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
Fiona
Last Name
Sutherland
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
London Play
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
1998
Initiative Title
People Powered Playces
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
londonplay.org.uk; https://www.instagram.com/london_play/; https://www.facebook.com/londonplay.charity; https://x.com/londonplay; https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-play/
Initiative Stage
Idea (You have a solid concept and are hoping to get started in the future)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
People Powered Playces trains and pays young residents on housing estates to unlock underused communal spaces for inclusive, child-led outdoor play, increasing everyday physical activity for children and families least likely to access organised sport, while developing youth leadership and intergenerational community engagement.
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?
Across many London housing estates, shared outdoor spaces exist but are not fully realised as places for play and physical activity. Courtyards, greens, and walkways are often underused due to perceptions of neglect, fear of antisocial behaviour, and lack of resident ownership or permission. As a result, children spend increasing amounts of time indoors, despite living in close proximity to outdoor space. People Powered Playces begins in Barking & Dagenham (LBBD), where London Play’s recent Jelly Sports project have brought close insights into play deprivation. LBBD has the highest proportion of children in London — nearly 30% of residents are under 18 — yet has no staffed adventure playgrounds, no play street policy or culture of community led doorstep play, and limited infrastructure for estate-based play. Health inequalities are stark: nearly a third of residents live in flats with limited outdoor access, LBBD is among the least physically active boroughs, and 28.3% of Year 6 children are obese. Traditional sports provision does not reach all children. Competitive, structured sport can exclude those lacking confidence, facing cost or travel barriers, or who simply do not identify as “sporty.” Research on UK play streets shows that activating residential spaces for informal outdoor play increases moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and reduces sedentary time, particularly for children underrepresented in organised sport. The issue is not space but youth leadership, permission, and structured activation. London Play’s estate-based delivery experience shows how quickly everyday spaces can become inclusive, joyful and active places when young people and communities are inspired and empowered to lead.
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?
People Powered Playces reimagines communal estate spaces as unlockable infrastructure for physical activity, combining London Play’s expertise in supporting communities to start and sustain play streets and play estate sessions with Hackney Play Association’s adventure playground know-how to deliver child-led, playful, inclusive sessions in a borough with no supervised play provision or policies to support play. On a Barking & Dagenham estate, 3–4 Play Ambassadors (16–24) will: • Deliver free, family-attended, non-competitive outdoor play sessions • Receive mentoring and placements in neighbouring adventure playgrounds • Gain skills in playwork, community engagement, and event management • Co-design sessions with children and work with estate management to secure permissions Children attend with parents and carers and run, climb, balance, lift, and cooperate using loose parts and adaptable equipment. Adults participate alongside children, learning games to embed into daily life. This approach unlocks spaces without redevelopment, creates youth employment and skills pathways, strengthens community ownership, and expands participation beyond traditional sport. The “aha” moment came through our work with adventure playgrounds and understanding perceptions of some that this is “Rolls Royce play,” an ethos that is highly skilled but underused beyond playground walls. Combined with London Play’s estate expertise, it can reach communities without staffed adventure playgrounds. Housing providers are critical, granting permissions, supporting communication, and recognising young people as legitimate users, while our approach addresses structural barriers and strengthens connections across the community.
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?
Young people are delivery partners, not passive recipients. We will recruit 3–4 local Play Ambassadors via LBBD Council and community groups to co-create and lead the initiative. Ambassadors bring their lived experience of growing up on the estates involved and their connections with neighbours and the wider community. They will shape outreach, session design, and space use, gradually taking leadership of eight family-attended sessions. They reflect, identify participation barriers, and adapt activities in real time. Children attend with parents/carers; adults are encouraged to participate and take games home. Residents observe, contribute feedback, and co-design sessions, influencing pace, format, and equipment use. This model builds intergenerational trust, normalises youth presence in estate spaces, and nurtures ownership. Previous Play Starter initiatives show youth-led facilitation increases participation, confidence, and social skills for children while developing young leaders’ skills in playwork, mentoring, and community engagement. By embedding family involvement and co-creation, the initiative is rooted in the community experience.
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?
People Powered Playces will demonstrate impact through quantitative and qualitative measures. UK play street research shows 3–5x increases in moderate-to-vigorous activity, reduced sedentary behaviour, and higher engagement among children not involved in organised sport. Embedding this on estates extends these benefits to communities with limited opportunities. Short-term outputs: 3–4 trained Play Ambassadors, 8 activation sessions, 60–100 children engaged, visibly increased estate use. Short-term outcomes: Increased physical activity, greater inclusion of non-“sporty” children, improved physical confidence and peer connection, positive shifts in perceptions of estate safety. Longer-term impact: Sustainable youth-led model, cultural shift in estate space use, and increased everyday physical activity. Evaluation includes attendance tracking, short surveys, Ambassador reflective logs, and observational movement tracking. Families provide feedback on engagement, learning, and adoption of games into everyday life. Repeated activations build resident ownership, informal play between sessions, and neighbourly connections. London Play’s previous estate work has engaged up to 50 families per session, equating to ~450 hours of extra physical activity, demonstrating both scale and depth of impact. People Powered Playces aims for similar numbers while establishing a replicable youth-led model.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
People Powered Playces is innovative because it reimagines housing estates as unlockable spaces for playful physical activity, rather than treating them as passive backdrops. Unlike many existing initiatives, it combines youth employment, skills development, and leadership with spatial transformation, placing Play Ambassadors recruited from the estate at the centre of design and delivery. Young people are co-creators and facilitators, shaping how spaces are used, selecting activities, and leading sessions, shifting perceptions of ownership and normalising youth presence in communal areas. The initiative also brings adventure playground expertise into a borough with none for the first time. By pairing this approach with London Play’s deep play street and estate experience, we transfer the evidence base from play streets - including increases in physical activity, engagement of children underrepresented in sport, and reduced sedentary behaviour into semi-permanent residential settings. People Powered Playces directly addresses structural barriers such as confidence, permission, and risk perception, while creating a sustainable, youth-led activation model. Sessions are free, non-competitive, and co-designed with children and families, encouraging activities to be adopted into daily life. Repeated activations transform underused estate spaces into vibrant, communal environments, fostering intergenerational trust, neighbourly connections, and a culture of active play. In short, this approach moves beyond simply delivering sessions to changing how space functions, shifting community norms, and demonstrating a replicable model that combines play, youth leadership, and spatial activation to unlock physical activity in new ways.
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?
People Powered Playces is designed for immediate impact and long-term sustainability through a staged, approach. Stage 1 – Pilot: A 6m pilot on one Barking & Dagenham estate will recruit and train 3–4 Play Ambassadors from the community, deliver 8 activation sessions, and embed evaluation tools to capture participation, physical activity, and engagement. This phase will also build trust with residents, families, and the housing provider, ensuring the model is grounded in local needs. Data collected will inform refinements to session design, Ambassador training, and outreach strategies, creating a credible evidence base for further growth. Stage 2 – Expansion: Once tested, the model can expand to additional estates in Barking & Dagenham and potentially neighbouring boroughs. A larger Ambassador cohort will be recruited and trained, toolkits will support standardised training and session delivery, and partnerships with housing providers will be strengthened. Evaluation will continue to capture both quantitative outcomes (attendance, physical activity levels, inclusion of non-“sporty” children) and qualitative stories of change, demonstrating scale, depth, and community impact. Support, Resources, and Partnerships: Successful scale-up relies on housing providers granting permissions and embedding play in estate life; community groups supporting recruitment and outreach; funding for staff, Ambassadors, and evaluation; structured training materials and toolkits; + London Play networks to enable replication. Replication relies on the youth-led Ambassador model & estate activation framework rather than centralised delivery,. This approach balances learning, depth, and local engagement with a credible path for expanding playful, child-led activity across multiple estates.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
People Powered Playces is delivered through a partnership model combining strategic leadership, local expertise, and youth leadership. London Play provides overall project leadership and accountability, ensuring the initiative meets its objectives safely and effectively. Responsibilities include: outreach and recruitment and structured training of Play Ambassadors; safeguarding oversight and risk management; partnership coordination with the housing provider, council, and community groups; and the design and delivery of monitoring and evaluation tools. London Play staff also attend all activation sessions to support Ambassadors, observe engagement, and ensure safe, inclusive practice. Hackney Play (Adventure Playground partner) provides specialist mentoring and placements for Play Ambassadors, sharing expertise in child-led, open-access play. They model playful facilitation, support reflective learning, and help embed an adventure playground ethos into estate-based delivery, ensuring the quality and inclusivity of sessions. Play Ambassadors are central to the initiative. Recruited from the estate, they co-design and deliver sessions, lead outreach to peers and families, contribute to session adaptation in real time, and maintain reflective logs and feedback. Over the pilot, they take increasing ownership of facilitation, helping to embed a sustainable, youth-led model and strengthening local leadership capacity. Housing Provider / Local Authority are critical enabling partners. They grant permissions and site access, facilitate communication with residents and help embed the approach into estate routines. Their involvement legitimises young people’s use of communal spaces, supports family engagement, and strengthens pathways to long-term sustainability. Together, this shared-responsibility structure ensures strong governance, quality delivery, meaningful youth leadership, and the partnerships required to unlock estate spaces for safe, inclusive, playful physical activity.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
People Powered Playces will follow a staged, six-month pilot, designed to combine intensive delivery with ongoing evaluation and learning, setting the foundation for sustainable growth. Months 1–2: Foundations and Set-Up We will confirm the pilot estate through our LBBD relationships and formalise agreements with the housing provider, including permissions, communications, and risk management protocols. Recruitment of 3–4 Play Ambassadors from the estate will take place, followed by structured training covering playwork ethos, safeguarding, community outreach, and reflective practice. Placement days with our adventure playground partner will embed child-led principles and experiential learning. During this period, we will also undertake baseline mapping of estate space use, community attitudes, and physical activity levels, establishing a clear foundation for evaluation. Months 3–6: Activation and Learning Ambassadors will deliver at least eight family-attended activation sessions, supported by ongoing mentoring from London Play and Hackney Play. Children and families will engage in playful, loose-part, child-led activities, while adults observe and participate to reinforce active habits. Evaluation runs alongside delivery, including attendance tracking, short surveys, observational movement recording, and Ambassador reflective logs. A mid-point review will allow the team to adapt delivery in response to participation patterns, emerging barriers, and feedback from children, families, and residents. Month 6: Review and Forward Planning We will analyse data, share findings with residents and partners, and co-develop a scaling pathway. This includes refining the Ambassador training toolkit, adjusting session design, and identifying opportunities for replication in additional estates or neighbouring boroughs. This milestone structure balances rigorous delivery, relationship-building, and reflective evaluation, ensuring the pilot generates evidence, partnerships, and youth leadership to support future sustainable expansion. Future Milestones Following the pilot, light-touch activations will maintain engagement while we strengthen partnerships, finalise training materials, and secure resources for expansion to more estates, ensuring that lessons learned and evidence of impact inform sustainable growth.
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.
To deliver an intensive and well-evidenced six-month pilot while fully engaging in the 8-week capacity-building programme, we would appreciate the full £10,000 support grant. This would ensure that the pilot is safely managed, rigorously evaluated, and fully leverages the 8-week programme for learning and improvement. Project Worker (1 day per week – £5,200) Covers overall project management, partnership coordination with the housing provider and LBBD, safeguarding oversight, recruitment and structured training of Play Ambassadors, and attendance at all eight activation sessions to supervise and support delivery. This allocation also includes design and delivery of evaluation tools (baseline mapping, attendance tracking, surveys, observational movement tracking, and reporting) and full participation in the capacity-building programme to strengthen organisational learning and sustainability. Play Ambassador Wages (£2,300) Four Ambassadors × 12 sessions (2 placements, 2 training, 8 activation). Paying Ambassadors is central to our youth employment and leadership model, ensuring accountability, accessibility, and high-quality delivery. Wages cover time for co-design, delivery, outreach, and reflection, embedding youth leadership throughout the pilot. Adventure Playground Mentoring (£1,000) Specialist input providing placement sessions, mentoring, and modelling of child-led, open-access practice. This strengthens the quality and inclusivity of sessions while building the Ambassadors’ professional skills in playwork and community facilitation. Materials & Delivery (£1,000) Loose parts, adaptable equipment, outreach materials, travel, and session consumables. These resources support creative, flexible, and inclusive play activities and ensure families and children can fully participate. Organisational Overheads Contribution (£500) A modest contribution towards London Play’s core costs, governance, finance, administration, safeguarding infrastructure, and organisational support that underpins safe and compliant delivery. This allocation ensures the pilot is intensively supported, safely managed, and rigorously evaluated, while recognising the organisational infrastructure and youth-led model required to make small-scale, high-quality programmes viable, learnable, and scalable across additional estates in the future.
