Education Minister Paul Givan launches funding applications for research-informed conferences

Date published: 28 April 2025

Schools and school clusters across Northern Ireland are invited to apply for grants of up to £5,000 to organise conferences that promote evidence-based teaching and learning.  

Launching the new initiative, Paul Givan said: 

“Teachers are at the heart of transforming education and this funding is aimed at helping to engage and empower teachers and school leaders in sharing and applying research to benefit our pupils.

“I am pleased to announce that the scheme is now open for applications and I would encourage those who believe that they can lead the way in making best practice, common practice across Northern Ireland, to apply for financial support.”

The Making Best Practice, Common Practice Programme is part of the Department’s TransformED strategy and aims to empower educators by connecting them with cutting-edge research to enhance classroom practice.

Conferences funded under this scheme will focus on pedagogy, curriculum development and improving pupil outcomes fostering collaboration among teachers, researchers and school leaders.   

The Education Minister continued: 

“Over recent months, I have visited many schools and talked with school leaders and teachers. It is clear that that our teachers want access to practical educational research that is relevant to their teaching practice and this is an important element of teacher professional learning.

“For an education system to be excellent, it must prioritise investment in supporting teachers to continuously improve the quality of classroom practice. We can only do this by investing increased resources over the next number of years to support an effective and coherent approach to professional development.

“I would encourage schools to use the scheme to the benefit of other teachers and pupils across Northern Ireland, to share best practice.”