Policing Priority Grants Call 2025/26

Applications are open for 12 month collaborative research projects.

Key Dates

Call Open 1 October 2025

Deadline for Applications 2 January 2026

Funding Decision w/b 26 Jan 2026

Introduction

The Policing Priority Grants are research awards providing pump-priming funds for collaborative, targeted research into high-priority areas, new challenges, and pressing concerns in policing. 

Proposals are invited for research projects which address EITHER prompted by one of the N8 PRP Police Research Priorities for 2025/26 OR on a different topic identified by the researcher. 

This is a seedcorn fund intended to enable N8 researchers to develop ideas, preliminary evidence and collaborative relationships with police stakeholders, so they can bid for external funding awards. The grants are also intended to be of mutual benefit to police stakeholders, especially those in the N8 PRP, in terms of potential changes to policy, practice and its impact on wider society.

Projects must be led by an academic at one of the N8 universities and must be in collaboration with N8 PRP police partners.

This page covers:

• 2025/26 Call Guidance – a summary of the key information for the Call
• 2025/26 N8 PRP Policing Research Priorities Statement
• Documentation – application form, letter of support template, full guidance as pdf including application form guidance.

2025/2026 Call Guidance

The following summarises key points from the Call Guidance. For more information, including the deliverables and selection criteria,  please see the Call Guidance document linked below.

Funding Available

The total value of the fund for applications in 2025-26 is £150,000. It is expected this will fund 4 projects.

Funding will be awarded at 100% of eligible costs. The grant-holding institution must retain control of the budget and will be responsible for submitting a final expenditure report to N8 PRP.

Eligible costs are:

• Academic staff costs at N8 universities only.
• Directly Incurred costs.

Award Duration

Projects will start Feb-July 2026 for 12 months. Up to 6 months is allocated for setting up the project set up, including time to finalise any Collaboration Agreements, Data Processing Contracts etc. which may be necessary.

Award Requirements

Research Team and Partners Projects must have a principal investigator and/or a co-investigator who both hold an academic post at an N8 university, and must be in collaboration with two N8 PRP police partners. Proposals are welcome to include co-Investigators and research partners from non-N8 PRP organisations. 

Police Priority Grants will not fund projects that are a continuation of, or very similar to, previous N8 PRP awards. Applicants are asked to review previous N8 PRP projects before developing their proposal to ensure this criteria is met.

In this final year of the PPG scheme, whilst we welcome all applications in accordance with the eligibility criteria, we will prioritise researchers who have not previously received N8 PRP funding.

Developing a proposal

Applicants should discuss and develop possible research projects with N8 PRP police partners and their agreement to support the project should be agreed in advance of submission. 

Applications are particularly invited on topics related to the N8 PRP Police Research Priorities for 2025/26 (see below). There is no requirement for applications to cover all the suggested questions raised under each priority.

Applicants are also invited to submit proposals that are not covered by the Priorities. This is to encourage innovation and open dialogue between policing and academia. 

If you do not have a police partner to work with, you may contact the N8 PRP Academic Lead at your university, one of the Police SPOCs, or the N8 PRP project manager, Helen Gordon-Smith. 

Please read the Guidance in full before developing an application. 

How to Apply

Applications should be sent to Helen Gordon-Smith by the deadline, using the form below.  Further guidance on completing the application form is included in the Call Guidance document below.

N8 PRP Policing Research Priorities Statement

From October 2024-September 2025, N8 Policing Research Partnership (N8 PRP) activity will be informed by an annual Statement of Research Priorities for N8 PRP activity identified by the N8 PRP Policing Partners. Co-ordinated communication from police partners on their priorities for N8 PRP-supported activity will enable more effective use of existing and ongoing research, and prompt innovative, socially significant research that would not otherwise have been generated or prioritised.

Applicants should discuss and develop possible research projects with N8 PRP police partners using the priorities as guidance. There is no requirement for applications to cover all the questions raised under a priority.

To find a police partner, you can contact the N8 PRP Academic Lead at your university, one of the Police SPOCs, or the N8 PRP project manager, Helen Gordon-Smith.

2025/26 Policing Research Priorities

1. Investigations and Outcomes

In 2025, HMICFRS published ‘An inspection into how effectively the police investigate crime‘, with 11 recommendations to help forces improve the standard of their crime investigations and achieve better outcomes for victims. In the 2023-25 PEEL Assessments, ‘Investigating crime’ emerged as a key area for improvement. Proposals are sought in response to this call for improvement.

•  What does a ‘good’ investigation look like and a ‘good’ outcome for victims and the wider community?
• What are the benefits of having omni-competent vs. specialist investigator roles? Do omni-competent or specialist teams improve investigation outcomes? What is the right balance and what is the impact on workforce development and skills?
• What makes for a ‘good’ investigator? How should response officers understand their investigative role? What are the relative roles and advantages of police vs. civilian investigators vs. direct entry investigators? 
• What makes for ‘good’ interview practice with suspects, victims and witnesses?

2. VAWG and Domestic abuse: Demand and Victimisation

Violence Against Women and Girls has been called a ‘national emergency‘ by the NPCC and College of Policing, accounting for 20% of all recorded crime 2022/2023, while 1 in 6 murders related to domestic abuse, and incident reports are increasing in number and complexity. In 2025, the government has announced a new strategy to halve VAWG in 10 years (publication due autumn 2025). This is a vast and complex topic with significant existing literature; proposals are sought focusing on specific types of crime within VAWG and Domestic Abuse that examine the following:

• Demand: Understanding the rise in recorded domestic abuse and VAWG incidents – is this a product of increased crime or changes in reporting behaviour? Over what time period has this increase occurred? Is this a sustained increase pre- during and post the COVID pandemic? 
• Case continuation: How does the reporting and investigation process impact victims? What is the relevance of initial contact with the police and the recording of these interactions? What are the reasons for victims continuing or not with the criminal justice process and, in particular, for Outcome 16 i.e. cases when a suspect has been identified but the victim does not support further police action. 
• Victim satisfaction: To what extent are victims satisfied with their experiences of the police and the outcome of their case?

3. Workforce: How can police officer workloads be managed effectively?

There has long been a challenge in understanding the nature of police workloads and how to ensure they are manageable, from the number of crimes to incidents attended, suspects arrested, detained and investigated. Proposals are sought that focus on specific areas of police business (e.g. response, neighbourhood policing, custody, investigation) that investigate the following:

• How can policing understand better the links between workload, officer wellbeing, retention and effectiveness, efficiency and supervision? 
  • Understanding the impact of higher proportions of early-in-service officers in the workforce
• Understanding police officer workloads
  • How can policing better use data to improve understanding and practice?
  • Do officers think current data accurately captures their workload?

4. Neighbourhood Policing: Understanding neighbourhood and hotspot policing

The UK Government has launched a National Neighbourhood Policing Programme, including a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and in January announcing £200 million funding for neighbourhood policing. These developments raise questions for the relevance and role of Hotspot Policing. In 2023, a Home Office Evaluation found that Hotspot Policing required commitment to building the right analytical and technological capability to implement successfully. Within this context, proposals are sought to investigate how neighbourhood policing is understood and examine the role of Hotspot Policing in the future of neighbourhood policing.

• How relevant and is the practice of Hot Spot Policing today?
• How can analytics and data improve the practice of hot spot policing and be applied to increase public confidence and reduce crime?
• How can hotspot policing be translated into practice in the UK context and in specific police force areas, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations in the 2023 Home Office evaluation and the neighbourhood policing uplift programme?
• How have definitions and applications of neighbourhood policing shifted since 2005 and its role and value relative to other policing functions?

5. Policing and Health

The police and healthcare providers have long worked in partnership with each other, given the vulnerable nature of those they encounter in their everyday interactions. Proposals are sought on the following topics:

• Healthcare in police custody, including Health Care Professionals and Liaison & Diversion teams
• Police responses to mental health, including ‘Right Care, Right Person’
• Drugs policing, drug diversion and harm reduction
• Suicide prevention and policing
• Violence reduction units
• Policing and public health
• Officer wellbeing
• Inter-agency relationships between the police and health professionals

6. Open Category

The N8 PRP Police Priorities are intended to support policing research, and are not considered in any way exhaustive. Proposals that meet the Police Priority Grant criteria are welcome on topics beyond the 5 priorities listed above.

Documentation