By only paying out once a predetermined goal has been achieved, challenge prizes give a chance to long shots, radical ideas, and unusual suspects that traditional grant funding might overlook. This has directly resulted in the creation of over 594 cutting-edge technologies, products, or services.
Our impact
Over more than a decade, Challenge Works has demonstrated a proven track record of inducing innovation to solve systemic societal problems.
Driving systemic change through innovation
Challenge Works bridges the gap between radical thinking and real-world results. Our bespoke challenge prize methodology invigorates markets, shifts policies, and changes lives by incentivising the brightest minds to solve the world’s most pressing problems. When a bold goal is set alongside a clear incentive, the power of the crowd can solve what once seemed impossible.
From deep-dive research to final delivery, we work side-by-side with our partners to design the perfect challenge prize. By balancing ambitious goals with robust innovator support, our prizes ensure that the best ideas grow, evolve, and transform or create entirely new markets.
Our impact in numbers
Over the past decade, Challenge Works has demonstrated a proven track record of inducing innovation to solve systemic societal problems.
£3.6 billion catalyst effect
Challenge Works’ prizes don’t simply distribute money; they unlock it. For every £1 we place in a prize pot, the market responds with £10 in private investment, transforming our portfolio into a multi-billion pound catalyst for innovation.
15 times the chance of success
For every challenge prize we run, we fund and support an average of 15 independent working prototypes – giving funders 15 parallel ‘shots on goal’ while limiting the risk of R&D failure.
Prize audiences of 14 million
Across online, TV, radio and print, our PR coverage for each prize is an average 14 million views, shining a spotlight for funders on issues that matter to them while amplifying the story of a prize to a large audience.
The strategic value of challenge prizes
Challenge prizes offer a unique, low-risk, high-reward mechanism for partners looking to drive breakthrough innovation:
We support and nurture full cohorts of innovator teams. Beyond cash incentives, participants receive comprehensive packages of financial and non-financial support, profile-raising, and direct access to expert networks to help them scale.
Our prizes do more than invent things – they build massive momentum. With each prize attracting an audience of over 14 million people, we amplify crucial messages, raise public and industry awareness, inform regulatory shifts, and develop better-functioning markets.
Reports
Learn more about our method and the impact it has had by checking out our latest reports.
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Regulation, innovation and the activist state
Anticipatory regulation for an era of mission-driven government
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The Aqualunar Challenge Final Report
This report summarises the activities and the impacts of the UK track of the challenge, and the legacy it leaves behind.
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A Practical Guide for Challenge-Driven Innovation in Cities
A resource co-written with UN-Habitat to support cities tackle their biggest challenges through innovation.
Thomas Schuurmans. Proportion Global
Mobility Unlimited Challenge"Our partnership with Challenge Works on the Afri-Plastics Challenge revealed much more than a one-winner scenario. Challenge Works is at the forefront of employing human-centered design (HCD) for impactful programs. They inspire the development sector by showcasing how HCD nurtures a profound understanding of societal issues, ignites innovative ideas and enables iterative learning cycles for everyone involved – and how to use that to build sustainable change."
John T. O'Brien, University of Cambridge
Longitude Prize on Dementia"It has been a great pleasure working with Challenge Works on the Longitude Prize on Dementia. Their extensive experience has made the whole process, from inviting applications through to the initial selection of first stage awardees, seamless and efficient and makes it a pleasure to Chair the judging panel."
Ryan Klem, Toyota Mobility Foundation
Mobility Unlimited Challenge"Our work with Challenge Works on the Mobility Unlimited challenge was critical for us on many fronts. The work allowed us to connect with end-users, entrepreneurs, advocates, practitioners, thought leaders, and SMEs across multiple disciplines. This diverse perspective brought new ways of thinking about old problems in the assistive technology space as well as our own perspective on mobility in a broader sense. Not only did the challenge highlight innovations in the space but helped raise awareness on the broader challenges that exist for many when it comes to living barrier free. Since we launched the challenge several years ago, it has served as a proof point to our commitment to mobility and a launching pad for others to connect with us in an expanded space. NESTA was really the driver to make this happen in a thoughtful and organized manner."
Catherine Mohr, Intuitive Foundation
Global Surgical Training Challenge"We chose to work with Challenge Works because of their deep experience in running these big multinational prizes in complex medical areas. The combination of being able to help us put an international judging panel together and being able to coordinate across their deep experience in how prizes should be structured were key reasons why we chose to work with Challenge Works, and it's been an excellent partnership."
Pontus Westerberg, UN-Habitat
Climate Smart Cities Challenge“Challenge Works have been an excellent challenge partner in the delivery of the competition phase of the Climate Smart Cities Challenge. They planned and delivered processes for selecting cities and innovators, coordinated the innovator selection process and led communications and outreach activities. We look forward to continuing to working with them in future innovation challenges”
How we drive change
Challenge prizes offer a unique, low-risk, high-reward mechanism for partners looking to drive breakthrough innovation. Here’s how we do it:
Attracting new minds and fresh perspectives
We excel at bringing entirely new talent to a problem, disrupting stagnant fields with bold ideas:
- Over half of the finalists across our Dynamic Demand, Data Driven Farming, Open Up Challenge, and Longitude Prizes were completely new to the field.
- For 61% of the finalists on our CareerTech Challenge Prize, it was their very first time innovating for adults facing barriers to accessing career advice.
Incentivising beyond the cash prize
While the financial award is significant, our methodology leverages diverse intrinsic motivators to maximise participation.
In the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize, the primary motivation for 72% of problem-solvers was to do something that could help people. 63% wanted to partner with more experienced professionals, and 53% wanted to learn how to apply their knowledge to new purposes. Only 16% listed the prize money as their key motivator.
Embedding lived experience and local context
True impact requires collaboration with those who understand the problem intimately. We structure our programmes around innovator support and milestone prizes to reach, expand and cultivate local talent:
- On our Nepal-based Data Driven Farming Prize, local teams accounted for 83 out of 148 entrants, 6 out of 13 finalists, and 2 of the 4 ultimate winners.
- 60% of teams on the Mobility Unlimited Challenge included individuals with lived experience of disability, including four of the five finalist teams.
Commercial growth, follow-on funding, and market adoption
Participation in our prizes serves as a major validation stamp, massively accelerating commercial adoption and fundraising:
- Funding Multiplier: Problem-solvers on the Open Up Challenge went on to secure a staggering £638.1m in follow-on funding after taking part, compared to just £102.7m raised prior to the prize.
- Long-term Equity: An entrant to the Dynamic Demand Challenge successfully raised over £3m in grant funding and £6.7m in equity finance within three years of participating.
- User Adoption: Finalists in the Open Up 2020 Challenge saw an explosion in adoption, generating 23,000 direct leads and 351,000 clicks across consumer and finalist websites.
- Accelerated Development: 7 out of 8 finalists in the Legal Access Challenge confirmed that the prize accelerated the development of their direct-to-user solutions, achieving partner goals far faster than standard development cycles.
Institutional legacy and market-shaping policy
The legacy of a challenge prize extends long after the competition concludes, shifting public policy and driving sustained innovation:
- Regulatory Overhauls: Following the Legal Access Challenge, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) formally adopted the support of legal technology and innovation as one of its three strategic corporate objectives and joined the Lawtech Sandbox to nurture sector growth.
- Sustained Operations: Long after the Data Driven Farming Prize concluded, 11 out of 13 finalists continued active operations on their solutions, improving agricultural productivity and smallholder livelihoods in Nepal.
Why partner with Challenge Works?
A successful challenge prize requires careful execution to attract the right talent, refine complex problems, and properly balance goals with incentives. As part of Nesta, the research and innovation foundation, Challenge Works provides an unmatched end-to-end service, spanning deep-dive initial research, prize design, innovator support, and final delivery. Together, we can unlock radical ideas, solve the seemingly unsolvable, and turn bold goals into world-changing success stories.
