UKRI What Works Innovation Fellowship – What Works to Prevent VAWG

About the fellowships

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 (see specific fellowship descriptions for further detail).
• 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.

Who can apply

You must be based at a UK employing organisation eligible for UKRI funding. Check if your employing organisation is eligible.

This funding opportunity is open to researchers who hold a PhD or equivalent research experience as well as relevant subject matter or methodological expertise.

Fellowships

This fellowship is open to applicants of all career stages. Learn more about the UKRI What Works Innovation Fellowships – Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.

A summary of the three available fellowships are:

Please consult the specific fellowship descriptions before deciding whether to apply.

About the YEF fellowship: what you’ll do

The Fellowship will support YEF in developing the evidence on what works to prevent VAWG perpetration among young people, as part of our mission to prevent children and young people’s involvement in violence.

Depending on your skills, experience and capacity, the work could include:

• Leading specific research projects to fill gaps in the evidence on what works to prevent VAWG, with a particular interest in online harms and tech-facilitated VAWG affecting young people.
• Working with our Data and Insight team to develop YEF’s annual Child Vulnerability and Violence survey and analysing existing data to address VAWG-relevant questions.
• Supporting our Toolkit team to review and summarise the best available research on approaches to preventing violence affecting young people.
• Reviewing VAWG prevention practice across England and Wales to inform programme development and evaluation design.
• Managing or supporting forthcoming YEF-commissioned secondary data analysis projects on VAWG.

The Fellow will also be supported to spend dedicated time participating in the development of a national What Works Programme to tackle violence against women and girls, for example through collaborative activities with the wider What Works Innovation Fellowship cohort, the Cabinet Office Evaluation Task Force, and the UKRI R&D Missions Accelerator Programme’s VAWG Challenge.

How to apply

To apply for the YEF Fellowship please submit your CV and Application Statement (max three pages each, six pages total) via the YEF careers page.

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?

If you have any questions specifically about the YEF Fellowship, please contact us at recruitment@youthendowmentfund.org.uk

Closing date: 16:00, Tuesday 8 September 2026