The Design Council has revealed the 10 teams with fresh ideas to improve the health and wellbeing of children under five in Southwark and Lambeth. The winners of the Knee High Design Challenge will be awarded with £10K and will also get expert mentoring and support to further develop their ideas with local families.
The challenge received a total of 190 applications for funding and support in September 2013. A shortlist of 25 was selected in October to receive £1000 each to test and co-design their ideas with South London families. Tests took place in libraries, parks, shopping centres, children's centres, homes, and even on a bus, across both boroughs to establish what ideas have the potential to make the most difference to children under five. 10 were chosen for further funding; however, all the teams involved in the programme so far are being offered different types of support to keep their ideas developing.
Winning Teams
Cook & Meet is a new program that supports and trains migrant parents to deliver People's Kitchens in their local areas. The Kitchens aim to build family networks, employability and integration with local services and uses food from shops and markets that would otherwise go to waste. (Delivered by The Stockwell Partnership and Brixton People's Kitchen)
Creative Homes is the brainchild of a team of artists and designers. They aim to create an advice service as well as a range of products that promote interactive play within the home, and relieve day-to-day stress within a family. (Delivered by Tea Dance for Little People)
FortyFi is a service that aims to help parents build and strengthen their social networks during pregnancy and mobilise this support in the postnatal period. (Delivered by Sally Walker, an entrepreneurial nanny)
The Good Enough Mums' Musical. The Good Enough Mums' Club is a musical theatre production that aims to inspire parents to change the way they think about themselves, as well as empowering them to share their experiences and seek support and advice in more effective ways. (Delivered by Emily Beecher in association with Spin Arts)
Kids Connect is an online tool that offers accurate, relevant, and up to date information of local activities for families. It aims to allow parents to plan journeys, share invitations and build confidence to access activities locally. (Delivered by entrepreneurial parents Hannah White, Tracey Gilbert and Ben White)
Leapfrog Bus is a converted London Bus. This aim of the project is to provide an interactive & engaging travel experience for under 5s using effective spacial design to welcome and inspire families. (Delivered by Dr Sarah Tilley)
Make, Take & Explore Den. This enterprise is based in a high-street shop, providing families with stimulating missions that turn the outdoors into a world of discovery for parents and children. (Delivered by Mission:Explore, Lambeth City Farmers, Geography Collective)
New Moments are looking at the challenges of early bonding between parent and baby. This service uses Video Interaction Guidance to provide parents with positive feedback on the relationship they have with their baby. The aim of this service is give parents every chance to form a strong bond with their baby in the first weeks and months of life. (delivered by The Mental Health Foundation)
Pop-up Parks. Intelligent Space is an enterprise looking at transforming neglected outdoors spaces. They aim to co-design pop-up-parks with local families in under-used outdoor spaces to encourage those who don't use green spaces to play during their everyday lives. (Delivered by Tom Doust, Intelligent Space)
The Dad Project. The NSPCC aim to improve the emotional wellbeing of families with young children by providing more timely and relevant information and advice especially for dads. They aim to ensure all dads have the confidence to be as involved in their child's life as they want to be. (Delivered by NSPCC)
"This challenge process has been incredibly exciting for us," commented Mat Hunter, Chief Design Officer at Design Council. "We've been shortlisting and working with more teams than in any previous Challenge. The range of skills and individuals has been wider than ever too. By collaborating on this level we're helping to kick-start even more original services for families. Not only that, but these services are being tested to make sure they're sustainable and well-designed. Eliminating risk in this way is key in order to ensure children in Southwark and Lambeth get the best possible start in life."