Deadline: 3-Jul-23
Apply for between £5,000 and £50,000 and a bespoke package of non-financial support to bring an idea to life that can help tackle one of the biggest issues facing society today – the climate crisis.
The William Sutton Prize, presented by Clarion Housing Group, is a leading innovation catalyst, which cultivates and incubates high potential ideas that tackle some of the sectors’ most urgent sustainability challenges. The Prize invites disruptors and innovators to submit their best ideas and solutions to the unique challenges posed in each edition.
Through a mix of grant funding and a package of tailored business support, the William Sutton Prize helps winners turn outstanding ideas into real-world products, services, solutions and interventions that make lasting improvements to the built environment and local communities supported by the sector.
What is the scope of this year’s edition?
- The theme this year is: ‘Achieving a fair transition to a net zero carbon future’.
- They are looking for new and breakthrough ideas that can help the social housing sector and residents to reduce their carbon emissions and transition to a net zero future in a fair and sustainable way.
- No idea is too big, or too small. What is important is that ideas have high potential for impact and scalability across the sector.
- In addition to welcoming any idea that helps the sector and residents reduce carbon emissions, they are particularly interested in receiving submissions that also work towards one or more of the following interrelated sustainability outcomes:
- Making homes more energy efficient and reducing bills for residents (for example, through introducing new technology, retrofitting and engagement with communities to deliver net zero carbon).
- Using nature to improve the health and wellbeing of residents across new and existing homes.
- Improving indoor and outdoor air quality (for example, by generating clean, renewable energy on site).
- Building resilience to the impacts of climate change in new and existing communities (for example through new technologies or utilising nature)
What’s on offer?
- Winners will each receive between £5,000 and £50,000 in grant funding and a tailored package of business support from Clarion to help grow their ideas and turn them into reality.
- Grant funding: Applicants can bid for between £5,000 and £50,000 of grant funding to further develop their idea. The amount of funding requested should reflect an amount that is needed to take the idea to the next stage of its development.
- Tailored support: Winners will also receive a 12–18 month programme of business support from Clarion to help further research, develop, test or scale their ideas.
- Depending on the needs of the winners, this may include the following:
- Business support and advice
- Business planning and routes to market
- Legal advice
- Commercial/procurement processes
- Health and safety
- Mentoring
- 1-2-1 coaching and mentoring with Clarion Group Business Sponsors
- Shadowing opportunities
- Research and testing
- Research and evaluation guidance
- Access to user groups
- Sites for testing, validating and piloting
- Networks
- Invitations to events
- Introductions to networks and contacts
- William Sutton Prize Alumni Network
- Business support and advice
- All finalists will:
- be invited to the awards ceremony to celebrate the ideas and provide an opportunity to network with members of Clarion and the wider sector
- become part of a William Sutton Prize Alumni Network to connect and gain support from like-minded peers
Eligibility Criteria
- The William Sutton Prize is open to disruptors, innovators, researchers and creators — of all shapes and sizes — with high potential ideas that can transform the sector’s impact on the environment.
- They are particularly interested in hearing from architects; designers; social and tech entrepreneurs; engineers; scientists; academics and researchers; construction contractors; social enterprises and CICs.
- You don’t necessarily have to have worked directly in the social housing sector before. What’s more important is that ideas can have a tangible impact on the fair transition to net zero, with the potential to create lasting change on a national scale.
- Applications can be accepted from both not-for-profit and commercial organisations. These may be registered charities, community interest companies, social enterprises, community groups or registered companies, amongst others.
- Organisations must be registered to work in England and must be able to specify how their idea will make a positive contribution to helping the affordable housing sector and its communities achieve net zero by 2050.
- Successful projects should take place in England.
- The Prize is open to all types of ideas and projects — be they design, technology, community, business practices, commercial models — from any sector or discipline.
- Individuals resident in the UK and aged over the age of 18 years old are eligible to apply.
- As such, and as part of the application process, they will ask individuals to confirm they agree to at least one of the following requirements:
- to work with a partner organisation to receive payment and/or support delivery of your chosen idea;
- to be prepared to register as a constituted organisation to receive any prize money for the development of the winning idea.
For more information, visit Clarion Housing Group.