The aim of these Awards is to help create success by finding and nurturing innovative ideas and projects that can lead to practical, sustainable social change.

The Awards are managed by the Bates Wells Foundation. They are particularly interested in supporting novel, early stage ideas that address social problems at a systemic level.  These are essentially ‘big ideas’ that might not, or cannot, reach the mainstream channels for support or funding.

The heart of the Awards is the bringing together of experts that can deliver practical, free support to shortlisted candidates as well as the winners.

Funding of at least £20,000 will be made available to support the winners to develop their initiatives. At the shortlist stage, up to ten awards of up to £2,000 will be made to assist candidates to further develop their ideas.

You could be a new start-up enterprise or be looking to extend your organisation’s existing work. Preference will be given to entries originating from a start-up or early stage project, rather than initiated within a larger charity organisation. 

UK residents, organisations or charities with innovative ideas seeking to address a problem systemically, with projects exclusively with charitable purposes, can apply.

The closing date for applications is midnight on 7 September 2022.

Following assessment, invitations to interviews will be made, to be held on 20 and 21 October.

The final shortlist, expected to be around 10 candidates, will present at a finale event on 22 November 2022. The winner will be decided by both audience and Bates Wells Foundation trustee votes.

For full details and to begin an online application, visit the Stephen Lloyd Awards website.