How do we select projects to award?
We only have a small pot of money in the fund and we get a LOT of applications so funding decisions are hard as we are only able to fund a few projects a year. Our principal check is whether the project matches the criteria and limitations set out here: https://theprospectory.com/idea-fund/
Beyond that, we always seek to gather some expert input on the technical feasibility of the idea, its novelty in its given field and then its potential impact (either socially or environmentally) IF it works.
Beyond that, it’s fairly subjective – does the idea grab our attention as particularly inventive, intriguing or just fun? Could a lot be learned simply from doing the experiment which might lead to different or better ideas? Does the amount of money being asked for balance our level of interest and the possible impact of the idea? And so on….
Projects awarded since 2020.
2020 Outside Lives Ltd in North Wales – to enable their community to build a free standing, mobile, gravity fed, off-grid, handwashing station.
2020 Lee Holder of Music Works in Gloucester – Lee’s ‘Sound Gadgets’ initiative is using a combination of 3D printing and motion, touch, light and distance sensors to prototype bespoke instruments for young people with disabilities to enjoy creating music at home.
2021 Open Trail in Kidderminster – Their idea is Timerz – the first timing system to be a portable, use at home system for testing cycle sprint time over space witout the need for timing strips, beams and equipment. Their plan is an easy set-up, low cost option for grass roots racers and athletes looking for high performance on a budget. They have been working with their youngsters on the first prototype.
2021 Ava Garnside in Leeds – Ava’s idea is developing ‘Perfect Sense AQ’ sensor pin badges to wear on clothing (e.g. a school blazer) for measuring and displaying levels of pollution on the walk to school.
2021 Nichola Andersen and Swenson Kearey in Cornwall – to develop and install an automated recording and live streaming system of the dawn chorus using a Raspberry Pi platform in 4 different Cornwall locations.
2021 Victor Galadimawa – His idea is to use optic filters combined with an Infrared emitter to construct a high-power, fast cooking, solar powered barbecue grill which is compact and portable enough to replace the current single use, charcoal grills.
2021 Christian Blackmore-Wynn of Somerset is a Design Teacher who also sings and plays in the band The Legendary Snake Snake Snake – his idea is to work with his design students to experiment with creating sustainable percussion eggs which his band can use made from recycled paper and card pulp or from food waste such as orange peel or ground coffee with wildflower seeds mixed into it.
2022 Pigfoot Theatre in London – for their energy-harvesting dancefloor project which will convert performers’ live footsteps into electricity to power their shows’ lighting.
2022 Alistair Reid of Isle of Arran for his idea of geometry inspired, expandable structures for temporary packable accommodation for seasonal workers on Arran.
2022 Fibe – a group of 5 Imperial College students who have an idea for creating sustainable textiles from the waste leaves which grow above potato crops. The fund will help them run a viability trial this summer involving potato farmers and weaving equipment.
2022 – Connell McBride of Armagh for his idea of how to improve the nasal sound of the melodica by adding a sound box. He wants to improve the sound and attractiveness of the melodica as an affordable, easy to learn way for children to learn to play music. The fund will cover the cost of prototyping a posssible solution.
2023 – Dr Ramneek Johal, Research Scientist for her novel experiments using everyday household items to manufacture complex scaffolds for tissue regeneration.
2023 – Nicole Hakim for her idea of extracting collagen from fish waste to develop a collagen hydrogel material that can be used for biocompatible applications in the contact lens industry. The award will enable her to carry out her next stage lab experiments.
2023 – Bristol Braille – to fund their experimental development of their digital Braille Reader to include graphics to enable blind people to play digital games.
2024 Antoinette Oni – to fund her experimentation of creating thermal insulation boards from a composite of crop waste material.
2024 BLK BOX team – to fund an experiment to test using granular data from sensors to create digital twins for commercial buildings. These can accurately quantify heat loss on a room-by-room basis that is viable for a reliable decarbonisation strategy for commercial buildings. https://theprospectory.com/2024/12/30/latest-idea-fund-award/
2025 Cassie Quinn – to fund her experiment into detox Bio Embellishment: Non-mined gemstones. Born from a mistake in an experiment while producing wastewater-cleaning sequins, this project investigates creating reflective sparkles using biopolymers to retain biodegradability in sequin and embellishments and creating gemstones like amber and opal using non-extractive methods.
2025 Brandon Smith – to fund his further research, experimenting and prototyping of ‘Amulet’ – an ultra-low-cost wearable electronic health record (EHR) designed for rapid deployment in resource-constrained or disrupted healthcare settings, such as in conflict zones, humanitarian crises, and with displaced populations.
2025 Johana Hartwig – https://theprospectory.com/2025/03/20/idea-fund-award-using-urban-river-waste-to-create-aesthetic-floating-structures-for-growing-food/ Utilising the point at which the 2 rivers Ely and Taff feed into Cardiff Bay, Johama’s idea is to try to create a mass hydroponic system of some kind, grown on the waste we discard. The work responds to human impact in natural environments and will use the Cardiff Bay Marina as a testbed for the creation of organic, buoyant structures that could be used for current and future urban farming.
2025 Matt Carlon – https://theprospectory.com/2025/04/29/idea-fund-award-a-virtual-white-stick-to-help-blind-people-feel-their-surroundings-objects-and-textures/ A ‘virtual’ white stick that uses LIDAR technology to allow blind people to ‘feel’ their surroundings, objects and textures. The design has a point displacement pressure pad that presses against the users finger, much like a braille dot, a variable amount directly correlating to a LIDAR measurement. The tactile response will provide a new intuitive sensory experience to understand their environment, they could ‘see’ sculptures and feel what a park ‘looks’ like.“
2025 Suhandan Thangadurai – https://theprospectory.com/2025/07/15/idea-fund-award-tree-hugger-robot-for-detecting-early-signs-of-tree-disease-environmental-stress/ To help Suhandan develop his prototype Tree Hugger robot which will use a range of sensors: Thermal, to take readings of the tree’s temperature and Soil moisture, to take data from the soil at the base of the tree. An ESP-32 camera is programmed with machine learning to recognise diseased tree bark. Suhandan is only our 2nd teenager to receive an ‘I’ve got an idea’ Fund award.
2025 Freddy Sarathchandra – https://theprospectory.com/2025/07/22/idea-fund-award-developing-a-field-insect-microscope/ To experiment with a number of technically innovative ideas which could enable the development of a low cost, rugged entomology microscope for collection of high quality images that allow simple, fast insect ID in the field without needing to take specimens away from where they were found.
2025 Natalie Smith – https://theprospectory.com/2025/09/08/idea-fund-award-plant-powered-sheets/ Natalie has been experimenting with brewing nutrient teas from waste vegetable scraps and combining them with natural extracts and gelling agents to prototype a biodegradable sheet that could hold moisture, release nutrients gradually, and compost harmlessly back into the soil. In just a six week quick stress test window, the results exceeded expectations. Plants with the sheets stayed moist for days, if not weeks, longer than controls with minimal watering. The ‘I’ve got an idea’ fund award will help Natalie now extend her DIY experiments: assessing the effectiveness of different blends of food waste teas as well as vacuum-packing the sheets for stabilisation to see for how long they stay usable.
2025 Roy Beal – https://theprospectory.com/2025/12/04/idea-fund-award-microplastics-beach-cleaning-device/ Roy’s idea is to develop a microplastic beach cleaning device using suction to remove material from the beach, separate the plastics using a mixture of vibration and electricity, collecting the plastic before returning the organic material to the beach. The ‘I’ve got an idea’ Fund will enable Roy to acquire the components to build a working prototype based on his early experiments for testing on beaches.
The Prospectory 