Meet the Go London Challenge finalists! 🎉
These innovative projects are leading the way in reimagining how young people access sport and physical activity across London, while also harnessing the power of sport to build climate awareness and inspire young people to take action on the climate crisis.
Timeline
Could you enable access to spaces where children and young people can engage in sport and physical activity?
Access to spaces and facilities for physical activity and sport provides children and young people with opportunities to connect, be active, and develop a sense of belonging – supporting both physical and mental wellbeing while strengthening community relationships. In London, access is not always equal, with some communities facing more barriers than others.
Go! London has launched this Challenge as an opportunity to bring people together to collaborate on bold, innovative solutions that unlock young people’s access to safe, welcoming, and inclusive spaces – particularly for those children and young people who face the biggest inequalities around accessing sport and physical activity.
By fostering new relationships and partnerships across the public, private, and charitable sectors, we can open up more opportunities for shared use, joint investment, and long-term stewardship of community spaces. The aim is to encourage collaboration between those who own, manage, lease, or make decisions about these spaces and the groups who can activate and bring them to life, ensuring they are used in ways that meet real community needs.
We are looking for initiatives that remove structural barriers and create new models of shared use and collaboration, so that sport and physical activity can become a shared resource that benefits young people, along with everyone in their communities.
What we're we looking for
We believe solutions are most impactful when driven by the community most impacted - young people and the community around them. That’s why we’re excited to support initiatives co-developed by young people and rooted in local communities.
We welcome solutions that increase the availability of safe, inclusive, and affordable spaces for sport and physical activity by adapting or re-imagining spaces that were previously not used for this purpose. You might be doing this by reimagining the way existing spaces can be used, building new tools and models for equitable access, implementing entrepreneurial strategies that secure resources that improve participation opportunities, and implementing design and accessibility interventions that embed play into everyday urban environments.​
We are also looking for solutions that make existing spaces for sport and physical activity more inclusive, welcoming and relevant to bring in young people previously excluded from those spaces. You might do this by tackling the economic, social, and cultural barriers to participation and increasing the visibility and uptake of opportunities. ​
This challenge is about shifting power, opening up space, and making sport, physical activity, movement and play a shared resource for all young people.
Funding and benefits – what's in it for you?
- All eligible applications will:
- Receive feedback from Ashoka and/or Go! London reviewers on their applications.
- Have a chance to connect with a community of changemakers through this challenge (through peer reviews and meeting them through community events).
- Get access to self-paced training opportunities to support you in your changemaking journey.
- Up to 10 finalists will:
- Have the opportunity to participate in an in-depth capacity building programme designed to help you refine your solution, foster new collaborations, and scale your impact.
- Have the opportunity to receive a grant of up to £10,000 - this may be disbursed to support the development of your idea, and to enable your time and involvement in the programme. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the Terms & Conditions for further details).
- Have the opportunity to refine their application based on the capacity building and feedback received.
- Be invited to share your work with a panel of expert judges from Ashoka, Go! London, and our partners.
- Finalists will be expected to be available from end of March to the end of May to attend the capacity building programme.
- A total of 3 to 6 winners will be awarded a grant of at least £50,000 and up to £100,000
- Grant amount will vary depending on the solution’s maturity, impact potential, and needs. In exceptional cases, Go! London may consider proposals for a higher level of funding where a compelling and well-evidenced rationale is provided.
Eligibility
Please review the eligibility criteria and terms & conditions before starting your application.
Click here to see Eligibility Criteria
Click here to read this challenge's full Terms & Conditions.
Please note that, by submitting an application to this Challenge, it will be made publicly visible on this Challenge page (sections that are public are labelled on the application form).
All eligible participants will be invited to take part in peer reviews: once the application phase closes, you will each be asked to review 5-10 applications each. Doing so will give you access to exclusive feedback roundtables with the community.
Evaluation Criteria
We are looking for innovative and creative ideas, which means your initiative could still be a simple idea or pilot, or it could be a fully implemented initiative – we will consider initiatives at different stages equally. Each of the below 4 criteria will be considered equally in the evaluation of each application.
Innovation:
Your solution is new, resourceful and innovative in your approach. This might mean that you are doing something completely new, or applying an existing approach in new ways or to a new context. This might also mean that you are changing the status quo – changing the way individuals or groups think and behave; or changing rules/laws/processes to shift how things function in the long-term.
Community Collaboration
You can demonstrate a strong model of collaboration between the community and landowning/controlling stakeholders. Young people and/community members are actively engaged in the design and implementation of your solution, as they are present in decision-making positions and allow for solutions that are truly rooted in community-needs. ​
Potential for/ Evidence of impact on young people:
If you have a new idea, you are able to clearly articulate the potential your solution has for impact, through research and data. Early-stage solutions can demonstrate proof of concept and share initial evidence of impact. ​
Viability and Scalability:
You have a clear plan and next steps to ensure this initiative can continue successfully over the long term, including funding, partnerships, and planning. Your solution has been designed with the potential to scale and/or inspire similar action in other communities, settings or regions.
Need Support?
To support you in your application journey, our team offering support sessions during the application process to assist with any questions or guidance you may need. Whether you're seeking clarity on the application or would like some feedback, these sessions are designed to help you succeed. Book your spot to our support sessions below:
Info Sessions (1hr)
- Info Session #1 (9th January at 2pm UK time)
- Info Session #2 (16th January at 2pm UK time)
Office Hours (2hrs)
- Office Hours #1 (28th January at 2pm UK time)
- Office Hours #2 (10th February at 2pm UK time)
Got questions? You can email [email protected]
About this partnership
Go! London is a multi-year, £22.5m partnership between the Mayor of London, London Marathon Foundation and Sport England, supported by London Marathon Events and London Sport. The Open Innovation Challenges are being delivered in partnership with Ashoka and Play Verto
