Supporting Bold Ideas: Go! London launches Open Innovation Challenges

We believe that when young people and communities co-design solutions and share resources, physical activity and sport become powerful tools for equity, belonging, and long-term resilience.

That’s why we’re launching two new Open Innovation Challenges: Reimagining Spaces for Sport and Play and Sport for Climate Action.

Reimagining Spaces for Sport and Play: We welcome solutions that increase the availability of safe, inclusive and affordable spaces for sport and physical activity by adapting or re-imagining spaces that were previously not used for this purpose. We are also looking for solutions that make existing spaces for sport and physical activity more inclusive, welcoming and relevant to bring in young people previously excluded from those spaces.

Sport for Climate Action: At its core, this Challenge is about harnessing the energy, reach and collective spirit of sport and physical activity to build a healthier, more sustainable future for young people and the planet. We’re looking for projects that drive climate action through awareness, capacity building and engagement OR that enable climate-resilient participation of children and young people in physical activity.

What are Open Innovation Challenges?

Open Innovation Challenges are an invitation to collaborate on shared priorities and missions to generate positive impact. They’re about bringing new perspectives to big challenges and championing a ‘learning by doing’ approach – prototyping, testing, and iterating ideas to create meaningful solutions to real life problems. They give people an active role in shaping their surroundings, ensuring solutions are both rooted in lived experience and supported by those who can scale them.  

Through them, we aim to support collaborations across communities, landowners, local authorities, individual local change leaders, and others. In doing so, we are giving people an active role in shaping their surroundings, ensuring solutions are both rooted in lived experience and supported by those who can scale them.  

Are you eligible?

To be eligible for these Challenges, applying initiatives must fulfil the below criteria:

• Applicants must be over 18.
• Initiatives must be designed for and delivered in London.
• The lead applicant or organisation must have a registered legal entity, and should be a non-profit organisation (including schools, universities, and local authorities). For-profit organisations can be part of the partnership but not the lead applicant.
• Previous and existing Go! London grantees are eligible to apply and/or to be part of a partnership that is applying.

How to apply

The programme is delivered by Ashoka and Play Verto. You can find out more about how to apply by visiting Ashoka’s website. Please make sure you read the guidance and terms & conditions before applying. The deadline to apply is 5pm on 17 February 2026.