The City Innovation Challenge

The City Innovation Challenge awards took place on Wednesday 27 April at the Hilton Brighton Metropole.  

We received over 150 entries across five categories.

Each winner received a prize of £1,000.

The ideas were judged in March 2016 by:  

• Sue McHugh (University of Brighton)
• Niraj Saraf (Innovate UK)
• Jo Wadsworth (Brighton and Hove News)
• Geoff Raw (Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove City Council)
• Cllr Warren Morgan (The Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council).

The winners

Individual award sponsored by Entrepreneurial Spark
 

• The winner in this category was Vic Stevens.
• The idea was to have awards to recognise responsible HMO landlords.
• There were also a number of great entries around volunteering that will be looked at by the council as part of our volunteering strategy.

Young person award sponsored by Microsoft
 

• The winner in this category was Josh White (16 years old). 
• The idea in this category was to create an online platform for young people to share ideas.

Community & voluntary sector award sponsored by Brighton & Hove Buses
 

• The winner in this category was Rhian White.
• The idea in this category was to work with local group, Dogwatch, to help improve the facilities we offer to dog owners.

Brighton & Hove City Council staff award sponsored by Brighton Hilton Metropole
 

• The winner in this category was Peter Huntbach (Older People’s Housing Manager).
• The idea was to include a ‘Give’ button on the council website so people can find out where to donate time, money or resources.

Business award sponsored by Advice Cloud
 

• The winner in this category was Emily O’Brien (Project Manager at Brighton & Hove Food Partnership). 
• The idea in this category was libraries and community spaces as new market places.

What is the City Innovation Challenge?

The City Innovation Challenge is to encourage new ideas and solutions for Brighton & Hove. The council is facing unprecedented cuts in funding from government which means that we will have to review how we deliver all our services and some may be discontinued.

We asked residents, businesses and community groups for ideas to win a cash prize of £1,000 for your solution. We’re looking for bold and creative ways to save money, bring a benefit to your neighbourhood or community, or ways to generate income to fund services.

Find out more about our budget.

The categories

The categories were:

• Individuals
• Young people (individual, group or school) - under 18 years old
• Community and voluntary sector
• Businesses (sponsored by Advice Cloud)
• Brighton & Hove City Council staff