How much money is a typical grant worth? And is there an upper limit on the grants?   

The amount we award to each project will depend on the type of programme that’s being delivered and the kind of evaluation we need to run to find out if it works. There is no cap on the amount we’ll spend.   

We’re expecting to make some quite large grants. That’s because, in our themed grant rounds, we’ll prioritise projects that are:   

• already delivering their programme to young people   
• ready for robust evaluation  

The evaluation budget is considered by YEF separately once successful projects have been identified so please apply for the grant amount that you need to deliver the project.

How much flexibility is there for the age criteria (10-18 years old) for Psychological Therapies grant round projects?    

We recognise that some projects will work with young people beyond the age of 18 and some might work with children younger than 10. We expect the  large majority of our funding to be used to support children within the specified age range.   

Are you allowed to apply as a partnership? 

Yes, we welcome applications from partnerships. But please remember that you should only submit one application per proposal (this should come from your designated lead partner organisation).   

Are you allowed to make more than one application, for example as a sole organisation and then also as part of a partnership?   

Yes, there’s no limit on the number of applications you can be a part of.   

Please remember that, if you’re applying as a consortium or partnership, you should only submit one application per proposal (this should come from your designated lead partner organisation).   

How long will you fund projects for?   

We support projects to start quickly and find our approach works best for projects that can be delivered effectively over a limited time frame. In this round, we expect the maximum project delivery time to be 24 months and are keen to hear from projects that can deliver within a shorter period.  

That said, we’re keen to set up projects for success and will work with you to identify the length of time needed to effectively set up, run and evaluate the intervention. 

Will existing relationships with public services or statutory agencies strengthen my application?   

It will strengthen your application if it helps to show that you’re likely to receive referrals to your project. One of the ways we’ll assess your application is on your ability to deliver the plan you set out – evidence of an existing relationship with the agency you want to work with could help to support that.   

You can read more information on the scope of the grant round and our assessment criteria in the application guidance (published on Wednesday 4th April 2024).  

If my application is successful, when will I receive funds?   

If you join us as a partner, we’ll make quarterly payments (subject to monitoring returns).  

If my application is unsuccessful, will I receive individual feedback? 

Due to the high number of applications we’re expecting for this funding round, unfortunately we will be unable to facilitate requests for individual feedback.

What types of organisation can apply?   

Our rounds are open to all organisations – in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Our only requirement is that your organisation is a formally registered legal entity.  

What will you look for in applications?   

We’ll prioritise applications from projects that are already delivering, are supported by some kind of evidence that they work and are ready for robust evaluation. This will improve our knowledge and understanding of what works to prevent children becoming involved in violence and help ensure every child gets the best possible support.  

These requirements do mean that these grant rounds won’t be quite right for every organisation.  

Is there any priority given to organisations that can match fund their project?   

We require projects to contribute 20% of the budgeted delivery costs through supplementary funding or in-kind support.

Supplementary funding can include other grants or contributions you make through your unrestricted funding. In-kind support is an organisation’s non-monetary contribution to deliver the project. This can include back-office staff costs (e.g. the time of your CEO, admin support, financial or legal assistance), staff time from other organisations supporting delivery, pro-bono support or the use of organisational facilities, such as meeting rooms. You can find further details and examples of in-kind funding here.

Supplementary funding and in-kind support are important as they strengthen the long-term sustainability of your project and reduce the dependency on any one funder. If your organisation is led by representatives of Black and/or racially minoritised communities, we strongly encourage you to apply, even if you’re unable to meet our 20% supplementary and in-kind target. In certain cases, we may consider supporting or waiving this requirement if projects can demonstrate their ability to reach and support groups that are overrepresented in the youth justice system.

Is there a requirement from your side to try and make sure there’s a geographical spread of projects, taking into account those areas that have already received funding from previous rounds and to ensure that funding is being spread across the country? 

This isn’t something that we take into account when assessing projects. We are careful, however, to ensure that projects aren’t overlapping with each other in the same area so that two YEF projects aren’t working with exactly the same cohort of young people within the same area. This is something that we would work through with successful projects during co-design. 

How long should the projects have been running for to be eligible? 

There isn’t a specific amount of time. A project is much more likely to be successful if it has been running for at least six months so that it can show that it is feasible to deliver. 

Are programmes that have received funding from YEF previously eligible? 

Yes. The only caveat to this is that if you are currently going through a regranting process then we would ask that you continue with that process rather than apply for further funding for the same project through a new grant round. 

Are there any limitations on what project costs we can apply for (eg. only a certain percentage can be for staff salary costs affiliated with delivering the project)? 

No, there aren’t any limitations. The only stipulation is that any grants that the YEF awards, have to go towards the delivery of the project. There is the opportunity for successful projects to work through their budget in more detail during the co-design phase.  

From an evaluation point of view, what are the expectations from the delivering organisation during the co-design process? Do we work on the measures and instruments together or are they determined entirely by the external evaluator? 

There is an expectation is that you will work closely with the evaluator. The evaluator will lead on data collection and randomisation. You will then need to ensure that the intervention group (the treatment group) will be receiving the programme and the control group will be receiving business as usual. If there are any challenges, we expect that you let the evaluator and YEF know as early as possible so that we can help support you. With regard to instruments and measures, this will depend on the programme’s theory of change and the co-design process with the evaluator. 

If the application includes internal evaluation, will the grantee also be matched to an external independent evaluator? 

Yes, all our projects have an independent evaluator which we commission through a competitive tendering process. All the projects that we fund are independently evaluated regardless of what evaluation has been done previously. 
 
If the project is part of a wider programme but the application is only for one project within the wider programme, does the theory of change need to be for the individual project or can it be for the wider programme? 

The Theory of Change would need to be for the specific project, though this would be developed further during co-design. 
 

Is there a possibility of forming a partnership bid?  

Yes, though a clear leader of the partnership should be clearly identified. This will be the organisation with which the grant agreement will be made. 

Regarding age bands, does the project have to be across the whole age range i.e. 10-18 year olds, or can it be focused on a smaller range eg 16-18 year olds? 

Yes, a smaller range within 10-18 year olds is acceptable, e.g. 16-18 year olds. 

Can YEF assist with finding a partnership? 

No. Any organisation hoping to create a partnership must source this independently.  

If we are currently working on a randomised control and / or potential QED, but not having completed it yet, would we still be eligible?   

There is a question in the application form about whether you are currently undergoing an evaluation, but this doesn’t mean that you would be ineligible. 

Primarily, we want to avoid duplicating any evaluations that are currently ongoing. 

How much time and capacity would be expected to collect and analyse the data for evaluation? 

This is mainly for the evaluator to consider when they are commissioned to the project. However, it can be helpful to consider in your initial budget for tasks related to evaluation; for example, collecting consent for the evaluation. This is explored more thoroughly during the co-design stage between the evaluator and project team. 

Does your evaluation standard include qualitative methods?  

This can be included. It will usually be worked out later with the evaluator. However, in this grant round we are aiming for large-scale impact evaluations, which would primarily rely on quantitative analyses.  

Do young people with lived and relevant experiences review the grant applications? 

Yes, YEF’s Youth Advisory Board will be invited to be a part of the assessment and are a valuable support to our work. 

Do you have an expectation of % spend against different areas of a proposed budget? eg. overheads/evaluation support/etc… 

No, the budget is quite high level because it is expected to change through development during the co-design stage. 

What is the time period for delivery? 

The projects will be delivered within two years and that is one of our key criteria for this funding round. We expect our Grants and Evaluations Committee to sign off on the projects around February/March 2025, following a period of co-design and preparation. The detailed timings of the process can be found on our website.  

You have mentioned that the psychological therapy should be individual. As long as there was direct work with the child, could systemic Family therapy be included if we have assessed that this would have a significant impact on serious youth violence?

We are more interested in those interventions that target individuals, as we have already funded a range of therapeutic interventions focusing on the broader family (such as Multi Systemic Therapy and Functional Family Therapy).  However, we are open to applications that include a strategy to engage the parent/care giver in the therapy sessions and enable them to support their child to engage in the intervention.  

For young people who are already involved in the youth justice system, is there a threshold as to what level this is from eg. should it be anyone who has received a community resolution and above?

There is no threshold. Interventions should be working with children who are already involved in the youth justice system i.e already known to the police or Local Authority youth jusitce system.  

Do they have to be in the youth justice system for any particular reason eg. a violent offence or could it be any offence?

There doesn’t have to be a particular type of offence, or reason, that resulted in the young person being involved in the youth justice system.

Who owns the Intellectual Property of the delivered project? 

YEF shall own all Intellectual Property, Materials and Results (IPR) created using the Grant Award. The YEF grants to the Grantee a royalty-free irrevocable, non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use any Materials or IPR funded by the Grant for non-commercial activities such as future project design, academic publications, teaching and research.