Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) generally face additional barriers to providing training, including difficulty articulating training needs and lack of economies of scale. To encourage employers to take an active role in investing in the skills they require, government intervention may therefore be needed. These pilot funds included the Employer Ownership of Skills initiative (mn from 2012-14), the Employer Investment Fund (launched in 2011, and supported 87 projects), the Growth and Innovation Fund (launched in 2011, and supported 37 projects), and most recently, the UK Futures Programme (ran from 2014 to 2016).