The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) · London, United Kingdom
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has announced three research funding opportunities inviting legally constituted organisations and research teams to submit proposals addressing important questions in England’s education sector. The calls cover inclusive mainstream education and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, technical and vocational teaching for learners aged 16 to 19, and continuity of examination boards for GCSE resit learners.
These opportunities are designed for universities, education research organisations, research consultancies, policy institutes, research teams, and consortia with relevant expertise. Depending on the call, applicants may be expected to conduct qualitative research, classroom or college observations, quantitative analysis, impact evaluation, process evaluation, or mixed methods research.
The three opportunities form part of the EEF’s wider programme of generating evidence that can inform education practice, guidance, research commissioning and policy in England. The EEF confirms that organisations do not necessarily need to be based in England, although organisations based elsewhere must demonstrate sufficient understanding of the English education system and the ability to deliver relevant research.
The three EEF calls address different areas of education.
The first is a practice review examining how schools develop inclusion strategies and approach spending through the Inclusive Mainstream Fund.
The second is a practice review examining teaching approaches in technical and vocational education for learners aged 16 to 19.
The third is an evaluation examining whether maintaining the same examination board for GCSE resits is associated with differences in English and mathematics outcomes.
The EEF publishes these opportunities as open calls for research proposals. Applicants do not need to be members of the EEF panel of evaluators. Applications must be submitted by legally constituted organisations rather than individuals.
This practice review will examine how schools in England are developing inclusion strategies and making decisions about the Inclusive Mainstream Fund.
The research will seek to:
• Map current approaches to developing inclusion strategies across different school settings.
• Examine how schools are approaching Inclusive Mainstream Fund spending.
• Explore differences in practice between schools and settings.
• Investigate reported changes in behaviours, beliefs and decision making associated with the new policies.
• Identify emerging practices that could inform future EEF guidance and research.
The EEF welcomes proposals using different research methods and is open to innovative approaches. A mixed methods design may be appropriate depending on the research questions and proposed methodology.
The main output will be a written research report expected to be published by the end of March 2027. Findings may contribute to future EEF guidance relating to inclusion, future research activity and advice to policymakers.
Deadline: 12pm on Monday, October 19, 2026.
The second opportunity focuses on teaching practices in technical and vocational education for learners aged 16 to 19.
Researchers will investigate teaching practices across selected technical and vocational subject areas and examine how these approaches align with or differ from practices identified in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework used in schools.
The research aims to:
• Understand current teaching practice in technical and vocational education.
• Identify whether teaching practices from the schools framework are used in technical and vocational settings.
• Determine whether some teaching practices are more prevalent than others.
• Identify additional teaching practices that may not be represented in the framework.
• Explore whether higher performing colleges demonstrate common teaching approaches.
College visits and observations are expected to be an important part of the research plan. Proposals should also include a short feasibility phase involving a small number of colleges to test the proposed subject areas, classroom practices and observation approach.
Deadline: 5pm on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The third call focuses on learners aged 16 to 19 who are resitting GCSE examinations in England.
The EEF is seeking research proposals to investigate whether keeping the same examination board between a learner’s original GCSE sitting and their resit is associated with improved English and mathematics outcomes.
The expected research approach includes:
• A causal impact evaluation using a quasi experimental design.
• A light touch implementation and process evaluation.
• Subgroup analysis of disadvantaged learners.
The research will examine whether examination board continuity is associated with differences in outcomes and will contribute evidence to the EEF’s wider work on setting choices in the 16 to 19 education sector.
Deadline: 5pm on Monday, October 12, 2026.
Successful research teams will have the opportunity to:
• Conduct research commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation.
• Generate evidence relevant to education practice in England.
• Contribute to future EEF guidance and research priorities.
• Investigate important questions affecting schools, colleges and learners.
• Produce research that may inform education policy and decision making.
• Work with complementary research expertise through collaborative consortia where appropriate.
• Contribute evidence to the development of future education interventions and evaluations.
Applicants should meet the requirements of the specific research call they are applying for.
• Applications must be submitted by legally constituted organisations.
• Individual researchers cannot apply independently.
• Universities, research organisations, research consultancies and policy institutes may be eligible.
• Research consortia may apply where they can demonstrate complementary expertise and effective collaboration.
• Applicants do not need to be members of the EEF panel of evaluators.
• Organisations outside England may apply where permitted by the relevant call.
• International applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the English education system.
• International applicants must demonstrate that their proposed research will produce outputs relevant to England.
• Applicants should demonstrate appropriate research expertise for the selected opportunity.
For the technical and vocational teaching review, relevant experience includes qualitative education research, knowledge of pedagogy and understanding of the 16 to 19 sector.
For the GCSE resit research, applicants should have experience conducting impact and process evaluations in the 16 to 19 sector.
Applicants should consult the complete tender documents for the exact requirements of each call.
Depending on the opportunity, proposals should clearly demonstrate:
• Understanding of the research questions.
• Relevant previous research experience.
• A suitable research methodology.
• Knowledge of the English education context.
• Appropriate plans for data collection and analysis.
• Capacity to conduct the proposed research.
• Appropriate arrangements for collaboration where a consortium is involved.
• Value for money.
• How the proposed research will generate useful evidence.
For the technical and vocational teaching opportunity, applicants should explain how college visits, teaching observations and the feasibility phase will be incorporated into the research design.
For the GCSE resit opportunity, applicants should demonstrate relevant expertise in quasi experimental research, impact evaluation and process evaluation.
London, United Kingdom
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)
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