Pathways to Work Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund is part of Pathways to Work, the government’s £3.5 billion investment to support disabled people and people with health conditions to move into, stay in and progress in work.
Provided by:
Department for Work & Pensions
Funder website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions
Objective of fund:
The Pathways to Work (PtW) Innovation Fund has 2 objectives:
to support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions move towards, enter, stay and progress in work
to build evidence about what works and for whom, so that successful approaches can be adopted more widely
Grant funding will be provided to test new and innovative ideas that support these aims.
Ideas that are tested should generate learning and evidence that can improve future services and have the potential to be adopted, replicated or scaled.
Through this, the PtW Innovation Fund will support the wider ambitions of Pathways to Work by building evidence of what works to reduce the disability employment gap, improve employment opportunities for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, and create a more joined-up system of employment, health and skills support.
Who can apply
The PtW Innovation Fund is now open to applications from the public, private and voluntary sectors across the UK.
Applicants need to meet the bidding criteria. The organisation must be based in the UK to be eligible to apply to the Fund.
We’re not looking to fund initiatives that are currently being delivered, unless they will be demonstrating a different approach or expecting different outcomes.
We are exploring how the PtW Innovation Fund can gather ideas from individuals and connect them with suitable organisations who can test the idea.
The Fund is open to organisations across the United Kingdom.
Applications are welcomed from:
Charities and voluntary organisations
Social enterprises and Community Interest Companies (CICs)
Private sector organisations and businesses
Academic and research organisations
Public sector organisations, including local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities
Partnerships and consortia (Please see Section 2.3 for more information on how to find potential partners)
Individuals (as part of a partnership only)
If you apply as part of a partnership, one organisation must act as the lead applicant. The lead applicant will be responsible for submitting the application and managing any funding awarded.
To Apply
Deadline: 26th October 2026