The challenges currently facing the justice system make critical examination of who the system serves, and how it operates, more important than ever.  

Lengthy case backlogs, declining infrastructure, and a shortage of key people and resources are combining to create significant difficulties. At the same time, courts and tribunals are undergoing wide-ranging reform to change how justice will be delivered. 

For those involved with the justice system, the decisions made there can have a major and lasting effect on their lives. But in practice the system can be inaccessible and complicated, and many people do not feel they are equal before the law – particularly those who are unable to get the specialist help and advice they need. 

Funding for justice research in 2023 

At Nuffield Foundation we believe that for a society to function well it must rest on the foundations of a fair and effective justice system. That system acts as a platform for the services and interactions that support everyday social and economic life. As such, it matters to us all, whether we have direct contact with it or not.  

Our core mission is to fund research that drives social change. We support impactful research that addresses both the critical challenges facing the justice system and the experiences and outcomes of those in contact with that system. The projects we fund have the potential to increase the accessibility, fairness, and effectiveness of justice by generating well-evidenced proposals for policy and practice improvement. 

It’s why we’ve committed over £10 million funding research in this area over the last five years. This year, we’re looking to increase our support in this area even further. With grants of up to £3m available (although most of our grants are typically around £200- £300,000) we are able fund projects of all sizes. 

In this year’s funding call, we particularly welcome ambitious proposals to examine the impacts of legal problems or justice system contact on people’s wider lives and wellbeing.  

Applying for a research grant 

While we have priorities and key themes, we are open to all research ideas that will produce evidence to improve the justice system and how it meets the needs of system users and the wider public.  

We take a broad view of justice and want to support research that looks at, before, and beyond the workings of courts and tribunals. This includes the nature of people’s legal problems, how they address them, including their journeys towards and through the justice system, and the outcomes from that contact.  

At Nuffield Foundation, we know the value that new and diverse views can bring. For that reason, we are always keen to hear from people, organisations, and disciplines who can bring a fresh perspective to bear on key issues in justice, as well as from those already expert in this field. We particularly encourage applications that take an interdisciplinary approach and that connect to our other core areas of Education and Welfare. 

Above all, we want to support research that can find a route to solutions and not just diagnose problems, and that can help refocus the justice system around the needs and experiences of those who rely on it. 

Submit a funding application 

The next application deadline for our funding is September 2023, with a subsequent deadline in mid-March 2024. You start your funding application here.

Our Guide for Applicants offers comprehensive details of what we accept, our priority topics, and how to apply. 

Larger applications (those over £750,000), which we only accept in the March funding round, will need to show a particularly strong strategic focus on issues that range across and beyond the justice system.