This theme will focus on regulating and enhancing the potential of NI as a hub for business and global trade that furthers environmental justice and human rights. Through a variety of distinct yet interconnected topics spanning subsidies, climate justice, labour standards, the provision of global entertainment services, the corporate and financial sector, international trade law and the circular economy, this theme places the unique legal and policy infrastructure of NI (including the Windsor Framework) as an added value for leading business and global trade standards to serve both people and planet.

11 potential projects have been identified and are listed here.

The closing date is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 16:00 with applicants quoting one project code in each online application.

This theme will examine justice initiatives in both NI and (potentially) in other jurisdictions to build safer, fairer and more sustainable communities. The range of topics included in this theme span measures addressing the legacy of conflict and historical institutional abuse, community and victim/ survivor-led truth recovery in NI, the role of NGO archives in building peace, human rights litigation and solidarity as a tool to address the legacies of post harm in NI and beyond, the right to truth and the history curriculum, and justice for children (including those in care / who have been adopted); further topics include access to justice initiatives to end/ redress conflict related sexual and gender-based violence in post conflict NI, digital crime, criminal justice and sexual offences, as well as criminal justice reform to tackle sexual violence  – with a view to building safe, fair and sustainable communities equipped for a prosperous future.

12 potential projects have been identified and are listed here.

The closing date is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 16:00 with applicants quoting one project code in each online application.

This theme will examine how AI can be regulated for enhancing business relations, public service delivery and creative sector growth in NI in particular. The range of topics included in this theme spans generative AI, authorship and markets, proportionate IP enforcement, as well as legal frameworks for flexible working. Other potential topics include the use of AI in relation to building an inclusive and responsible FinTech regulatory system for NI and AI decision making in the NI Courts and Tribunal system.

4 potential projects have been identified and are listed here.

The closing date is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 16:00 with applicants quoting one project code in each online application.

This theme will address the regulation of rural spaces to enhance the ‘glocal’ potential of NI, bridging environmental and community justice, agriculture and tourism opportunities. Several potential strands emerge from this theme. The first focuses on agriculture: crafting “identity” through place; the potential of geographical indications for rural development and tourism; an examination of modern slavery in NI looking at farms, factories and fisheries and agri-good trade governance in the post-Brexit UK. A second strand will focus on carbon and greening trade, and on how law can integrate sustainable innovation into trade frameworks. The third strand will focus on the ‘glocal’ futures of NI by addressing topics such as AI and digital inequality for inclusive and equitable futures, the relationship between conflict, peace and environmental harm in NI, and business and human rights in small regional economies like NI.  

8 potential projects have been identified and are listed here.

The closing date is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 16:00 with applicants quoting one project code in each online application.