Invitation to tender: mapping the UK's disability justice funding landscape

Trust for London is seeking a researcher or research team to map the disability funding landscape in the UK - to help build a clearer picture of where disability-related funding goes, how it’s targeted and where patterns of underfunding (particularly for DDPOs and disability justice) may be occurring.

What this project is for

Funding for disability justice in the UK remains significantly and systemically under-resourced. This research will provide a robust, replicable baseline that can be repeated approximately every three years, and will support stronger advocacy and improved funding practice across the sector.

What we’re looking to learn

We want the mapping to explore:

• What the UK disability sector looks like (numbers and types of organisations, size/structure, geographic spread, financial health)
• How much funding is going to the sector, from which sources and for what purposes
• Funding patterns and distribution, including differences between:
  • DDPOs vs non-DDPOs
  • Services/support vs rights and disability justice
  • Intersectionally-led organisations
• Key data gaps and what they mean for funders and the sector

Who should apply

We welcome bids from individuals or organisations with:

• Strong quantitative analysis skills using grants/charity datasets
• Experience building transparent classification frameworks and QA processes
• Ability to produce accessible outputs for non-technical audiences
• Demonstrable understanding of disability justice and the DDPO landscape
• Commitment to intersectionality, inclusion of lived experience and fair remuneration
• Robust approach to ethics, data protection and safeguarding
• Lived experience of disability

Partnership bids combining lived experience, disability justice expertise and quantitative skills are encouraged.

How to apply

Please download and review the tender document at the bottom of this page in full before applying.

Your application should include:

• A short statement on relevant skills/approach and commitment to disability justice, accessibility and inclusion (max two pages)
• Summaries of two relevant research projects (max two pages)
• CV/biography for each team member (up to two pages each)
• A budget (staff time by role/day rate/days; any data costs; travel/meetings; design/visualisation; overheads/contingency) up to £30,000 incl. VAT and expenses (access costs can be separate)

Proposals should be submitted by midday 18 February 2026 by email to: joanna@trustforlondon.org.uk

Information webinar access: We'll be hosting a webinar on 28 January for interested applicants to chat through the tender and to answer any questions. To attend, please email djf@trustforlondon.org.uk, along with a note of any access requirements.

Key dates

• Information webinar: 28 January 2026 (midday)
  
• Deadline to apply: 18 February 2026 (midday)
  
• Interviews: 23–25 February 2026
  
• Research period: April–June 2026
  
• Final report: September 2026
  
• Dissemination: October–November 2026