Innovation Award

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A staggering 4.2 million children are now living in poverty and at every stage of education, there are substantial and growing gaps between pupils and their peers.

Your idea can be anything – a programme, product, service, partnership, campaign or coalition. As long as it has the potential to make education fair by tackling socioeconomic disadvantage, we want to hear from you. 

The Innovation Award is now closed for applications.

Applications will reopen in 2025, if you have any questions in the meantime, please contact us.

The Innovation Award, supported by Bloomberg, nurtures new ideas from the public and FEA Members to tackle the root causes of educational inequality in England.

We support two types of innovators: 

We know what innovators need to ensure their new solutions not only launch but thrive, having incubated 49 impactful innovations over the past ten years. We invest directly in the lead Innovator by providing a £25,000 six-month salary contribution and year-long practical support.   

What will our Award Winners win?

The year-long programme of support will help out award winners turn their ideas into an impactful initiative that will thrive and have sustainability beyond their pilot AND develop their leadership skills to drive their initiative forward and make change in the sector.  The support programme includes:  

  • Salary contribution 💷
    £25,000 covering six months to go full-time (37.5 hours a week) to drive forward their initiative.  

  • A place on the Innovation Incubator 💡 
    Interactive workshops on key innovation topics and professional start-up advice (legal, financial, HR).

  • Bespoke 1:1 support 📈
    Fortnightly meetings with the Head of the Innovation Award and monthly meetings with a mentor from Bloomberg to receive direct guidance and brokered support.

  • Peer support and network 🗣️
    Access to a network of entrepreneurs, mentors and peers.  

  • Office space 🏢
    Guest access at FiveFields, the Fair Education Alliance office space - a hub redefining charity sector collaboration and innovation.  

  • Endorsement 🏅
    Fair Education Alliance Innovation Award logo and statement of support.  

  • FEA membership post programme 🌱
    to connect with over 280 member organisations, including business leaders and policy makers, to amplify your innovation's impact, influence policy, and elevate your profile nationally.

  • Talent development ✨
    For FEA members that are internally innovating, we work closely with their organisations to nurture your team's talent, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence that is proven to improve organisational growth, retention and impact.

“The quality of the support has been really strong! The impact of the Fair Education Alliance on me and GoodWork has been gamechanging.”
— Felicity Halstead, Innovation Award Winner 2023 and CEO, Goodwork 

Information for future applicants

Please note: applications for the Innovation Award are now closed. If you have any questions about the Innovation Award, please get in touch. 

Resources

  • Have a look at the slides from the amazing sessions from this year’s Innovation and Scale Booster   

  • Have a look at a past application form: The Grub Club won the award a few years ago and have kindly let us share their application form. This will give you an idea of what we expect.