Call for Innovation in Play to Improve Child Outcomes

Deadline: 28-Oct-2026

Innovate UK is supporting organisations to develop innovative, evidence-informed solutions that improve access to high-quality play for children and young people up to age 18. The competition offers total project funding of £200,000 to £500,000, including VAT, for 12-month projects that increase access to real-world play environments, address inequalities, support families and educators, and demonstrate measurable improvements in children’s development, learning, health and wellbeing.

About the Innovate UK Play Innovation Competition

The competition aims to strengthen the role of play in children’s lives by supporting organisations to develop practical and innovative solutions that make enriching play more accessible.

Play can contribute to:

The programme particularly recognises inequalities in access to enriching play opportunities and seeks solutions that can improve access for children and young people who may face barriers to play. Funding Available Eligible projects must have total project costs between £200,000 and £500,000, inclusive of VAT.

This is approximately equivalent to:

- Minimum project cost: £200,000.

- Maximum project cost: £500,000.

- Approximate US dollar range: $254,000 to $635,000.

Applicants should ensure that their proposed project budget falls within the specified range. Project Duration Projects must run for 12 months.

The required project dates are:

- Start date: 1 February 2027.

- End date: 31 January 2028.

- Duration: 12 months.

Applicants should ensure that their proposed activities, partnerships, testing and evaluation can be completed within this timeframe. What Types of Solutions Are Supported? The competition is looking for practical and innovative approaches that improve children’s access to real-world play environments and experiences.

Potential solutions may include:

- Intervention programmes. - Behaviour change approaches. - New delivery models. - New partnership models. - Design-led innovations. - Place-based innovations. - Approaches that help families and caregivers facilitate play. - Solutions that support educators and communities in creating better play opportunities. Projects should use play as a mechanism for achieving measurable improvements in children’s development and learning. Types of Play Encouraged The competition encourages solutions that recognise different forms of play and create opportunities for children to engage in varied play experiences.

These may include:

- Social play. - Imaginative play. - Constructive play. - Sensory play. - Physically engaging play. Projects can operate across different environments, including: - Homes. - Educational settings. - Community settings. - Real-world outdoor or physical environments. Key Objectives of the Competition Projects should address one or more important challenges affecting children’s access to play.

Key objectives include:

- Increasing access to real-world play environments. - Improving the quality of play experiences. - Reducing inequalities in access to enriching play. - Supporting child development. - Improving measurable learning outcomes. - Supporting children’s health and wellbeing. - Helping families and caregivers facilitate play. - Supporting educators and communities. - Encouraging diverse forms of play. - Strengthening face-to-face interaction. Who Can Benefit From the Solutions? Projects should have a clearly identified target audience consisting of children and young people up to age 18. Applicants must provide an evidenced rationale explaining: - Who the target audience is. - What barriers they experience. - Why the proposed intervention is needed. - How the project will improve access to play. - What measurable outcomes are expected. The project should demonstrate how its approach can address identified inequalities or gaps in access to enriching play opportunities.

Eligibility and Project Requirements

Eligible projects must meet several important requirements.

Projects should have:

- A clearly defined target audience. - An evidence-based rationale for the identified need. - A robust theory of change. - A feasible delivery model. - Strong safeguarding protocols. - Established partnerships. - A clear approach to testing and scaling. - A robust monitoring and evaluation plan. - Measures for assessing child-level outcomes. The proposed solution must also improve face-to-face interaction and access to real-world play environments. Theory of Change A strong theory of change is an important requirement for the competition. Applicants should demonstrate the logical connection between: - The identified problem. - The proposed intervention. - The activities delivered. - The expected changes in behaviour or access. - The short-term outcomes. - The longer-term child development or learning outcomes. The theory of change should provide a clear explanation of why the proposed solution is expected to improve children’s experiences and outcomes. Monitoring and Evaluation Projects must include a robust monitoring and evaluation plan. The evaluation approach should be capable of measuring child-level outcomes and demonstrating whether the intervention is achieving its intended objectives.

Applicants should consider:

- What outcomes will be measured. - How baseline information will be established. - How changes will be tracked. - What evidence will demonstrate improved access to play. - How child development or learning outcomes will be assessed. - How findings can inform future scaling. Safeguarding Requirements Because projects involve children and young people, strong safeguarding arrangements are required.

Applicants should demonstrate:

- Appropriate safeguarding protocols. - Clear responsibilities among project partners. - Safe delivery environments. - Appropriate procedures for working with children and young people. - Risk management arrangements. Safeguarding should be integrated into the project’s delivery model rather than treated as a separate activity.