Press release
Minister O’Gorman invites applications under the What Works Building Evidence Fund 2023
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has today announced the creation of a new fund under the What Works prevention and early intervention initiative, which is funded through the Dormant Accounts Fund. The What Works Building Evidence Fund has been established to support the gathering and analysis of data and evidence within the community and voluntary sector.
The Fund is open to practitioners and service providers working in not-for-profit organisations who work with children, young people and their families and who have a strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention.
Not-for-profit organisations are invited to submit applications for funding of up to €50,000 for prevention and early intervention projects that will identify gaps in service provision and develop skills for effective monitoring, evaluation and analysis of prevention and early intervention services.
The Fund further aims to help those working with children, young people and families to access training on collecting, research and analysis that improves outcomes for children and young people.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday, 22 September 2023.
Announcing the launch of the What Works Building Evidence Fund, Minister O’Gorman said:
“The What Works initiative was established by my department to promote the use of data and evidence in best practice amongst prevention and early intervention policymakers, practitioners and service providers. This new Building Evidence Fund will provide organisations with once-off funding to dedicate time and consideration to developing and improving their collection and use of data to assess the real-life impacts of their services on service-users. Ultimately, this fund will support service providers in their goal of improving outcomes for children and young people.”
More information on the scheme is available on the What Works website.
The DCEDIY What Works Initiative, funded under Dormant Accounts, is aimed at maximising the impact of prevention and early intervention to improve outcomes for children and young people living in Ireland.
At the core of the initiative is a desire to assist those working to improve the lives of children and young people in promoting evidence informed approaches. The initiative is designed to take a whole-system approach to enhancing the use, understanding and availability of prevention and early intervention approaches, and works across four key areas: data, evidence, capacity, and equality.
The Building Evidence Fund’s goal is to promote the collection and use of data in prevention and early intervention services on activities and outcomes for children and young people; and to support the development and application of skills for effective monitoring, evaluation and analysis of prevention and early intervention services.
It will allow community and voluntary organisations to dedicate time and consideration to developing and improving their collection and use of data to assess the real-life impacts of their services on service-users, and to support their staff to access training on data collection and analysis so that they can use data in reporting on and evaluating their services.
The Fund is also envisaged to help those working with children, young people and families to access training on collecting, research and analysis that improve outcomes for children and young people.
The total value of the fund is €600,000 with 12 successful applicants able to avail of funding up to €50,000.
All applications must include a prevention and early intervention approach which aims to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Queries can be directed to whatworks@equality.gov.ie