Footwork supports small groups or individuals whose experience of a pressing issue in their neighbourhood has motivated them to take action and address it with an innovative solution.
The programme provides community innovators in England or Wales with the funding, support and connections they need to get their project off the ground, or scale it to increase its impact.
Who can apply?
The programme is specifically intended to support people who are working to transform their neighbourhoods for the better.
Projects need to address one or more of the challenges:
- Ensuring facilities, land and buildings are used and/or owned by local people.
- Ensuring local people have a say or can act in how their neighbourhood is being transformed.
- Ensuring local people can gain access to resources such as greener energy, materials or finance so they can live more sustainably and affordably.
Community innovators are defined for this programme as people with home-grown solutions to local problems and the sense of agency and urgency to make positive change within their neighbourhoods.
Offerings
This free mentoring programme offers the following to each of the 10 programme participants in 2025:
- An unrestricted grant of £5,000 to give participants the time to think and the freedom to take part in the programme.
- One to one mentoring support.
- Meeting fellow collaborators (field trips and online).
- Place visits by the Footwork team.
- Access to Footwork’s space in London.
- Connection with a network of fellow community innovators.
Opening / Closing dates
Monday 9 September 2024