Evaluation Accelerator Fund

Phase 45 (2026) applications open March 2025

The Evaluation Task Force (ETF) is pleased to announce Phase 45 of its Evaluation Accelerator Fund (EAF). The EAF is a competitive grant fund and supports research and evaluation projects that:

• create actionable evidence in HM Government priority areas that informs public spending or policy decisions;
• tackle evidence gaps in HM Government priority areas; or
• provide robust evidence of financial or efficiency savings from new policies, interventions, or innovative approaches to service delivery

PhaseEAF 4is hasopen up to £3.5receive millionproposals availablefrom: 

• Central ingovernment the(e.g. 2025/26UK financialGovernment year.departments, Thearms totallength amountbodies, availableand willnon-departmental bepublic confirmedbodies)
• Local asgovernment part(e.g. ofLocal theauthorities, Cabinetregional Office’sauthorities, businessMCAs, planningetc) 
• What process.Works TheCentres fund(WWCs)
• Charities willor beorganisations usedwhose toactivities makeare grantcharitable, awardsbenevolent viaor openphilanthropic competition.
  in nature (e.g. universities, non-profits, community interest companies)

Funding is available for one-year projects which start in MayJuly 20252026 and conclude by March 2026.2027. All projects, with only a handful of exceptions, will be expected to produce findings that are shareable with the ETF and government partners by March 2026.2027. It is acceptable if publication of findings follows soon after March 2027.

Eligibility

TherePhase are5 threeof eligibilityEAF criteria.

a.has Organisationan status

Proposalsoverall mustvalue beof from:up to £3.5 million for FY26-27. This is split into two distinct strands:

1. CentralA governmentminimum (e.g.of UK£1 Governmentmillion departments,available armsfor lengthprojects bodies,designed andto non-departmentalimprove publicthe bodies)
2. Whatevidence Worksbase Centresaround (WWCs)Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). 
3. CharitiesA ormaximum organisationsof whose£2.5 activitiesmillion areavailable charitable,for benevolentprojects orrelated philanthropicto inartificial natureintelligence, (e.g.local universities,government non-profits,and communityother interestgovernment companies)priorities. 

b.

It Priorityis area

EAF 5 Violence Against Women and Girls - open competition

The aim of the VAWG-specific fund is to create actionable evidence or build evidence and evaluation capability to support HM Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy and mission to half VAWG by 2030. 

We are open to proposals that relatealign towith atpriorities leastoutlined onein of the following HM Government priorities:VAWG Strategy with a preference for proposals focussed on:

• Missions

  1. KickstartOnline economic growthharms;
  2. BuildEarly anintervention NHS/ fitchildren forand theyoung futurepeople;
  3. SaferPrevention; streetsand
  4. BreakTackling downsexual violence.

We are particularly interested in funding the barriersfollowing totypes opportunity of proposals, which will be favourably scored:

• MakePartnerships Britainbetween organisations to build a cleanstronger energyevidence superpowerand evaluation infrastructure or evaluation capability across the VAWG sector.
• Partnerships between charities/frontline services and universities/research organisations. 

• TechnologyResearch –or usingevaluations technologythat inwill thedirectly publicsupport sectorHM inGovernment’s ordercommitment to digitisehalving publicVAWG.

In servicegeneral, delivery,we enhanceare productivityopen to proposals to deliver impact evaluations, and improvewe outcomes.

c.

We Benefitswill toconsider England

Proposalsfunding fromproposals organisationsfor thatlonger-term arepieces notof partwork ofthat centraldo governmentnot mustproduce directlyfindings orby indirectlyMarch benefit2027 Englandas inlong wholeas orthere part.is Yourconfirmed proposalmatched willfunding meetthat thiscan criteriafund ifproposed aactivities majoritybeyond ofFY26-27. participantsThese inproposals yourmust proposeddemonstrate activity’sevidence sampleof arethis basedmatched infunding England.commitment.

Please refersee to the document “EAF Phase 45 Guidance- VAWG open competition - guidance for additionalbidders” information.for more detail on the criteria for this funding. 

To

EAF learn5 more

The ETFsecond willstrand holdof drop-inthe informationEAF sessionsfund foraims prospectiveto applicants.strengthen Thesethe sessionsevidence willbase givefor attendeeswider thegovernment opportunitypriorities, towith aska questionsparticular aboutfocus theon fundartificial intelligence and theirlocal project’sgovernment.

We potentialare eligibility.interested Thein EAFfunding informationproposals sessionsin willthe takefollowing place on:areas:

• 14Technology: March,Proposals 11:00that amaim -to 12:00improve pm
• 24the Marchability 10:00of -the 11:00public amsector to use or generate robust evidence about Artificial Intelligence and digital innovation, including evaluation of AI and digital policies/programmes. 
• 9Local Aprilgovernment: 11:30Proposals amthat -aim 12:30to pm

Bookimprove yourthe placeability onof anlocal informationgovernment, sessionincluding viaMayoral Eventbrite.

HowStrategic Authorities, to bid

Proposalsuse mustor begenerate submittedrobust toevidence toand eaf@cabinetoffice.gov.ukevaluation.

PleaseWe alsoare includeopen anyto relevantfunding endorsementsdifferent ortypes letters of supportprojects fromwithin localthese partnersareas, orincluding frontlineimpact decisionevaluations, makersfeasibility –studies, theseevidence arereviews, optionaldevelopment butof welcome.outcomes frameworks, value-for-money assessments, development of data infrastructure, and implementation research. 

Please refersee to the document EAF Phase 45 Guidance- General competition - guidance for additionalbidders information.

Previousfor phasesmore ofdetail on the Evaluationcriteria Acceleratorfor Fundthis funding. 

To learn more

The EvaluationETF Acceleratorwill Fundhold providesdrop-in ainformation totalsessions offor £15prospective millionapplicants. ofThese fundingsessions acrosswill give attendees the 2022/23,opportunity 2023/24,to andask 2024/25questions financialabout yearsthe tofund improveand ourtheir understandingproject’s ofpotential “whateligibility. works”.

The keyEAF aimsinformation ofsessions thewill fundtake areplace to:on:

• accelerate3 evaluationJune, activity12:00 and- the13:00 
• 4 creationJune of16:00 actionable- evidence17:00 
• 10 inJune HMG15:00 priority- areas16:00 
• 11 toJune inform15:00 decision-making- at the next spending review16:00 
• tackle

Book evidenceyour gapsplace inon HMGan priorityinformation areassession byvia rapidlyEventbrite.

How buildingto thebid

Proposals evidencemust basebe wheresubmitted departmentsto andto Whateaf@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Worksby Centres28 areJune not(6:00 currentlypm). undertakingYour activity

Theensure Evaluationthat Taskyou Forceuse and the Cabinetcorrect Officetemplates announcedfor the firststrand wave of successfulfunding projectsyou onare Tuesday,applying 2for August(i.e. 2022.VAWG Theor 16general). selectedThese programmestemplates willare receiveprovided ain combinedthe £12.2documents millionlinked toabove.

For deliverthe highgeneral qualitystrand evaluationsof infunding, keyplease policyalso areas,include whichany supportsrelevant aendorsements keyor commitmentletters of thesupport Governmentfrom reformlocal agendapartners toor deliverfrontline betterdecision formakers citizens.– these are optional but welcome.

APlease furtherrefer ten to projectsthe wereEAF selectedPhase for5 fundingGuidance acrossdocuments phasesfor twoadditional andinformation.

Previous threephases of the EAF.

Evaluation Accelerator Fund

EAF-supportedThe projectsEvaluation areAccelerator ledFund byprovided a rangetotal of government£19 departmentsmillion andof Whatfunding Worksbetween Centres.2022/23 Theyand will2025/26 helpto fillimprove evidenceour gapsunderstanding acrossof high-priority“what areasworks”. including crime and justice, education, social care, and health.

Details about selected projects, including the cost of each bid, matched funding contributions, and intended outputs are available in the linked documents above.

Further updates on the funded projects will be made available on this page.