to everyone who submitted. Late applications cannot be accepted.
Please read the full guidance document and FAQs before applying to the fund. All documentation will be available by Thursday 7th August 2025.
Route 1 via the Open Call: The call will cover 8 key themes that have been identified through consultation with expert academic and policy stakeholders.
Route 2 via the Policy Priority call: Five defined projects have been developed in Partnership with Government policy leads in Northern Ireland.
All themes have an option to propose projects where a strong justification is provided of the relevance to EPIC Futures NI and for policy and practice for Northern Ireland.
EPIC Futures NI is a Local Policy 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 the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
