My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Sagal
Last Name
Abdullahi
Pronouns
She/Her
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
Barakah LDN
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2021
Initiative Title
Co-designing a community-led future for the Clem Attlee Estate Pitch
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.instagram.com/barakah_ldn ; https://spaceblack.co.uk/ ; https://younghandf.org.uk/
Initiative Stage
Growth (You’ve moved past the very first activities; working towards the next level of expansion.)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
This is an innovative community design project which aims to transform the disused and poorly maintained outdoor sports court at the Clem Attlee Estate into a vibrant, inclusive, and open space co-designed with residents and young people. This project will take place in three key stages: Community Consultation, Youth-led Design Programme, and Handover & Production. A strong focus is placed on intergenerational participation, transparency, and community empowerment.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
The Clem Attlee Estate is a social housing estate in Hammersmith & Fulham and the only Lower Layer super output area (LSOA) in the borough within the 10% most deprived nationally (LBHF, 2019). Residents and young people have long raised concerns about the lack of quality recreational facilities. The estate’s only outdoor sports court, a vital hyperlocal space for play, is in poor condition, poorly lit, underused and widely perceived as unsafe. This limits safe and regular use, particularly for children, young people, women and girls. Missing goals and hoops, inadequate lighting and a general sense of neglect reinforce barriers to participation and confidence. In 2024, borough-wide engagement led by Young Hammersmith & Fulham ranked this court highly for refurbishment, with 696 respondents identifying it as a priority. We see this not just as a maintenance issue, but as a structural one. In low-income communities, deteriorating public space signals whose wellbeing is prioritised. Women and girls part of our programmes at Barakah LDN and in research conducted by Make Space for Girls report safety concerns and exclusion from informal play spaces and young people describe feeling unheard in decisions that shape their neighbourhood. Barakah LDN and Young Hammersmith & Fulham are deeply embedded locally. Over the past year we have conducted focus groups, workshops and interviews with residents and young people using the pitch and adjacent community hall. The message has been consistent: safer design, meaningful youth involvement, and genuine community power in decision-making. We see this as an opportunity to centre their voices. Those who will benefit most are young people, particularly girls and low-income residents, who will directly shape the future of this space.
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
The “aha” moment came when we realised the core barrier was not just deteriorating tarmac, but exclusion from decision-making. Young people use the space daily yet have never shaped it. Barakah LDN was established in 2021 by two young people frustrated at the lack of spaces for Global Majority & working-class young women & girls. Our work is all about challenging the structural and physical barriers present for these communities when accessing sports, and instead providing a safe and inclusive environment accessible to all. In the past 2 years, our work has explored how the built environment negatively impacts young women and girls Right to Play, pushing them indoors and isolated. Following calls to renovate the pitch, Barakah LDN decided to lead to project, using local expertise, extensive relationships and our ethos of accessibility for all. This approach unlocks access by shifting power. It centres girls and low-income young residents, addresses safety through design (lighting, visibility, layout), and builds institutional pathways through early engagement with decision-makers. Rather than consultation after decisions are made, we create structural collaboration, where community expertise directly shapes spatial outcomes. We are reimagining not just the pitch, but who has power over it. Our three-phase model combines; Phase 1 community consultation establishes community priorities - produces a detailed, fundable brief. Phase 2, a paid youth-led design programme, forms a paid cohort of 10 young residents who work alongside Space Black and RAAD RAAC to co-produce design proposals. Their ideas are translated into technical drawings ready for capital submission. Phase 3 embeds collaboration with Notting Hill Genesis, the TRA and council teams to move toward delivery
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Our initiative directly engages with young people and community members, crucially viewing them as co-designers, not consultees. Led by our expertise, technical background, and community partners, we will be bringing together the community to reimagine how this underused space can promote use across age, gender and background. We recognise that trust, consistency and decision making power is crucial to succeeding. Both Barakah LDN and Young H&F have built trust with residents and local organisations, positioning them well to respond to the needs and ambitions of the wider local community. We have established relationships with young residents, local council teams and key stakeholders. All key decisions will be made with and not for residents, with clear feedback loops ensure residents see how their ideas shape decisions. Phase 1 includes estate outreach, workshops and engagement with local residents and young people, supported by the Clem Attlee TRA to define priorities. Phase 2 recruits a paid cohort of 10 young residents through trusted local networks, with a focus on those most excluded from sport, particularly young women and girls. The cohort will shape the brief, undertake site analysis, explore design options, and present proposals directly to landowners and council stakeholders. Their input will inform the final technical drawings.By embedding young people in conversations with architects, engineers and housing providers, we demystify the built environment and build confidence, employability and civic leadership skills. Wider engagement will involve 100+ residents through surveys, workshops & feedback sessions. The initiative is built around community knowledge & lived experience. Those closest to the problem are best placed & actively building the solution
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Our initiative unlocks access to physical activity in the only LSOA in the borough ranked within the 10% most deprived nationally. This same ward has some of the highest childhood obesity rates in Hammersmith & Fulham (11.4%), while accessible parks & quality recreational spaces are limited. For many residents, this court is the only realistic place to be active close to home. Short-term outputs include: -100+ residents engaged -10 paid youth co-designers trained -A technically viable concept design and delivery-ready report -A clear capital funding pathway The refurbished court will directly improve lighting, visibility and inclusive design, increasing confidence and safety particularly for girls and young women, who are statistically more likely to drop out of sport in their teenage years (Women in Sport, 2022). Creating a high-quality, hyperlocal facility removes cost and travel barriers, making regular participation realistic. Long-term impact includes increased physical activity, improved health outcomes, stronger perceptions of safety, and reduced antisocial use through community ownership. Engaging women and girls in particular creates intergenerational change, as active young women are more likely to remain active into adulthood. We have already built relations with the local NHS public health team, aiming to work alongside the team to measure this health output. Backed by landowner NHG's social value team, we plan to develop a blueprint for future works. Our phased model ensures credibility: Phase 1 develops a robust brief & funding strategy centred on community engagement; Phase 2 delivers technical design co-designed by young people; Phase 3 progresses capital delivery. This creates not only spatial change, but structural equity in access to sport.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
We propose a bold innovation, focusing on redistributing design power and re-engaging local communities into sports through being empowered to reshape their local sports facility. We have seen how surface level prior engagement with communities has been, leaving a bad taste and distrust in many. Our methodology is instead centred around rebuilding trust and placing agency back into the communities hands, who are historically excluded from decision making. Many projects consult communities. Very few train and pay young residents to co-produce technical designs that shape capital investment. We combine grassroots organising (Barakah LDN, Young H&F), interdisciplinary design practice (Space Black, RAAD RAAC), and early collaboration with landowners, council and public health teams. This hybrid model bridges community leadership and formal planning structures. Ultimately our goal is simple. We want to create a concrete change in the lives of young people, women and girls, and the wider local community, providing them with a purpose built space that they design. We see this as an opportunity to build long-term stewardship and pride over local spaces. We tackle root causes: gendered exclusion from sport, mistrust in regeneration, and structural barriers to decision-making. Young people are thus positioned as spatial actors with authority, not passive beneficiaries. Whilst the project uses one hyperlocal court, we see this as a test site for systemic change. By embedding co-design into funding and delivery pathways, we aim to create a replicable framework for housing estates facing similar inequalities. This is not simply refurbishment. It is a radical rethinking of how public space is governed, who shapes it, and whose safety and access are prioritised.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
Our initiative is grounded in Barakah LDN’s proven track record of delivering hyperlocal, female-focused sport programmes & sustained community engagement in Fulham. For over 4 years, we have combined free football provision with research into barriers to participation, building trusted relationships with women, girls & young residents on the Estate. Initial design workshops in 2025 already tested appetite for co-design, demonstrating clear demand for this project. However we know that we can’t do this alone. Over the past 2 years, we have built relationships with partners, residents, key stakeholders including potential funders. The viability of our proposed works is strengthened through a phased delivery model as evidenced earlier, reducing risk, with each step unlocking the next. Operational sustainability comes from reusing existing disused sports infrastructure rather than creating new assets requiring high overheads. By embedding local young people directly in design and build conversations, we foster long-term ownership, stewardship and positive use, reducing vandalism and ongoing costs. We are also building a replicable model. Alongside delivery, we will publish our research and develop an open-access “community court toolkit”; a practical, engaging guide to consultation, co-design and funding pathways. This will demystify regeneration processes and enable other estates to reclaim underused sports spaces. To scale, we are building partnerships with housing associations, local authorities and sport funders, leveraging evidence from this pilot site. Our long-term vision is a scalable, community-led model of court refurbishment across deprived urban areas, with local young people trained to lead change & supported to programme year round events on the courts.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
PROJECT TEAM: Barakah LDN is an award-winning sports & wellbeing CIC based in Fulham, challenging barriers to sport experienced by minoritised women & girls. Through free female-only football sessions, workshops, community events & storytelling, they centre access to sport as a human right particularly for communities historically excluded. Over the past four years, their work has examined how inadequate sporting infrastructure limits participation & wellbeing, building strong local relationships & a trusted community presence. Role: • Project management & strategic leadership • Development of methodological framework • Co-development of the design & engagement strategy with Space Black • Lead partner & community liaison • Reporting, fundraising & communications Young Hammersmith & Fulham is a borough-wide charity strengthening youth services by connecting organisations and professionals to help young people feel safe, supported and able to thrive. Role: • Supporting community engagement through their network • Recruiting the youth design cohort • Supporting reporting and joint funding bids Space Black is an interdisciplinary built-environment studio that adopts alternative modes of practice. Through Education, Culture and Concept Design & Research, they aim to imagine positive spatial futures, and a built environment industry that steps up to its social and ecological responsibilities. Over the last 5 years, Space Black has collaborated with cultural institutions, private developers and local authorities to deliver projects that support their clients in creating inclusive frameworks and spaces. A key case study is their Red Path project, delivered in partnership with local youth organisation Hackney Quest and youth construction Charity Build Up. The project put local young people and residents in charge of the redesign of Red Path. Our aim, as organisations that advocate for social justice, was to create a replicable model that reimagines how we engage communities in design, setting a benchmark for community participation in infrastructure improvement. The project successfully secured funding from the LLDC’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for the youth led co-design programme, production of design report and drawing package. Following the huge success of the design phase, additional funding was secured in partnership with Hackney Council for the detailed design and delivery of capital works, which is currently ongoing. Role: • Designing the engagement framework • Delivering the youth design programme • Producing technical drawings and documentation Jabir Mohamed / RAAD RAAC contributes expertise in architectural research and community-led spatial practice. Role: • Supporting site analysis and contextual design insight • Advising on sustainable, community-driven approaches • Supporting documentation for replication
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
Upcoming Milestones: Q2 2026 – Secure Phase 1 Funding & Formalise Partnerships • Confirm funding • Formalise partner agreements and governance structure • Meetings with Clem Attlee TRA & local stakeholders Q2–Q3 2026 – Phase 1: Community Consultation & Research (3–4 months) • Site analysis and technical feasibility review • Stakeholder mapping and risk assessment • 100+ residents engaged through co-design workshops, surveys and focus groups • Targeted engagement strategy for women and girls • Draft and finalise detailed project brief from co-design outputs • Produce funding roadmap and capital strategy Milestone Outcome: Agreed design brief, defined scope, and identified funding pathway for Phase 2. Q4 2026 – Secure Phase 2 Funding Q1–Q2 2027 – Phase 2: Youth-Led Design Programme (4–6 months) • Recruit 10 paid youth co-designers • Deliver structured design workshops and training • Develop concept proposals and test with community • Produce technical drawings, cost estimates and design report • Pre-application conversations (if required) and alignment with delivery partners Milestone Outcome: Technically viable, costed design ready for capital delivery. Q3–Q4 2027 – Phase 3: Handover & Capital Progression • Final stakeholder presentation and sign-off • Secure capital funding • Progress planning (if required) • Community stewardship framework established Longer-Term (2028 onwards) • Capital works delivered • Monitoring of usage, safety perceptions and participation rates • Publish “community court toolkit” to support replication This phased roadmap ensures manageable risk, clear decision points, and a credible pathway from engagement to built delivery and long-term impact. Once the space is refurbished, we will work alongside key stakeholders to develop a programme of community activation, giving space for young residents to design and lead sports programmes supported by Barakah LDN, Young H&F and local sports clubs.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details.
If selected as a finalist, the primary barrier to fully participating in the 8-week capacity-building programme is the time and dedicated project development capacity required. As a community-led team delivering ongoing free services and yearly programmes, we would need support to ensure we can engage meaningfully without compromising delivery of our core programmes. The grant support of up to £10,000 would be used for the following eligible, project-linked costs: 1. Specialist Support & Consultancy (£4,000 - £5,000) We would commission short-term external expertise (e.g., fundraising strategy development, evaluation framework design, governance support) to strengthen our organisational infrastructure and support the refinement of our proposal during the programme. Under the T&Cs, this falls under external expertise and consultancy costs directly related to project development. 2. Project Development Time for Staff (£3,000 - £4,000) Although the grant cannot be used for salaries of partnership members, we would allocate funding to backfill delivery responsibilities and sessional support (e.g., freelance facilitators) to ensure core community activities can continue while our team engages in the programme. This ensures continuity of service and aligns directly with advancing the project. 3. Research, Testing & Prototype Costs (£2,000) Costs for community design workshops, materials, digital tools and pilot testing to further develop project concepts and outputs during the capacity-building phase. Funding would not be used for unrelated organisational overheads, salaries of core team members, events not linked to project development, or personal travel/expenses outside project activities, in line with grant restrictions . This support will enable us to engage deeply with the programme, strengthen our strategic foundations, and accelerate the refinement and impact of our initiative.
