We’re pleased to announce £379K in Programme Awards for seven ambitious projects with the potential to create lasting change in poverty and trauma in Scotland.
This latest round includes a diverse mix of initiatives, including awards from our Briefing and Analysis open call earlier this year. These awards seek to inform policy and public debate related to the financial well-being of people living on low-to-middle incomes in the run-up to the Scottish Parliamentary Elections of 2026.
Our Programme Awards are designed to back work that is bold, innovative, and built to last - supporting projects with the potential to make a significant and sustained impact on the root causes of poverty and trauma in Scotland. This could include:
- Development and feasibility awards – work to develop good ideas with strong potential for change at scale, including work to build partnerships and participation to design and deliver good ideas.
- Test and demonstration awards – work to test and demonstrate new approaches to services and work that can reduce poverty and trauma in Scotland.
- Research focused on change - we are not a research funder but we will fund research where it can clearly and demonstrably connect to action to deliver change.
- Advocacy, policy, campaigning and influencing projects – to change policy, practice, attitudes and behaviours.
Unlike our rolling responsive funds, which run all-year round, we host time-limited open calls for our Programme Awards which will publicly invite applications around a particular focus. Meanwhile, through our discovery and relationship building work across the Trust, we also have the ability to co-develop potential projects with a strong likelihood of achieving big change that lasts.
A full list of our latest awards can be viewed below:
- University of Glasgow
Work Pathways (Research)
£130,5929
What is the potential change this work could lead to? Rooted in co-production with disabled people and in partnership with disability organisations, the research team at the University of Glasgow will use applied academic and policy knowledge to recognise the disability employment gap (DEG) in Scotland. Project findings will inform future policy and practice priorities to tackle systems level challenges and equip employability providers and employers with practical strategies to support disabled people. The project aims to contribute insights, learning and actionable recommendations to recognise and address the disability employment gap. - Citizens Advice Scotland
Briefing and Analysis Fund (Campaign; Influence)
£29,669
What is the potential change this work could lead to? Using CAS' unique insight and expertise to produce an election webinar mini-series, grounding and shaping manifesto pledges based on the lived experience of people across Scotland, particularly those in poverty. - IPPR Scotland
Briefing and Analysis Fund (Campaign; Influence)
£39,726
What is the potential change this work could lead to? This project will consider trends in public sector employment, wages and productivity to inform recommendations on how a progressive reform agenda can be pursued most effectively, thereby helping to meet fiscal challenges and sustain excellent public services into the future. - Future Economy Scotland
Briefing and Analysis Fund (Campaign; Influence)
£41,335
What is the potential change this work could lead to? This project will provide robust scrutiny and analysis of election pledges related to delivering for a just transition to net zero, with a particular focus on the distributional impacts for those living on low incomes and in poverty. It will advocate for bold yet credible policies to pay for a just transition in a way that is fiscally sustainable, with a focus on green taxation and other redistributive measures. - Institute for Fiscal Studies
Briefing and Analysis Fund (Campaign; Influence)
£40,000
What is the potential change this work could lead to? A programme of impartial, rigorous analysis and engagement on living standards, taxes, benefits and public services crucial for households on low and middle incomes in Scotland, and of the parties’ proposals on these vital issues in the 2026 devolved elections. - Social Market Foundation
Briefing and Analysis Fund (Campaign; Influence)
£48,669
What is the potential change this work could lead to? This project will quantify the public sector costs of Scotland’s drugs crisis – an exercise that has not been carried out since 2009 – and co-produce a policy roadmap to help combat the crisis and guide reform over the next parliament. - Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland
Briefing and Analysis Fund (Campaign; Influence)
£49,637
What is the potential change this work could lead to? This project aims to encourage a more informed discussion about the political feasibility of wealth redistribution, in order to tackle poverty in Scotland. It will provide evidence on levels of public support for such redistribution and relevant policies ahead of the Scottish election.