Unearthing the unexpected


Solving the world’s biggest problems

  • We run innovation challenge prizes
  • We attract innovative talent, incentivise progress and nurture radical ideas
  • We’ve set 93 challenges over 10 years with a total prize pot of £258.7M
  • We unlock change and make the world a better place

Discover what we do

Our Challenge Prizes

What are our objectives?

Create breakthrough innovations

By guiding and incentivising radical thinkers, we create better, more diverse solutions, providing low-risk chances to support long shots, radical ideas and unusual suspects.

Help innovators thrive

We know that great things happen when people come together, so we incentivise thinkers and creators in a supportive, open and rewarding environment. Whether they win or not, all our innovators benefit.

Unlock systemic change

The solutions discovered in our challenge prizes go on to shape the future development of markets and technologies. Challenge prizes can help identify best practice, shift regulation and even drive policy change.

Founders of the Sustainably team, who took part in the Open Up 2020 Challenge

Our Impact

  • 0

    challenge prizes

  • 0

    winners

  • 0

    finalists

  • 0

    innovator teams around the world working to solve key challenges.

  • 0M

    people engaged in helping to develop our finalists’ solutions and bring them to life.

  • £0M

    Distributed to innovators and participating teams in prizes and seed funding.

Our Partners

“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”

Let’s work together

Discover more of our incredible partner organisations from across the world

Our Partners

News and views

More news and views