Deadline: September 8, 2026
Applications are open for the UKRI What Works Innovation Fellowships – Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls 2026. Spend 18 months as one of three What Works Innovation Fellows, generating and championing evidence that helps transform how the UK tackles violence against women and girls. Each fellowship is funded by UKRI’s Research & Development Missions Accelerator Programme and will be hosted by one of three Government-backed What Works Centres: Foundations (the What Works Centre for Children & Families); the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction at the College of Policing; and the Youth Endowment Fund.
You will:
- Deliver research and innovation projects within your host What Works Centre, generating and championing rigorous, actionable evidence to prevent or reduce violence against women and girls.
- Play a leading role in the launch of a National What Works Programme on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), working in partnership with the other Fellows and organisations including the Cabinet Office, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), VAWG sector support services, universities, and other What Works Centres.
Funding
Fellows can apply for up to £220,000 at Full Economic Cost consisting of:
- £180,000 for the fellowship at Full Economic Cost
- £40,000 for research and collaboration costs
Eligibility
- Open to researchers who hold a PhD or equivalent research experience as well as relevant subject matter or methodological expertise.
- You must be based at a UK employing organisation eligible for UKRI funding.
Selection Criteria
You must:
- be a researcher in the remits relevant to the specific position applied for or be able to demonstrate how you could generate interdisciplinary insights through combining these disciplines with other recognised academic disciplines.
- hold a PhD or equivalent research experience
- meet any additional eligibility and person specification criteria for the fellowship you are applying for
- have subject matter and analytical expertise and skills relevant to the specific fellowship position you are applying for
- be able to work effectively at pace to deliver expected outcomes, including working as part of a team on shared goals
- have the ability to communicate complex information and analysis
- have the ability to demonstrate the use of expertise in a non-academic context
- have excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into meaningful narrative that is accessible to a non-academic audience
- possess excellent stakeholder engagement and collaboration skills
- have the ability to co-design work programmes and lead on knowledge exchange activity between research, policy and funder communities
Application
The application statement should respond to the following questions:
- Vision: What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed fellowship?
- Applicant capability to deliver: Why are you the right individual to deliver the objectives of this fellowship? Please refer to the fellowship requirements.
- Approach: How are you going to approach the co-design of the fellowship with your host What Works Centre?
For more information, visit UKRI What Works Innovation Fellowship.
