The ARK and Benedict projects

These two projects were considered to have synergies, so were joined together following Innovate East 2019.

The Ark Project 

The problem:

Managing the impact of climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our communities. Severe weather events are happening more often and the predicted amount of people that will be affected in the future is increasing. There is an acceptance that this will be the case, so we need to help communities by plugging the current gap that exists focusing on supporting them to deal with the impact of climate driven events.  

The solution: 

Create a hub of resources communities could use to help them prepare for and recover more quickly from extreme weather events. Twelve community coordinators would works at a local level in the east of England to help communities identify and implement solutions relevant to them. 

The hub would detail best practice ideas which could be appropriately selected for each individual community. For example, a community with a large elderly population might benefit from a ‘check on your neighbour’ scheme in hot and cold weather events, while a community prone to flooding might take advantage of a tree planting and soak away scheme. 

The Benedict project 

The problem:

Homelessness is a big issue across the UK with a 13,000 year-on-year increase despite government pledges to tackle the crisis. The reasons behind homelessness are complex, but we know gaining employment is one of the cornerstones to achieving stability. The UK has a network of charities, adult education providers and healthcare systems that can help, but they often work in silos and don’t offer the homeless community a joined up system that can help them achieve long-term, meaningful employment opportunities. 

The solution:

Create a ‘connector’ role to coordinate various support agencies to help local employers to provide opportunities to get the homeless back into work. 

This would involve creating a framework of inclusion bring homeless people in their communities into the businesses. The connector would also work with homeless charities to source potential candidates who could offer much needed skills to the relevant opportunities. 

Where we are today: 

The initial seed funding money allowed teams to explore the viability of these two ideas, but more funding is needed to get them off the ground. The teams are currently applying for funding opportunities to start executing the projects.