Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund
The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) have engaged Cardiff University’s Centre for Innovation Policy Research (CIPR) and Y Lab to develop and deliver a £10m Challenge Fund programme to find, develop and scale innovative solutions to major societal challenges.
The £10m Challenge Fund provides a mechanism to engage public sector bodies active in the Cardiff Capital Region to identify and tackle societal or service delivery issues in innovative ways.
The purpose of the funding is to help the public sector to explore novel products and services to address challenges and, in doing so, provide a route to market for those solutions. Public sector bodies will propose challenges for support and those successful in securing a funding award will act as ‘Challenge Owner’ organisations and will work closely with potential ‘Solution Providers’ in the co-development of solutions.
Objectives
The Challenge Fund aims to:
- Solve societal challenges and/or service delivery issues
- Create innovative solutions with potential for commercial exploitation
- Drive commercial scalable opportunities
- Build local wealth and deliver economic impact for the region
Take part
Public and third sector bodies are encouraged to submit proposals across any of the three priority themes:
- Accelerating decarbonisation
- Improving the health and wellbeing of the region’s citizens
- Supporting, enhancing and transforming communities
1. Define societal or service delivery issue
Public body discuss their issue with stakeholders and potential partners, defines their challenge and applies to the CCR Challenge Fund. It’s important when thinking about the challenge not to focus on the solution but consider what a good outcome would be.
2. Decisions and next steps
Challenge Fund submissions are assessed against criteria and successful applicants awarded funding. The ‘Challenge Owner’ then works with Challenge Fund team to promote their challenge to potential solution holders in the innovator community.
3. Engagement with potential solution providers
Challenge opportunities are refined and advertised to the innovator community who bid to co-develop innovative solutions to your challenge. This is a competitive process
Innovating together
By working together with the CCR Challenge Fund Team, you will:
- explore innovative solutions to local economic challenges
- tailor solutions to improve local service delivery
- ‘break through’ public procurement frameworks and create new markets
- commercialise solutions to scale and sell
- grow and develop local supply chains.
Register your interest
If you have a challenge idea or would like to be involved in the Challenge Fund, complete an Expression of Interest form and a team member will contact you to discuss your proposed challenge in more detail.
Events and workshops
We will be running a series of workshops to support interested applicants in thinking through their challenges and strengthening their applications.
New workshop dates for round 3 of applications to be announced in spring 2022.
For further information on the Challenge Fund, view at the recording from our briefing event.
Contact us
Get in touch with our team for more information about the CCR Challenge Fund.