FAQs on the 2026 – 2029 Funding Scheme
General FAQs
The Funding scheme for open awards will be made available at 4pm on Monday 03 November 2025 and will be open for 4 weeks and closes on 28 November 2025 at 4pm. Any applications after this time will not be able to submit through the portal and will not be assessed.
All registered organisations can apply for funding under this scheme. If, however, you intend to remain funded under the GNT scheme this will be released as normal in April of next year.
All notifications will be issued by an email via the portal on 15 December 2025.
Yes. This will be either in the form of a funding debrief for those unsuccessful or a conditional offer meeting for those applicants who have been awarded the funding.
If you are successful in reaching this stage, you will be required for regional funding to provide an action plan for delivery, and a delivery plan for local funding, approval by the Education Authority. This will be supported through you Funding Support Officer and the template for the plan along with guidance will be provided at your conditional offer meeting.
It is important to note, that the action plans will only be approved by EA if it is in line with the delivery requirements as published in the funding award, in line with Youth Work Policy, Statutory Duty, Youth Work Curriculum and the Regional or Local Youth Development Plans 2026-2029, anything outside this scope will not be considered.
Support is available through your nominated Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation. This will be supplemented by a series of workshops offered by EA and led by the Funding Officers. Details of these workshops will be accessible through the www.eanifunding.org.uk website.
A total of over £11.8m funding has been provided for youth services across Northern Ireland. This is an increase of over 11.25% (£1.2m) from the previous funding year 2025 – 2026.
As noted on all funding awards, the Education Authority will have to evaluate what is a priority and what remains viable based on any change is historical budget positions. Organisations who are in receipt of a conditional or formal letter of offer will be engaged as part of this process to identify options and solutions.
If this is the case, the Education Authority will identify potential additional areas of funded work. This will initially focus on where we can partner on a sectoral basis to provide additional support to organisations or services to children and young people.
In addition, depending on the restricted nature of the funding, the Education Authority may consider additional areas of work that can be resourced through established partnerships. This would relate particularly to the actions plans that support the Regional Development Funded partnerships and the Regional Youth Voice Project.
Local Funding FAQs
A total of over £8.9m of funding has been provided for youth services across Northern Ireland through Local Area Awards.
Each council area has been allocated funding through Local Area Funding as per the below table. This is an increase of over £1.5m (over 21%) being made available to local youth providers based on all available funding as compared to levels awarded last year.
Council Area | 25/26 Awarded | 26/27 Allocated | % change in £ |
Antrim and Newtownabbey | £ 297,706.75 | £ 308,158.00 | 104% |
Ards & North Down | £ 154,993.00 | £ 179,179.00 | 116% |
Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon | £ 708,956.00 | £ 813,722.00 | 115% |
Belfast (City Wide) | £ 53,507.00 | £ 61,631.00 | 115% |
Belfast (N&E) | £ 1,046,691.24 | £ 1,259,968.00 | 120% |
Belfast (S&W) | £ 1,464,628.72 | £ 1,683,359.00 | 115% |
Causeway Coast and Glens | £ 214,108.40 | £ 487,338.00 | 228% |
Derry and Strabane | £ 1,415,875.80 | £ 1,651,388.00 | 117% |
Fermanagh and Omagh | £ 107,122.00 | £ 117,548.00 | 110% |
Lisburn & Castlereagh | £ 510,799.36 | £ 604,885.00 | 118% |
Mid and East Antrim | £ 319,161.56 | £ 393,732.00 | 123% |
Mid Ulster | £ 351,132.46 | £ 481,622.00 | 137% |
Newry, Mourne & Down | £ 709,544.52 | £ 875,355.00 | 123% |
Totals | £ 7,354,226.81 | £ 8,917,885.00 | 121% |
EA is committed to ensuring that the funding awards have been benchmarked appropriately. Following an extensive engagement process with youth service stakeholders, the benchmarking process has undergone a full review as part of the Youth Service Funding Programme Board and has been updated and implemented with the current industry standards which includes current JNC pay awards.
Due to the levels of funding prioritised through Local Area funding to support the universal service required for children and young people across Northern Ireland, EA is not in the position, under the current budget arrangements to offer Local Project Funding at this time. This is open to review should the budgetary position offered by the Department for Education change.
EA is committed to ensuring that it supports SEND young people to access an appropriate youth service. To support this, a task and finish group has been established between Education Authority and voluntary sector SEND providers to review current SEND provision and implement a plan for moving forward.
EA hopes to have this work completed for new awards to be issued next year in line with the task and finish groups recommendations.
The public health model approach to youth service provision is offered across three tiers of support:
- Universal Provision
- Early Intervention and Prevention
- Enhanced Services
Universal youth provision is the delivery of quality youth services through an open access approach, open to all and delivered based on children and young people’s needs.
The provision of universal services will be prioritised in the first instance and where resources can be enhanced through collaboration, partnerships or additional funding acquisition further provision can be delivered at the Early Intervention/Prevention and Enhanced Support levels based on the needs of children and young people.
Effective universal work will deliver youth work outcomes to children and young people that mitigate the need for specific or dedicated early intervention or prevention work. More information is available in your relevant Youth Development Plan.
Yes. A full review of statutory services has been complete in line with the 2026 Regional and Local Assessments of Need and Regional and Local Youth Development Plans and will be implemented from April 2026 in line with the implementation of Voluntary Sector youth provision funding awards.
Regional Funding FAQs
The Education Authority is releasing all funding at risk subject to being in receipt of a budget for 2026-2027. Therefore, the funding awards released are an acceptable risk at this stage based on previous years budgets.
As part of the Youth Service Funding Programme Board work, engagement with the sector and review of the delivery of Regional Strategic Funding through a business case five step model, it has been identified that different local settings require bespoke levels and services of support. For that reason, Regional Strategic Funding is provided with this focus on uniformed/federated bodies, Irish Medium and Community based.
Through engagement with the sector, church based, as a sectoral area, or via religious denominations have identified they are not at the same stage of delivery as those that support the Irish Medium, Uniformed/Federated bodies or community-based providers.
Therefore, to support the development in this sectoral area the Education Authority is providing Regional Development Funding to develop this work, with a view to establishing Regional Strategic Funded support in the future.
A Federated or Headquarter structure is where the areas of Governance, Curriculum (Development and Delivery), Policies and Procedures, Liability and Safeguarding are developed and managed centrally for local organisation/unit delivery.
Operationally this means local youth organisations/units operate under the single headquarter body that provides governance, policies, procedures, liability, curriculum and safeguarding centrally, and local autonomy is limited to the day-to-day operations.
As noted, a Federated or Headquarter structure like uniformed organisations is where the areas of Governance, Curriculum (Development and Delivery), Policies and Procedures, Liability and Safeguarding are developed and managed centrally for local organisation/unit delivery, and local autonomy is limited to the day-to-day operations.
For that reason, support to these local voluntary youth organisations can only be provided through their headquarter body and no one else including the Education Authority directly can provide it. This is why there is no limit, and eligibility for funding is based on being Federated or a Headquarter body.
Based on the support needs for the sector however we require only one organisation to support Local Community Based Voluntary Youth Organisations and one to support Local Voluntary Irish Medium Youth Organisations who all have diverse independent governance arrangements (separate from their regional support organisation) locally.
Regional Strategic Funding is not the only funding available to support local voluntary youth organisations, in addition to Regional Strategic Funding curriculum and workforce development will be provided in partnership through Regional Development Funding.
Regional Strategic Funding, as outlined in the scheme, is to provide support to local voluntary youth organisations within the seven areas noted, and consulted on, as part of the scheme. Therefore, the focus of delivery has been placed on these seven areas and the assessment of potential organisations to deliver on them.
Engagement with Uniformed/Federated bodies and Irish Medium sectors has identified that they hold all the relevant information needed to endorse the registration of local voluntary youth organisations with EA. However, community-based organisations use a variety of regional bodies for their support, therefore the same could not be applied to this sectoral area.
To reduce administrative bureaucracy and recognise the full level of support provided by Regional Strategic Funding, this process will recognise all local voluntary youth organisations supported by Uniformed/Federated bodies and Irish Medium. Members of these sectoral areas will no longer be required to registered directly with EA or be subject to verification processes that can delay funding through Generic/Non-Targeted as they will be endorsed by their Regionally Strategic Funded body.
All other organisation types will continue to register directly with EA and be subject to EA verification process, and for the successful organisation delivering on community-based support, the Education Authority will provide the full scope of organisations this award will support.
As identified and committed to in the Regional Youth Development Plan 2026-2029 and Regional Action Plan 2026-2027 the approach to practice and workforce development will be on a sectoral basis. In addition, it has been recognised that facilitating greater partnership in delivery will lead to improved outcomes for children and young people.
Therefore, this funding opportunity is to identify a like for like approach between the statutory and voluntary sectors, with a focus on working together to develop joint practice and workforce development plans for the sector, and to oversee and develop partnership and collaboration at all levels in youth work.
In the interests of effective partnership and collaboration, this funding opportunity is to identify a partner/partnership for delivery, with much of the partnership agreement and action plan for delivery being co-agreed with the successful organisation(s) post award, and a commitment subject to budget to provide funding to facilitate the agreed programme of work.
As identified and committed to in the Regional Youth Development Plan 2026-2029 and Regional Action Plan 2026-2027 the overarching goal of delivering services based on need and through partnership. Actions to achieve this goal include pilot delivery of partnership delivery regionally and locally.
Therefore, this funding opportunity is to identify a like for like approach between the statutory and voluntary sectors, with a focus on partnership and collaboration of delivery local and sub-regional youth services that meet the needs of children and young people.
In the interests of effective partnership and collaboration, this funding opportunity is to identify a partner/partnership for delivery, with much of the partnership agreement action plan and pilot areas for delivery being co-agreed with the successful organisation(s) post award, and a commitment subject to budget to provide funding to facilitate the agreed programme of work.
Whilst every section 75 group remains important a review of government statistics has noted increasing numbers in Newcomer/Asylum seeking and LGBTQI+ children and young people in Northern Ireland. In addition, whilst deaf young people are within the category of SEND, their needs cannot be met through existing provision and require bespoke support with staff with specific skills.
Wider SEND provision locally is being maintained through local funding, however a task and finish group on Youth Work and SEND will be taken forward to identify support approaches regionally and locally in the next planning year. This will inform future planning and funding investment in this area.
As identified and committed to in the Regional Youth Development Plan 2026-2029 and Regional Action Plan 2026-2027 the overarching goal of delivering services based on need and through partnership and the strategic theme of children and young person centred. In addition, the Youth Service has two linked policy imperatives which include delivery of a Network for Youth and the Small Grants Scheme.
Therefore, this funding opportunity is to identify a like for like approach between the statutory and voluntary sectors, recruiting young people from across the sector to develop and deliver a Regional Youth Voice Project, that provides support to build the capacity of the participants and facilitates their role in influencing decisions that impact them related to youth work and education. In addition, this group will design, deliver and assess the small grants scheme on an annual basis.
In the interests of effective partnership and collaboration, this funding opportunity is to identify a partner/partnership for delivery, with much of the partnership agreement action plan and pilot areas for delivery being co-agreed with the successful organisation(s) post award, and a commitment subject to budget to provide funding to facilitate the agreed programme of work.
Registration FAQs
Registration process will be as follows; Youth organisations and youth groups complete the Expression of Interest online form. We operate a digital first approach and the funding portal is all online however you may request a paper copy for submission if necessary. EA Youth Services will review Governance arrangements, Child Protection Policies and where applicable Adults at Risk from Harm policies.
An EA officer will get in contact to arrange and carry out a visit to your youth organisation or youth group to verify your youth work delivery model. Following approval, you will be considered for funding.
There is no minimum number of young people.
It is the decision of the youth group as to how they wish to register with EA. Youth groups may also wish to seek guidance from their Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation.
If an organisation is registering as separate sections, a separate email and funding portal account will be required for the funding portal. Each section will need a separate bank account in the name of the registered organisation.
The minimum requirement is three office bearers with individual email addresses. Duplicate office bearers are not allowed.
For Regional Project and Regional Development there is no requirement for applicants to be registered with EA. To apply for these funding streams the organisation does need to have an active funding portal account.
For Regional Strategic, Local Area Based, Local Project and Generic/Non-targeted Funding applicants must be EA registered. The benefits of EA registration are as follows;
- enables you to apply for EA Funding
- provides authenticity and gives public assurances in relation to your governance, compliance and workforce development
- ensures that quality youth work is delivered
- ensures youth groups receive quality support
- ensures that safeguarding standards are met in relation to DE requirements
- ensures there are checks against financial accountability.
For public accountability purposes Regional Voluntary Youth Organisations within Regional Strategic Funding will be funded to work with EA registered youth groups only. The benefits of this are;
- appropriate and bone fide support services will be accessible to EA registered youth groups for the delivery of local youth work
- local EA registered youth groups will have appropriate support from, and affiliation to a bone fide and recognised Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation
- these Regional Voluntary Youth Organisations will have measures in place to provide the necessary governance, safeguarding and other processes and procedures required by local EA registered youth groups.
No. Local voluntary youth groups can register without a Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation.
Yes. you must nominate only one as your primary Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation for strategic regional support.
EA will carry out a sampling exercise of visits to youth groups in relation to numbers provided on the annual registration forms.
Principles FAQs
EA will adhere to the funding scheme key principles as identified for the scheme. These include an open and transparent funding scheme, equality and inclusion and flexibility in responding to emerging needs. In addition the scheme is open to new groups who did not have the opportunity to apply before therefore promoting equality and parity.
The funding scheme has been developed to continue to support universal youth work. This is very specific to Generic/Non-targeted Funding but is also applicable in funding Local Area Based Funding.
The funding scheme gives due regard to the Code of Practice for Reducing Bureaucracy in Grant Funding and will also make up front payments at the outset or after key reporting has been completed. In addition there have been proportionate monitoring and reporting processes established to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.
Local Area Based, Local Project and Generic/Non-targeted Funding will enable youth organisations and youth groups to apply for funding to support the building of links between youth and local communities.
Benchmarking will be utilised to determine levels of funding for example at the point of application salaries will be benchmarked against the most up to date agreed JNC and NJC salary scales.
EA will implement a process where appropriate, for funding direct costs such as project salaries and indirect or shared costs such as overheads, based on the apportionment of the service used for the programme.
More information on full cost recovery can be found here.
EA will use the Regional and Local Assessments of Need to establish funding opportunities for the delivery of youth work to address the identified needs. Levels of funding will therefore be based on the needs identified and services required as per funding opportunities.
Funding Opportunities apply to Regional Project, Regional Development, Local Area Based and Local Project Funding
Youth organisations and youth groups making applications and delivering youth work will be expected to underpin their work and their plans with CRED and CRED Addendum specifically for Regional Strategic, Regional Project, Local Area Based and Local Project Funding.
This should be evident in a youth organisation’s or youth group’s application and development plan.
Assessment of Need FAQs
There will be the publication of the EA Regional and Local Assessments of Need on a three year cycle which will include a prioritisation of need. In addition there will be continued stakeholder engagement. The Regional Advisory Group and Local Advisory Groups will continue to advise on needs and emerging needs.
The Youth Service has published the Regional Assessment of Need Report 2026 in March 2025 and an eight week public consultation is ongoing. The report and feedback will inform the development and delivery of the Regional Youth Development Plan 2026-2029. Local EA officers are also currently engaged with a range of stakeholders to complete their local assessment of need and local youth development plans.
All youth organisations, youth groups and young people will have the opportunity to participate in future assessments of need and ongoing stakeholder engagement events.
Stakeholder events will be published in the news section of this site and youth social media channels.
The Regional and Local Assessments of Need will identify where and if this is required. Programmes to support children and young people under paramilitary/criminal influence will include the delivery of ENGAGE, CONNECT, SYTE/YVA and the Spark Engagement Programme.
*Subject to annual funding availability DOJ/TPP
For local funding opportunities the application process requires applicants to have provide a proven track record within the geographic area of the funding opportunity and to identify their engagement with local stakeholders.
For regional funding opportunities the application process requires applicants to have experience and evidence provided in effectively working with organisations to support the area of work and target audience related to the specific funding opportunity.
Policies FAQs
These include;
- Health and Safety
- Insurance
- Child Protection
- Adults at Risk from Harm and Adults in Need of Protection where applicable
- Governance
EA will use the policies noted by you to assess your governance arrangements. The baseline for this would refer to the compliance required for the Charities Commission.
A youth organisations (or youth groups) Child Protection Policy should include the following areas;
- Definition of abuse and signs and symptoms
- Safe recruitment
- Role of Safeguarding lead
- Reporting processes
- How parents can make a complaint
- Code of conduct
- Preventative practice
- Guidance of procedures for specific areas of youth work for example residential, educational visits, external/outside activities
- Evidence of Policy being reviewed at least on a 3-year cycle
All youth organisations and youth groups must work to a constitution and Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy formally adopted and implemented by their Management Committee/Board of Directors or Executive Committee. This can be the adoption of your Headquarter or regional body constitution and policies.
Partnership FAQs
Yes. Working in partnership will add value to your application.
No. EA encourages collaboration with statutory sector providers based on the assessment of need.
The scheme welcomes enhanced collaborative approaches and the effective deployment of resources between youth organisations and youth groups. This includes new and established partnership applications.
Partnership working is a key principle of the funding scheme but is not the sole focus for receiving funding. However collaboration and partnership working evidenced in applications will add value to an application.
EA will take account of partnerships that operate across government departments and will ask applicants to provide the name of the partner organisation/group and the money they receive which is related to the application to EA.
Funding Streams FAQs
No. The hours of opening refer only to the number of hours for face to face delivery of youth work with young people.
The allocation for Generic Non-Targeted Funding is calculated using the number of hours of programme delivery and the numbers of young people in attendance. The number of applications for funding received will also have a bearing on final allocations
EA will use the Outcomes Framework for the delivery of outreach/detached youth work in addition to the EA Outreach and Detached Engagement Framework. Outcomes will be recorded using the EA Outcomes Accountability Framework.
The funding scheme is for the support of Regional and Voluntary Youth Organisations whose premise is built on voluntary youth work and volunteers so all streams will continue to promote and develop the work of volunteers.
Funding FAQs
All registered organisations can apply for funding under this scheme. If, however, you intend to remain funded under the GNT scheme this will be released as normal in April of next year.
Youth organisations and youth groups will be required to operate within the limits of the funding provided for the defined period of the funding. Each funding opportunity outlines the maximum funding award for each year where relevant.
The funding will be allocated as per Priorities for Youth policy using population, priority age bands, deprivation and rurality.
Up-front payments will depend on the amount of funding a youth organisation or youth group receives and is proportionate to the reporting and moderation processes.
For example;
- up to 30k will be paid in first month of award
- up to 60k two payments annually
- up to 80k three payments annually
- Over 80k four payments annually.
- What submissions are required for income and expenditure details in relation to receipts?
For up to £5,000 EA does not required receipts to be submitted.
For amounts of over £5,000 receipts will be required.
For up to £3,000 EA does not required receipts to be submitted.
For amounts of over £3,000 receipts will be required.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and success criteria of ongoing progression will facilitate the payment of Years 2 and 3 of the three year cycle of funding.
The EA has provided a funding scheme as required by Priorities for Youth which has moved from the old ARNE formula, which was based solely on population.
The funding will be allocated using population, priority age bands, deprivation and rurality.
The funding scheme will support youth work that is delivered in line with DE Policy Priorities for Youth Improving the Lives of Young People and in line with Youth Work A Model for Effective Practice.
Curriculum programmes which adhere to these and have a specific focus or specialism may be funded where they meet the funding stream criteria and particularly in Regional Project and Local Project.
Yes. EA would encourage you to use the Eligibility Criteria to find out what you can apply for. EA anticipates that Youth organisations and youth groups will be eligible to apply for a number of funding streams.
Application FAQs
A call for applications for Generic Non-Targeted, Local Area, Local Project, Regional Development, Regional Strategic & Regional Project funding will be made with a launch date and deadline for submission date indicated on the funding website and funding portal. An assessment process will be completed, and successful groups invited to conditional offer meeting. Future funding opportunities will be released based on the ongoing assessment of need of children and young people through continued stakeholder engagement, research, and the availability of funding resources for the youth work sector in Northern Ireland.
Your proven track record can refer to work with children and young people within the designated area or area of work outlined in the funding opportunities, work with EA registered or non-EA registered youth work organisations and should cover at least 3 years.
Examples of evidence for proven track record could include ETI inspections, EA moderations, evaluations submitted to and also those provided by previous funders e.g. Big Lottery, Children In Need, Department of Communities.
Yes. All deadlines within the scheme will be ultimate/final deadlines.
An assessment process and scoring matrix have been devised which relate to the questions on the application forms and respective funding opportunities where applicable.
The assessment process will be a 3-stage process facilitated by EA professional youth work staff alongside an independent panel therefore ensuring transparency in the decision-making process.
Your organisation will set up its own account (one account per registration and email address) on the EA Youth Funding Portal. This is a secured account for all your current and future funding applications.
The primary step of signature verification is this login.
In addition to this you will be required to tick the agreement box to confirm you read the declaration at the end of registration and on any funding application you make.
Funding Opportunities FAQs
Funding Opportunities will be based on needs arising from the Regional and Local Assessments of Need and will include the identified issues to be addressed and the impact to be achieved.
Funding Opportunities are published as and when the call for applications opens. They will be listed on the website under each of the funding stream sections here.
Reporting FAQs
No. The Engagement Framework is for reporting purposes to the Department of Education (DE) on the engagement levels of young people.
Yes. The Engagement Framework is an indication of how effective your youth services are and is used for reporting purposes to the DE.
Youth organisations and youth groups will submit the required documentation i.e. annual reports, Engagement Framework etc by notified closing date relating to their funding award.
Returns not made will make the organisation ineligible to receive further EA funding.
Right of Appeal FAQs
Yes. The EA has established a process for groups to appeal a decision if a group thinks that the EA did not follow the procedures for assessing applications.
Appeals will relate to a legitimate claim that the EA has not followed our decision making process correctly.
Detailed information on the Right to Appeal can be accessed here.
Online Registration FAQs
Each registration requires a unique online account using a different email address.
The system only permits one registration per email/user account.
Verification emails are automatically sent to the email address used to register.
If you have not received a verification email it maybe for one of the following reasons:
- Your email address was entered incorrectly at registration – Log on to the portal and select your name at the top right of the screen, then select my account to correct your email address
- The verification email has been considered “Junk Mail” by your email provider. Check your “Junk Mail” for the message and add the sending to your approved list to ensure you don’t miss any future emails
You can also resend a verification email again by clicking the link on your dashboard once logged into the system. This message will only appear for accounts that have not verified their email address yet.
If you continue to experience issues please contact the dedicated support mailbox at youthfunding@eani.org.uk
Child Protection Policy documents must be a single file (i.e. not a collection of images or files).
The system will only accept submissions in the following formats
- Portable Document File (.pdf)
- Word Document Files (.doc, .docx)
You must select YES first to the question: “Do you work with 18-25 years olds?”
When you select yes, the upload link will appear.
Please note that the system will not accept the file if it is named the same as your Child Protection Policy. Please ensure this file has a different title.
If you need to update any of your registration details you need to do so in writing to youthfunding@eani.org.uk
In some cases depending on your email account provider, emails from the Registration and Application Portal may be considered “Junk Mail” or “Spam”. In most cases with the majority of emails these will be in your Junk Mail/Spam folder within your email account.
If messages from the system are in this folder you should add them to your safe or approved senders list to ensure you to receive important future notifications regarding funding and registration from EA.
In some cases the message may not be in your Junk Mail/Spam folder. We have identified this is currently an issue with BT email addresses (ending in @btinternet.com or @btopenworld.com). You should add the following email addresses under you Email providers settings:
- noreply@smapply.io
- noreply@mail.smapply.io
We have provided a step by step guide for BT email users here
