VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund

Applications are currently closed.

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Key information

Overview

Grant status: The VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund is now closed for applications.

Purpose of the fund: This grant fund is part of our  VocTech Challenge: Skills for an Economy in Transition  programme.

Informed by the learnings from our place-based collaborations we are looking for bold, tech-led approaches to tackle one of three specific challenges:

  1. Employer integration:
How can technology be used to integrate and reflect employers’ changing needs so that the skills of the available workforce better reflect the needs of local employers?
  2. Pathways into and within work:
How can technology be used to increase the visibility, accessibility and uptake of pathways from learning into work, or from one type of work into another, particularly in regional growth sectors?
  3. Vocational language barriers:
How can technology be used to support adults with in-demand vocational skills, but who don’t speak English as their first language, gain the industry-specific English required by employers?

The VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund represents a new approach to Ufi grant funding.

Successful grant fund applicants will each receive between £200k and £250k to refine and deploy their ideas.

They will also join a network of organisations working alongside each other as part of an active, expert-led programme designed to create connections, share knowledge, test assumptions and accelerate adoption and deployment.

Key dates

Stage 1

Tuesday 11 June 2024 – applications open.

Monday 8th July 2024, 17.00 (GMT) - applications close.

Successful applicants will be invited to proceed to Stage 2 in late July.

Stage 2

Tuesday 6th August 2024 – applications open.

Monday 9th September 2024, 17.00 (GMT) – applications close.

Successful applicants will be notified after the Ufi Board of Trustees reach their final funding decisions in late October 2024.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online via the MyUfi online portal.

Once you have registered and created an account, you can log-in, access the application form, save your draft application and return to it at any time while the funding round is open.

We do not accept late applications. If you experience technical problems while completing or submitting your application, you must tell us as soon as possible via info@ufi.co.uk.

My Ufi

Eligibility checker

Our eligibility checker acts as an early indicator of whether your project could be eligible for the VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund.

This checker does not act as an indicator of whether an application will be successful or not. Click the button to begin.

Check your eligibility

About the grant fund

Ufi and Learning and Work Institute (L&W) came together in 2022 to explore how, at a time of rapid change in the UK economy and labour market, we could work in partnership to deliver a step-change in the numbers of adults taking part in learning and address the growing skills shortages holding back people, industry and regions across the UK.

Following extensive research we published our VocTech Challenge: Skills for an Economy in Transition Green and White Papers in 2023.

The White paper concluded:

“At this time of skills shortage and rapid economic transition, it is essential that everyone in the UK has the opportunity to develop the skills they need. By getting adults learning, including those currently not well served by mainstream provision, we will create the foundation for secure and equitable economic growth that gives everyone in the UK the capacity to thrive”.

Our placed based collaborations in Aberdeen, Belfast, Hull and Newport helped us to identify three hard to solve problems in those places which are likely to be replicated nationally. We believe that technology can help solve these problems and have used them as the focus of this grant call.

We will use what we learn from this grant call, alongside the other ‘challenge’ workstreams to advocate for change in order to speed up the adoption and deployment of the kind of solutions the UK needs to get the skills it requires for a transitioning economy.

We are looking for bold, tech-led approaches to tackle one of three specific challenges:

  1. Employer integration:
How can technology be used to integrate and reflect employers’ changing needs so that the skills of the available workforce better reflect the needs of local employers?
  2. Pathways into and within work:
How can technology be used to increase the visibility, accessibility and uptake of pathways from learning into work, or from one type of work into another, particularly in regional growth sectors?
  3. Vocational language barriers:
How can technology be used to support adults with in-demand vocational skills, but who don’t speak English as their first language, gain the industry-specific English required by employers?

The overall purpose is to grant fund a cohort of projects that use technology to tackle the three challenges we have identified. We want to be able to demonstrate how technology can catalyse larger scale sustainable change in adult skills provision so that the UK has the skills it needs.

This fund is not about the potential for impact. It is about changing how things are done to have a direct and tangible impact on learners during the period of funding, in a way that sustains when the funding has ended.

We know that solving these challenges will not be easy. That is why successful applicants will join our VocTech Challenge Impact Network, bringing together a network of stakeholders already actively tackling barriers to adult learning as part of the ongoing VocTech Challenge programme.

We are looking for bold ideas supported by imaginative and practical plans with the potential to radically increase adult participation in learning and training during the funding period, and to continue long after it ends.

Successful applications will focus on ideas which unlock potential in the communities, sectors, skill levels and places currently underserved by mainstream provision.

We understand that these challenges do not exist in isolation – that is partly why they are so complex. Successful applicants will be expected to explore and consider connected issues as part of our work together; however they must concentrate on one challenge question for the application.

This grant call is not about tech solutions and products in isolation. We are looking for ideas that are flexible, dynamic, adaptable and linked – not one solution for one problem for one employer. We are interested in ideas that look beyond a single product, supplier, organisation or service, and which create connections between different organisations and processes to demonstrate how people and structures could work together to address the challenges we have identified.

We are looking for ideas that can demonstrate a better way of tackling the challenges we have set out. Showing how, alongside people and processes, tech can improve how things are done and deliver better outcomes.

Ideas could be about how tech could improve and formalise ‘hacks’ or work arounds to an existing system or business process, or the development of completely new ways of working.

We are looking for ideas that support learners into real work and job opportunities, strengthening the link between skills training, local employment needs and actual jobs. Applications that talk about ‘pathways’ into work therefore must have real employers engaged locally. We won’t support projects that develop skills without a local need.

We are looking for applications with match funding to ensure the risk and commitment is shared between Ufi and the project. There is no set percentage of match funding and it can be cash or in kind. Tell us on your application what resources you will bring and what you need from us.

Whatever the idea, it must not add complexity or duplication into the existing skills system. As found in our Green and White papers, complexity, fragmentation and too many ‘systems inside a system’ are major barriers to change.

This is an open grant call, so we are open to applications from all types of organisations, in line with our normal guidance.

We are looking for applications from organisations who want to be part of our VocTech Challenge Impact Network, and active movement for change that brings together a network of stakeholders already actively tackling barriers to adult learning as part of our ongoing VocTech Challenge programme.

Given the aims of this grant call we think it will be best suited to:

  • Collaborative groups of organisations and employers (with a lead applicant) where at least one partner has a strong track-record in working with the target community of learners, at least one has a strong development and learning design background, and an employer or employer group partner is involved.
  • Organisations/groups who are in touch with or delivering in the part of the skills system which they wish to change.
  • Organisations with a strong track-record in working with a community of learners, and a route to engaging employers/employer groups.
  • Organisations with a shared passion for Ufi’s mission.

This grant fund will not be suitable for start-ups or very small organisations. See the grant fund criteria for more detail.

Grant fund criteria

Tackle one of the three challenge questions. We understand that these challenges do not exist in isolation – that is partly why they are so complex. Successful applicants will be expected to explore and consider connected issues as part of our work together; however they must concentrate on one challenge question for the application:

  • Employer integration
How can technology be used to integrate and reflect employers’ changing needs so that the skills of the available workforce better reflect the needs of local employers?
  • Pathways into and within work
How can technology be used to increase the visibility, accessibility and uptake of pathways from learning into work, or from one type of work into another, particularly in regional growth sectors?
  • Vocational language barriers
How can technology be used to support adults with in-demand vocational skills, but who don’t speak English as their first language, gain the industry-specific English required by employers?
  • Focus on Ufi’s target learner groups – the communities, sectors, skill levels and places currently underserved by mainstream provision
  • Show commitment to being part of the Impact Network and consider how being part of this community could benefit / strengthen the progress of their idea
  • Reduce duplication and increase collaboration when compared to the status quo
  • Have an immediate purpose for a large number of learners and for organisations who will benefit from better skilled employees (1,000+ learners to benefit during the period of Ufi funding)
  • Be conceived and developed in a way that sustains and scales when Ufi funding has ended
  • Be collaborative with at least two of the following engaged:
  • employers or employer groups/trade bodies who can provide access to learners/users and potential employment opportunities for learners.
  • an organisation engaged with and well connected to the target learner group.
  • a provider (e.g. training organisation, recruitment or employment body, awarding body)
  • software developers with proven experience of developing digital tools with a track record of adoption.
  • Demonstrate commitment from the applicant and collaborators, in the form of cash, time and / or other forms of in-kind support

To be able to achieve these criteria we believe that project applicants will need to be at least at MVP stage and have direct access to a cohort of available learners/users for development and testing so they can prove that relevance and replicate to scale.

We are also open to the fact that:

  • the idea may be part of a blended or hybrid solution, where digital tools and approaches can enhance face to face delivery.
  • ideas may also address the skills of trainers in deploying VocTech in order to ensure that these tools are utilised and embedded more quickly.
  • the idea may not be a separate product or commercial service. The tool may well be something that can be embedded or retrofitted into existing offers or changes to practice in order to improve outcomes, catalysing longer term systems change.
  • whilst this call is not focused on digital skills development, there may be a need to address digital skills as an entry point to the vocational skills and pathways to work that applicants are seeking to build.
  • While our focus is on up to level 3 skills, where there is a clear demand from employers for skills above this level, we will consider applications which include a small proportion of above level 3 skills.

  • New Learning Management Systems
  • Ideas which duplicate or increase the complexity of the skills landscape.
  • Speculative technologies developed in isolation of the user group.
  • Ideas with no potential for scale or catalyse wider systemic change in the sector.
  • Generic ‘coaching’ or motivational tools.
  • Generic mental health or well-being support solutions.
  • Enterprise skills solutions
  • Skills that are above Level 3 or equivalent

Explore a further list of what Ufi does not fund.

VocTech Challenge logos

Explore the organisations offered VocTech Challenge grant funding

Six organisations have been offered funding from Ufi’s £1.5 million VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund to refine and deploy digital solutions and approaches to tackle systemic barriers in adult learning.

How to apply

To apply for a Ufi grant fund, you will need to create a MyUfi account where you can access the application form, save your draft and return to it at any time while the funding round is open.

Application process

Ufi has a two-stage online application process. Access to Stage 2 is by invitation only, following success at Stage 1. Evaluation at each stage is undertaken by an expert panel, selected to represent experience and expertise relevant to the fund. Final funding decisions are made by the Ufi Board of Trustees.

Stage 1

Tuesday 11 June 2024 - applications open.

Monday 8th July 2024, 17.00 (GMT) – applications close.

Successful applicants will be invited to proceed to Stage 2 in late July.

Stage 1 requires you to complete an online application form which outlines the problem in vocational learning your idea aims to address, the intended audience / market and potential for scale. You will also need to tell us about your organisation and the funding requested. Applications are assessed on how well the project fits with Ufi’s overall mission and the specific objectives of the funding call.

Stage 2

Tuesday 6th August 2024 – applications open.

Monday 9th September 2024, 17.00 (GMT) - applications close.

Successful applicants will be notified after the Ufi Board of Trustees reach their final funding decisions in late October 2024.

Stage 2 requires you to provide more detailed information about how you intend to deliver your project. You will be invited to respond to some feedback questions from your Stage 1 application so that we can find out more about your idea. You will also need to provide a technical description of your idea, additional information in the form of a project plan and budget and submit some documents which we require to complete due diligence before we can confirm an offer of funding.

Application Guidance

To support your application we have gathered some background resources, tips for applying and Frequently Asked Questions.

What happens if you are successful?

All projects will need to agree to the Ufi Standard Terms and Conditions of Grant.

You will then be introduced to your personal Project Account Manager who will work with you to create a project plan setting out how the project will be delivered and the milestones which need to be achieved for funding to be drawn down.

It is for you to determine how your project is best delivered and to work with your Project Account Manager to agree a plan. The funding milestones will be set as part of this process.

Each project is unique, and we will work with you to agree what is most reasonable for your project.