Publications
EPIC Futures NI connects you with valuable research to guide policy decisions. While we gear up to launch the Labour Market Observatory in 2026, you can explore existing research or submit your own research reports here to contribute to informed policymaking.
A collection of case studies showcasing how Northern Ireland’s public sector is rethinking policy design and delivery. The initiatives featured in this volume demonstrate how organisations are responding to sustained complexity, fiscal constraint, and heightened public scrutiny through practical, evidence-informed innovation. In this collection, policy context is understood broadly. It includes initiatives within Northern Ireland government departments, arm’s-length bodies, local authorities, and cross-sector partnerships, including collaboration with community and voluntary organisations. This reflects the reality that policy innovation increasingly takes place across organisational boundaries rather than within single institutions. Together, these examples highlight how innovation is emerging across sectors through collaboration, behavioural insight, digital transformation, workforce development, and preventative public service approaches.
This document explores UK unemployment measurement, focusing on Claimant Count and International Labour Organisation (ILO) methods, the latter providing the official rate via Labour Force Survey data.
This document explores the post-Covid labour market recovery, highlighting record employment levels alongside ongoing skills shortages, inflationary pressures, and demographic challenges. It examines hidden labour market capacity beyond headline statistics and proposes alternative measurement approaches.
This document explores the Northern Ireland labour market recovery post-pandemic, highlighting record employment and low unemployment. However, it examines hidden unemployment and underemployment, emphasizing the importance of hours-based measures for a fuller understanding of labour market performance.
NILT Paper on Economic Activity
This policy brief explores how behavioural insights can support evidence-based policymaking in Northern Ireland. Drawing on behavioural science, it highlights practical approaches for designing, implementing and evaluating policies that encourage positive behaviours, improve public services and support fair and inclusive employment outcomes.
