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This page details the projects that were awarded funding as part of Phase 5 of the Evaluation Accelerator Fund (EAF).

Background

In May 2026, the Evaluation Task Force (ETF) announced Phase 5 of its Evaluation Accelerator Fund (EAF). The EAF is a competitive grant fund and supports research and evaluation projects that:

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

Phase 5 of EAF had an overall value of £6.5 million for 2026/27 financial year. Its areas of priority focus were:

1. Projects designed to improve the evidence base around Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). 
2. Projects related to artificial intelligence, local government and other government priorities. 

In total, £4.7 million were awarded to 40 projects via a competition, this total includes a contribution of £1.1 million from UKRI to support projects related to VAWG and £590,000 from DWP for projects related to employment. £1.4 million were awarded directly to What Works Centres and a further £376,000 were awarded to Mayoral Strategic Authorities. 

Click here for the full press release