After four years of successful investments, Challenge London – A New Direction’s partnership investment fund – will end in July 2022. Challenge London investments have been made in 17 programmes across 14 boroughs, and one pan-London programme. These ranged in value from £20,000 to £150,000, and from 12 months to 3.5 years.
In total £1,146,389 has been invested through Challenge London since 2018. This has been matched by £1,231,995 from sources of match funding including local authorities, trusts and charitable foundations, housing associations and developers, cultural organisations and education partnerships, and youth foundations.
Two key findings from research and evaluation of Challenge London suggest first the importance of empowerment and investing in supporting local cultural leadership, and second, ensuring the longevity of investment towards sustainability. We have learnt that the combination of strong local leadership, improved organisational connections, and a clear and common vision and case for change is powerful. We have also learnt the importance of taking a long-term view and giving place-based programmes time to breathe and grow.
In this section, we will share End of Programme Reports from our Challenge London funded programmes as they come through.
