A Belfast-based charity, the Women's Resource and Development Agency (WRDA), has been awarded £100,000 over three years from the UK Government's Engagement for Change Fund, the Northern Ireland Office announced on 11 August 2026. The grant, the fund's first, is intended to help community and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland make their voices heard, with a particular focus on encouraging women's participation in forums where community decisions are made.

WRDA said the funding would support its Grow, Lead, Change programme, which is open to people of all genders. Participants are to receive training in Northern Ireland policy making, communication, advocacy and network building, engagement with traditional and social media, and the collection and use of data and evidence. WRDA Director Anne McVicker said the organisation was keen to work with groups that had never done this type of work before.

The award was announced by NIO Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Baroness Ruth Anderson during a visit to Belfast. The department said the fund builds on the Connect Fund, which has awarded £500,000 to community and voluntary organisations so far, and a forthcoming £1 million Community Partnership Fund.