Foundations - What Works Centre For Children And Families

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £7.1 million (research commissioning and grants)
• Success Rate: Not publicly available
• Decision Time: Varies by programme
• Grant Range: £25,000 - £1,000,000+ (depending on programme type)
• Geographic Focus: England and Wales
• Type: Research commissioning body and evidence centre

Contact Details

Website: https://foundations.org.uk/

Legacy website: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/ (archived, not updated)

Current funding opportunities: https://foundations.org.uk/opportunities/funding/

Email: Contact details available on website for specific programmes

Phone: Available on website

Overview

Foundations - What Works Centre for Children and Families (Charity Number 1188350) was formed in December 2022 through the merger of What Works for Children's Social Care and the Early Intervention Foundation. Registered as a charity on 4 March 2020, the organization operates with an annual budget of approximately £7.2 million, primarily funded through government contracts (£346,938) and government grants (£6.6 million). Foundations functions as the national What Works Centre for Children and Families, with a mission to generate and champion actionable evidence to improve services for families and strengthen the foundational relationships children need to thrive. The organization employs 70 staff and operates with 9 trustees. While Foundations is primarily a research commissioning body rather than a traditional grant-maker, it does award research grants and funding to academics, researchers, local authorities, and organizations working in children's social care, with a focus on building the evidence base for effective interventions.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

Foundations operates several distinct funding streams:

Spark Grant Scheme (when active)

• Amount: £25,000 per project
• Duration: 12 months
• Target: Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and researchers from underrepresented, minoritised groups
• Purpose: Small-scale research projects in children's social care
• Application method: Competitive application process with two-stage review (Note: Not currently accepting applications)

Research Commissioning Programmes

• Amount: Varies significantly based on project scope (typically £50,000 - £1,000,000+)
• Examples of current opportunities:
• Systematic Review of Interventions (improving educational outcomes for children with a social worker)
• Common Elements of Parenting Interventions research
• Application method: Published calls on website

Changemakers Programme

• Funding type: Local area partnership funding (co-funded by Youth Endowment Fund and Department for Education)
• Target: Local authorities implementing evidence-based parenting interventions
• Partners: Merton Council, Stockport Council, Wirral Council, City of York Council
• Application method: Not open to general applications; partnership-based

Pine Progression Fund

• Purpose: Follow-on funding for successful PINE programme participants
• Application method: Invitation-based for PINE alumni

Priority Areas

Foundations focuses on four key priority areas:

1. Supporting Parenting: Evidence-based interventions to improve parenting capacity and parent-child relationships
2. Strengthening Family Networks: Programmes that build family support systems and resilience
3. Domestic Abuse: Interventions addressing family violence and protecting children
4. Relationships for Care-Experienced Children: Supporting children in care and care leavers

Research Types Funded:

• Quantitative data analysis studies addressing specific issues in children's social care
• Feasibility studies developing and piloting new programmes or interventions
• Systematic reviews and evidence synthesis
• Implementation and process evaluations
• Preventative and early intervention approaches

Target Recipients:

• Academic researchers (particularly early career and from underrepresented groups)
• University research departments
• Local authorities and children's social care teams
• Multi-agency partnerships
• Organizations working with families and children in the social care system

What They Don't Fund

• Direct service delivery grants (they fund research and evaluation, not operations)
• Organizations outside England and Wales
• Work unrelated to children's social care, family relationships, or child welfare
• Projects without a clear evidence-generation or evaluation component
• General operational costs for charities (not a traditional grant-maker for service providers)
• Individual applications from organizations seeking funding to deliver services to beneficiaries

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Governance and Leadership

Foundations operates with a board of 9 trustees and employs 70 staff members. The organization was formed through the merger of two respected evidence centres, bringing together expertise in children's social care research and early intervention.

While specific leadership quotes were not readily available in current materials, the organization's strategic approach emphasizes:

• “Actionable evidence to improve services for families”
• “Evidence-driven change making”
• Building “the foundational relationships that children need to thrive in life”

The organization operates with a clear evidence-based approach and has received substantial government support, demonstrating confidence in their methodology and impact.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

For Research Grant Programmes:

Foundations publishes specific funding calls on their website at https://foundations.org.uk/opportunities/funding/. Each call includes detailed application guidance, eligibility criteria, and submission requirements.

General process:

1. Monitor the funding opportunities page for new calls
2. Review the specific requirements for each opportunity
3. Submit applications according to published guidelines
4. Applications undergo internal review followed by external panel assessment (for competitive schemes like Spark)

For Spark Grant Scheme (when active):

• Two-stage competitive process
• Initial applications reviewed internally
• Shortlisted applications progress to external funding panel
• Opportunity for rebuttal provided before final panel decision
• Past rounds have received approximately 15 applications for 7 awards

Important Note: Unlike traditional grant-makers, Foundations' funding is primarily for research commissioning rather than service delivery. Organizations seeking funding to deliver services should look elsewhere. This funder is specifically for those conducting research, evaluation, or evidence-building work in children's social care.

Decision Timeline

Spark Grant Scheme: Approximately 2-3 months from application deadline to decision (based on historical rounds)

Research commissions: Timelines vary by project scope and complexity; typically specified in individual funding calls

Success Rates

Spark Grant Scheme: Approximately 47% success rate (7 awards from 15 applications in one documented round)

Overall success rates for other programmes are not publicly disclosed but are expected to be competitive given the specialist nature of the funding and government accountability requirements.

Reapplication Policy

No specific restrictions on reapplication have been documented. Unsuccessful applicants may apply to future funding rounds, though specific guidance should be checked in individual funding calls.

Application Success Factors

Based on documented funded projects and organizational priorities:

For Spark Grant Scheme:

• Early career focus: Explicitly designed to support researchers who “might struggle to get funding through other routes”
• Diversity priority: Strong encouragement for applications from “researchers from underrepresented, minoritised groups”
• Innovation: Projects should be "new and innovative research in children's social care"
• Feasibility: Small-scale feasibility studies welcomed, including those that “pilot new programmes or interventions”
• Data analysis: Quantitative data analysis projects that “further our understanding of a specific issue” are funded

Examples of Funded Projects:

• Billie Lever Taylor (King's College London): Understanding support needs of families where mothers have perinatal mental health diagnoses
• Anna Moore (University of Cambridge): Early identification of mental health problems in children's social care
• Liming Li (King's College London): Assessing impact of Adoption Support Fund using longitudinal survey data
• Temitope Ademosu (London Borough of Hackney): Evaluation of Edge of Care services

For General Research Commissions:

• Evidence rigor: Foundations prioritizes “robust independent evaluations”
• Alignment with priorities: Projects must clearly address one of the four priority areas
• Practical application: Research must generate “actionable evidence” for practitioners
• Equity focus: “Promoting equality, diversity, inclusion, and equity” is a stated principle
• Prevention focus: “Preventative and early intervention approaches” are prioritized

What Makes Applications Stand Out:

• Clear connection between research questions and practice improvement
• Methodological rigor appropriate to the research question
• Researchers who bring lived experience or deep practice knowledge
• Multi-agency partnerships and collaborative approaches
• Potential for findings to be implemented and scaled

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• This is NOT a traditional grant-maker: Foundations funds research and evaluation, not service delivery. Do not apply if you're seeking operational funding for your charity or programme delivery costs.
• Academic/research focus: Most successful applicants are researchers, academics, or local authority research teams, not frontline charities.
• Spark Grant is the entry point: For early career researchers or those from underrepresented groups, the £25,000 Spark Grant (when active) is the most accessible opportunity.
• Monitor the website regularly: Funding calls are published on a rolling basis at foundations.org.uk/opportunities/funding/ - opportunities are time-limited.
• Evidence generation is key: All funded work must contribute to building the evidence base for what works in children's social care.
• Partnership approach: The Changemakers and similar programmes involve working closely with Foundations and their partners, not just receiving a grant.
• Former WWCSC projects: Resources and information from What Works for Children's Social Care (the predecessor organization) remain relevant; the legacy website whatworks-csc.org.uk contains valuable historical information.

References

• Foundations website: https://foundations.org.uk/
• Funding opportunities page: https://foundations.org.uk/opportunities/funding/
• Charity Commission Register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1188350
• What Works for Children's Social Care (legacy site): https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/
• "Round two of our Spark Grant Scheme: Building capacity in children's social care research": https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/blog/round-two-of-our-spark-grant-scheme-building-capacity-in-childrens-social-care-research/
• "Seven new research projects funded in children's social care": https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/blog/seven-new-research-projects-funded-in-childrens-social-care/
• “Foundations announces innovative Changemakers programme to transform parenting support”: https://foundations.org.uk/press-release/foundations-announces-changemakers-programme/
• Foundations About Us page: https://foundations.org.uk/about-us/