The Ideas Fund
What was the challenge?
In 2021 The Ideas Fund was created with the aim of connecting communities with research professionals so they can work together to develop new solutions that address problems related to mental wellbeing.
Developed by the British Science Association, the grants programme was specifically aimed at engaging with grassroots communities that had been previously overlooked by funding programmes, such as those in rural parts of the UK, young people, minority ethnic groups and socioeconomically disadvantaged people.
The Liminal Space joined this pioneering fund at the beginning of its journey to help co-design the fund’s application process. We’ve been supporting this game-changing endeavour in a myriad of ways over the last few years, from being a learning partner to helping grantees tell their impact story.
What did we do?
Our first challenge was to design an application form that eschewed the systemic barriers that traditionally prevent seldom-heard groups and organisations from receiving funding.
Through our Future Museums research, we knew it was vital to find out directly from communities which parts of existing funding applications and systems they found obstructive.
Our research identified a number of recurring barriers that included: confusing language and terminology used by funders; a lengthy application process requiring more time and resources than smaller charities are able to give; and the need for quantitative data becoming an invisible barrier for applicants from minoritised backgrounds. Using a people-centred approach, we held co-design sessions with potential applicants to map out an ideal process that they would be confident navigating.
We created a series of short films featuring community trailblazers eligible for the Ideas Fund, which were then embedded in the application form itself to break the process down into more manageable sections.
Once our fully digital, user-friendly application form was up and running and grants had been awarded, we helped The Ideas Fund to capture learnings to inform the next round. By running a series of creative workshops with grantees we surfaced new insights and opportunities. We also worked closely with communities and researchers to tell the story of the impact of the grant in their own words in a series of animated films, which have served to further the reach and success of the grants programme.
