EPIC Futures NI. Evidence and Innovation for Fair and Inclusive Employment

This event is aimed at anyone with a stake in building a more inclusive and evidence-informed labour market in Northern Ireland.
About this Event

Arrival, registration, tea, coffee and networking: 9:00 am
Formal programme: 9:30 am–4:30 pm
Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, 10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW

Join EPIC Futures NI for its 2026 Showcase: a full-day event bringing together policymakers, researchers, businesses, delivery organisations and community partners to explore how evidence, innovation and collaboration can help create fairer and more inclusive employment across Northern Ireland.

EPIC Futures NI is a place-based partnership working across government, academia, business and the community and voluntary sector. Together, our partners are generating new evidence, evaluating policy and practice, developing practical interventions, and creating innovative tools to address complex challenges within Northern Ireland’s skills, employment and employability ecosystem.

This Final Showcase will present findings, insights, innovations and outputs from across the EPIC Futures NI programme. It will provide an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned, consider the implications for policy and practice, and identify the action, research, collaboration and investment needed next.

What to expect

The programme will feature 12 research and innovation presentations across four sessions. These will include findings from the eight projects supported through EPIC Futures NI’s £440,000 Phase 2 Policy Commissioning Call, alongside wider academic-led research, economic analysis and digital tools developed through the programme.

Presentations will explore:

• the behavioural drivers of economic inactivity;

• new approaches to measuring progression and “distance travelled” through employment support;

• emerging economic and labour-market evidence for Northern Ireland;

• the contribution of youth work to education, employment and training;

• supported employment models for under-represented groups;

• inclusive recruitment practices for autistic jobseekers;

• the long-term effects of conflict on employment outcomes;

• what works in addressing place-based economic inactivity;

• migrant entrepreneurship and pathways to more inclusive enterprise support;

• the Green Skills Navigator, an AI-powered tool supporting inclusive pathways into Northern Ireland’s future green workforce;

• the Employer Skills Compass, an AI assistant helping employers navigate the skills ecosystem; and

• the AI-enabled Labour Market Observatory, improving access to and understanding of labour-market intelligence.

The day will open with welcome and context-setting reflections from Professor Kristel Miller, Principal Investigator of EPIC Futures NI, who will discuss the work EPIC Futures NI has undertaken to date and reflect on how place-based partnerships can help address complex and systemic employment challenges. This will be followed by a keynote address, before the research and innovation sessions begin.

Presentations will be delivered by researchers and practitioners from across EPIC Futures NI’s academic, policy, business and community partnerships, including Ulster University, the University of Strathclyde, the Economic and Social Research Institute, the London School of Economics, the University of Edinburgh, YouthStart Consortium, Horizons Research, the Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment, Belfast Asian Women’s Academy, Belfast Community Training NI, Workplus Apprenticeships, Intrinsic AI and Analytics Engines.

Each session will include an interactive question-and-answer discussion, with opportunities for attendees to contribute to the discussion.

Explore the wider EPIC Futures NI programme through the Exhibition Area

Alongside the main programme, a dedicated exhibition area will showcase the wider body of research and outputs produced across EPIC Futures NI’s workstreams, commissioned projects and partnerships.

The exhibition will include research posters, reports, policy briefings, digital tools and other outputs developed throughout the programme. Attendees will have opportunities during registration, networking breaks and lunch to explore this work, speak directly with the teams involved and identify connections with their own areas of policy, research or practice.

From evidence to action

The event is designed not only to share findings, but also to support discussion about what the evidence means and how it can be translated into action.

Throughout the day, attendees will be invited to share their perspectives on the research and its implications. The programme will conclude with an interactive From Evidence to Action: Shaping What Comes Next session.

Who should attend?

This event is for anyone with a role or interest in developing a more inclusive, responsive and evidence-informed labour market in Northern Ireland, including:

• policymakers, civil and public servants, commissioners and local government representatives;

• organisations delivering employment, skills, careers and economic development support;

• employers, business leaders and employer representative bodies;

• community and voluntary sector organisations;

• academics and researchers;

• funders and organisations responsible for designing or investing in interventions.

Whether you are developing policy, commissioning or delivering services, supporting individuals or employers, undertaking research, or designing new interventions, the event will offer new evidence, practical insights and opportunities to connect with others working across Northern Ireland’s employment and skills ecosystem.

Event timings

9:00 am: Arrival, registration, tea, coffee and networking
9:30 am: Formal programme begins
Morning and afternoon: Research and innovation presentations, interactive discussions, exhibition and networking. Lunch Break 12.45pm.
4:30 pm: Event concludes

Join us as we bring together evidence, innovation and practice and work collectively to shape the next steps towards fair and inclusive employment across Northern Ireland.