New Challenge Fund Website Set to Stimulate Innovation in the Public Sector
Following the launch of our brand-new Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund Website, we caught up with Liz Rees, Challenge Fund Project Officer to find out more about this exciting new development.
Aimed primarily at organisations within public sector, the £10m challenge fund is seeking to provide solutions to problems where there are no known answers and will be instrumental in helping solve some of the biggest obstacles facing local authorities, health boards and 3rd sector organisations across the region.
What is the Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund?
The £10m Challenge Fund provides a mechanism to engage public sector bodies, active in the Cardiff Capital Region, in the identification and development of challenges. It connects public sector bodies with organisations who can provide innovative solutions to those challenges, leading to better services, improved efficiency and effectiveness, and increased productivity.
The purpose of the funding is to help the public sector to obtain 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 development of solutions.
Challenge Owners should be able to demonstrate how they:
- Solve societal challenges and/or service delivery issues
- Create innovative solutions
- Deliver economic impact for the region
- Drive commercial scalable opportunities
- Build local wealth