Call for New Ideas

We are delighted to launch our Call for New Ideas: Young People

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What is Call for New Ideas? 

The Call for New Ideas is exactly that: our invitation to not-for-profits across the UK to bring us new and imaginative ideas for housing solutions to social injustice.  

The more original and creative the better; the organisations with the best ideas will be offered up-to £10,000 grant funding. This money is for you to test your model through further research. 

The aim: to work in partnership with you to bring your models to life. It starts with your lightbulb moment, and it finishes, we hope, with a housing and support pilot project running for up-to 10 years. 

Who is it for? 

The Call for New Ideas is for frontline organisations who want to manage a housing and support service that will improve the lives of vulnerable people.

Who does it help? 

For this year’s Call for New Ideas, we are only looking for ideas that tackle injustices faced by young people over the age of 18 who have had experience of least one of: 

  • The care system

  • Mental health problems or are neurodivergent

  • Difficult experiences in the education system, particularly those who faced serial exclusion

To help guide our thinking for Call for New Ideas: Young People, we commissioned national homelessness charity Homeless Link to undertake horizon scanning research to better understand the key drivers of youth homelessness. This research identified the above groups as being particularly overlooked and vulnerable. 

The report can be read in full here.

How does it work? 

FINAL branding CFNI graphic (smaller)

When is this running? 

The Call for New Ideas: Young People is open from 27 March 2024 until 19 April 2024. The deadline for submitting your application is 5pm Friday 19th April 2024. 

What else do I need to know? 

All the details of the Call for New Ideas: Young People can be found in our Information Sheet on this page.  

How can I apply? 

Organisations interested in applying should download and complete the Application Form found on this page and return it by email to apply@commonweal.org.uk. 

Application Form 

Information Sheet

Here's what successful previous Call for New Ideas applicants have to say:

"The team at Commonweal were fantastic and supported us all the way through the process, providing expert advice, guidance and signposting when needed...

If anyone has an idea to tackle a social injustice and needs support to develop, I strongly suggest that you consider the Call for New Ideas." - Gaynor Brooke, Head of Services at successful 2022 Call for New Ideas applicant Servol Community Services.

Call for New Ideas: Commonweal were fantastic and supported us all the way through the process

By Gaynor Brooke | August 21, 2023

Gaynor Brooke, Head of Services at successful 2022 Call for New Ideas applicant Servol Community Services, reflects on her organisation’s journey with Commonweal’s Call for New Ideas: I have worked in the Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector in the West Midlands for over 20 years and joined Servol Community Services in 2021…

Call for New Ideas: Our relationship with Commonweal goes far beyond the bricks and mortar

By Sean O’Connell | October 7, 2022

Sean O’Connell Chief Executive Officer at successful 2021 Call for New Ideas applicant Adab Trust, reflects on his organisation’s journey with Commonweal’s Call for New Ideas: The Adab Trust has a proven track record of achieving remarkable outcomes with young people from a range of disadvantaged backgrounds. We recognise that the development of a young…

Call for New Ideas: one of the best experiences of my time in the homeless sector

By Aidan Byrne | March 9, 2022

Aidan Byrne, Homelessness Service Manager at successful 2021 Call for New Ideas applicant East Belfast Mission, reflects on his organisation’s journey with Commonweal’s Call for New Ideas: I have worked in the homeless sector in Belfast for over 15 years. For most of this time I have managed Hosford, the homeless service of East Belfast…

Read more:

Housing ideas wanted for young people impacted by care, mental health and education 

By Lauren Aronin | March 27, 2024

Commonweal Housing is inviting not-for-profits to devise new and imaginative housing and support model ideas targeted at specific injustices facing young people, with grant funding available for the most original ideas.   The Call for New Ideas programme – a funding mechanism designed to help develop multi-year housing pilot projects – invites not-for-profits to submit new housing…

Call for New Ideas: Commonweal were fantastic and supported us all the way through the process

By Gaynor Brooke | August 21, 2023

Gaynor Brooke, Head of Services at successful 2022 Call for New Ideas applicant Servol Community Services, reflects on her organisation’s journey with Commonweal’s Call for New Ideas: I have worked in the Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector in the West Midlands for over 20 years and joined Servol Community Services in 2021…

Commonweal offering funding to pilot housing ideas addressing injustices within the criminal justice system

By Lauren Aronin | August 21, 2023

Social justice charity Commonweal Housing is offering funding to frontline organisations across the UK to test new and innovative housing-based solutions to address injustices within the criminal justice system. Through the charity’s Call for New Ideas partnership programme, Commonweal invites not-for-profit organisations to apply for funding between £5,000-10,000 to conduct a short-term feasibility study to…

Commonweal funds new feasibility study testing a Housing First alternative to custody for victims of domestic abuse

By Lauren Aronin | September 29, 2022

Commonweal Housing has partnered with Liverpool City Regional Combined Authority to investigate a Housing First approach for female victims of domestic violence who have committed a minor offence. The charity will fund a feasibility study by Liverpool City Regional Combined Authority to test an alternative to custody for women victims of domestic abuse, by providing accommodation…

Commonweal supporting another four housing initiatives as part of its Call for New Ideas 2022

By Lauren Aronin | August 18, 2022

Commonweal Housing has agreed to fund four new imaginative feasibility studies for housing solutions to social injustices. The new partnerships are part of Commonweal’s Call for New Ideas 2022, the charity’s partnership programme established to test new ideas that seek housing-based solutions to social injustices. The Call for New Ideas 2022 partners are: With Commonweal’s…

Commonweal launches its Call for New Ideas 2022 to support organisations with original housing projects

By Miriam Lawson | February 10, 2022

Commonweal Housing has reopened its partnership programme, Call for New Ideas 2022, inviting not-for-profit organisations working with marginalised groups to submit imaginative and original ideas for housing solutions to social injustices. Commonweal is offering frontline organisations funding, support measures and bespoke property in an effort to work with sector experts to design and deliver housing…

Commonweal strikes seven partnerships for innovative feasibility studies

By Harry Williams | November 24, 2021

Commonweal Housing has partnered with seven front-line organisations as part of its 2021 Call for New Ideas, the charity’s partnership programme. It has agreed to support and fund the feasibility studies to test the suitability of new innovative models that seek housing-based solutions to social injustices. The new partners are: Homelessness organisation, C4WS Irish Methodist…

Desperate for solutions – where to find them? | Call For New Ideas

By Ashley Horsey | April 14, 2021

As Commonweal launches its 2021 Call For New Ideas, CEO Ashley Horsey reflects on our approach to finding creative solutions to social injustices – and on not being afraid to to make mistakes along the way.

Charity seeks new housing-based project partnerships to tackle social injustices

By Megan Fereday | April 12, 2021

Commonweal Housing has opened a new call for housing-based project ideas from charitable organisations working to tackle social injustice.