Poverty Prevention Challenge - Kickoff - City Hall

Challenge LDN

Tackling London’s biggest challenges through innovation.

Challenge LDN is London’s open innovation programme. We connect innovators and entrepreneurs with organisations and communities to positively impact the lives of Londoners.

Here’s how Challenge LDN works in three main steps:

Problem statement: articulate a clear statement that aligns with a strategic priority.
Open call: find innovators who have bright ideas and are passionate about making a difference.
Connect, fund, and co-design: connect problem owners with innovators to co-design and test ideas, learn, iterate, and scale up successful ideas.

Watch this video to learn more about what open innovation is.

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Our achievements

£2.5m

invested to develop and grow innovative solutions.

25

open calls launched to address the city's most pressing challenges.

120

start-ups/projects supported.

600

hours of support provided, including training, 1:1 mentorship, and networking.

What is open innovation

Open innovation is bringing problems the public sector is trying to solve closer to markets and innovators to create solutions.

It is increasingly used by governments and cities to think beyond silos and bring in outside expertise the public sector may lack. It brings in new perspectives on big challenges, and champions a learning-by-doing approach – prototyping, testing, and iterating ideas to create meaningful solutions to real-world problems.

Watch this video to hear from past Challenge LDN winners about what it means to be an innovator.

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Our current open innovation challenge

No Wrong Door Open Innovation Challenge

The No Wrong Door Open Innovation Challenge is an open call for up to 15 innovators to come up with fresh ideas to help tackle the obstacles faced by many Londoners in finding employment and enhancing their skills.

Find out more

Your challenges, your impact

Watch five short films on stories of innovators involved with Challenge LDN, with a focus on how innovation can lead to entrepreneurship, what to expect from a Challenge LDN programme and how people-centered solutions can create a better London.