Funding

This website provides information on funding measures which support the objectives of the What Works initiative in promoting evidence informed approaches to prevention and early intervention services for children, young people and their families.

In November 2025, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley T.D., announced €329,625 in Dormant Accounts funding for 13 community and voluntary organisations across Ireland. The funding, allocated under the 2025 What Works Enhancing Quality Fund, will support organisations to strengthen prevention and early intervention services for children, young people and families.

The investment supports initiatives in areas such as mental health, parenting support, bereavement services, social inclusion, domestic violence prevention, early childhood development and trauma-informed practice. The 13 successful projects were selected from 119 eligible applications following an independent assessment process.

The 2025 Enhancing Quality Fund aimed to promote continuous improvement and innovation using a process of problem-solving in prevention and early intervention services for children and young people. The awardees will support the What Works initiative to build on the development of implementation structures and learning harnessed from over a decade of investment in prevention and early intervention in order to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

More information on the successful applicants and their projects can be found here.

The Building Evidence Fund was launched in 2023, and was open to practitioners and service providers working in not-for-profit organisations who work with children, young people and their families. Not-for-profit organisations were invited to submit applications for funding of up to €50,000 for prevention and early intervention projects that would identify gaps in service provision and develop skills for effective monitoring, evaluation and analysis of prevention and early intervention services. The total value of the fund was €635,287.

The Fund further aimed to help those working with children, young people and families to access training on collecting, research and analysis that improves outcomes for children and young people.

For further information about grantees and their projects, please visit here.

The Sharing Knowledge fund was launched in 2022 with Dormant Accounts Funds. €409,000 was awarded across 25 organisations.

The aim of the Fund was to support professionals working in children, youth, and family services with their learning requirements, peer interaction, project collaborations and knowledge dissemination.

The grantee organisations addressed a range of service needs, including family support, early learning and childcare, education, mental health, parenting support, domestic, sexual and gender based violence services, equality, inclusion and human rights and supporting those with a disability.

For further information about grantees and their projects, please visit here.

Other previous What Works funds include the 2021 Digital Solutions Fund, created in partnership with Rethink Ireland and valued at a total of €600,000, and the 2021 Learning Together Fund, worth €320,000.