Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust have worked with community partners and residents to invite teams to take part from Anfield and Everton, Princes Park and Speke-Garston. They will be supported by innovation charity Nesta, charitable trust Power to Change, and local decision-makers to bring to life ideas they think will change things for the better.
A ‘100 Day Challenge’ brings people together to try new ideas where they live or work over 100 days. The approach gives people closest to their communities, such as doctors, youth workers or community businesses, the opportunity to combine their skills and experience to drive change. Teams then work with local leaders to integrate ideas that they have tested into ongoing plans to sustain the impact made when the 100 days are up.
The decision to focus on improving young people’s life chances stems from the fact that over one in three children in Liverpool lives in poverty, with the three teams coming from some of the top 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. The cross-disciplinary teams will work as effective partners with families and communities to ensure children and young people have the best possible opportunities to reach their full potential.
Nesta has been running 100 Day Challenges across the UK for five years, helping public services and places to collaborate, learn and experiment. The structured innovative method has been applied to a vast number of issues, everything from reducing A&E admissions of elderly patients to creating opportunities for those with learning disabilities to shape the care they receive.
Sophie Mckechnie, Senior Programme Manager at Nesta, said: “We’re looking forward to seeing how teams use the 100 Day Challenge to build on the activity already happening in their neighbourhoods. Liverpool has a unique history and spirit and we’re excited to see how the Challenge can provide a platform for citizens and communities to continue to drive change through trying out bold and innovative ideas.”
Richard Harries, Director of Power to Change’s Research Institute said: “We strongly believe that places are made better by collaborative working and community business, so we’re really excited to be involved in this project. Liverpool City Region is one of our priority places and this is one of many innovative ideas being trialled in the area. We look forward to working in partnership to bring this to life.”
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships, Councillor Liz Parsons from the Council said: “This is a great opportunity for us to listen and learn from the people who know our communities best and support them to unlock their collective strengths. We want to build a better, more equitable city where everyone benefits from the opportunities Liverpool has to offer. The 100 Day Challenge is a step towards a different kind of partnership working, where we focus on the things that matter most to local people and collectively have a bigger impact.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact Wallis Grant in the Nesta press office at wallis.grant@nesta.org.uk or on 0207 438 2581
About Nesta
Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society. We’ve spent over 20 years working out the best ways to make change happen through research and experimenting, and we’ve applied that to our work in innovation policy, health, education, government innovation and the creative economy and arts. Nesta is based in the UK and supported by a financial endowment. We work with partners around the globe to bring bold ideas to life to change the world for good.
Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales 1144091 and Scotland SC042833.
About Power to Change
Power to Change is the independent trust that supports community businesses in England.
Community businesses are locally rooted, community-led, trade for community benefit and make life better for local people. The sector is worth £1.05 billion, and comprises 7,800 community businesses across England who employ 33,600 people. (Source: Community Business Market 2018)
From pubs to libraries; shops to bakeries; swimming pools to solar farms; community businesses are creating great products and services, providing employment and training and transforming lives. Power to Change received its endowment from the National Lottery Community Fund in 2015.
www.powertochange.org.uk @peoplesbiz
About The National Lottery Community Fund
We are the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.
We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.