Ahead of the Care Show, the five Care Innovation Challenge finalists were given the opportunity to speak to resident innovators and senior leaders during a visit to National Care Forum (NCF) member St Monica Trust, whose Chocolate Quarter retirement village in Bristol hosted a vital pitching and feedback session. NCF also delivered additional learning to the finalists. This included an online session which provided tips around the vital considerations when thinking about incorporating artificial intelligence into their businesses.
On the first day of the Care Show, the five Care Innovation Challenge finalists had the opportunity to present their innovations to delegates and exhibitors alike. In a packed NEC, the finalists were surrounded by prospective clients and investors that could help bring their products to market. Drawing upon everything they had learned from the Care Innovation Challenge mentors and with the support of thoughtfully designed marketing materials, the five finalists sought to impress the judges one last time before deliberations took place to decide the winner.
The Business Theatre was the appropriate setting for the winner of the Care Innovation Challenge 2025 to be announced in the afternoon of the Care Show’s second day. Following a presentation from Professor Vic Rayner OBE, Chief Executive Officer at NCF, reflecting on the success of 2025’s Challenge, Making Space’s The Co-Pro Game was announced as the winner.
CMM interviews the winner
CMM: Many congratulations! How are you feeling after your win?
Making Space: A little bit overwhelmed and taken aback by it all! All of the finalists were fantastic, so it’s just a bit of a shock but obviously a massive complement too.
CMM: What has been your experience of the Care Show?
MS: I think it’s been incredible! There are so many providers here and I don’t think we’ve had the chance to fully immerse ourselves in that environment whilst we’ve been here, but the feedback and generosity that we have received from the people that have come up to us has been amazing.
CMM: What have you been up to since the Challenge weekend?
MS: We’ve been working hard developing and getting the design of the game right. For example, we had the dice, but we didn’t have any tokens or a board, so we’ve been creating a lot of freehand drawings based on what we think the board should look like. Then I leant on the support of my team to bring our designs to life on a physical board prototype. We’ve been able to share the prototype with colleagues and the people we support, who have fed back their thoughts, and it’s been a really positive reaction overall. It’s been very time consuming, but we feel like we have achieved a lot in a short space of time.
CMM: How have the Care Innovation Challenge mentors supported you throughout the process?
MS: All of the mentors, but especially Isaac [Samuels, Lived Experience and Co-Production Advisor at Think Local Act Personal (TLAP)] and Adam [Burley, Managing Director at Burley Inclusive], have been really supportive. TLAP has been incredibly generous with its time and to allow us to take its ‘I’ and ‘We’ statements which the game is based on and do something creative and meaningful with them. The fact that the organisation is always there if we need it is a huge thing and TLAP has really been a huge cheerleader throughout this whole process.
CMM: In what ways is The Co-Pro Game going to help people?
MS: It’s all about personalising the care and support people are providing as well as improving those services too. The Co-Pro Game can help to achieve these things by prompting conversation about the statements amongst players and co-producing feedback to pass on to those services providing care and support.
It’s a cost-effective and fun way for staff and the people they support to engage in meaningful conversations, not just about what activities they might want to do or what they might like from the food menu, but actually the depth and breadth of what helpful social care should look like.
It’s not a tick box on a survey. It’s an opportunity to have a much deeper conversation about providing person-centred care and how important it is for people with lived experience to have a say about the care and support services they are drawing upon.
CMM: What does the next six months look like and what will you use the prize money for?
MS: I think we really need to take the feedback we have received on board and think about all the different possible applications of The Co-Pro Game. For example, we had care leavers come up to us and say they would love a version of the game to help them to make informed decisions about their futures, as well as domiciliary and other types of care providers express interest.
Despite this, we are still really focussed on spreading co-productive practice throughout the social care sector. The Co-Pro Game can be used by care providers large and small, and our absolute passion remains to use it to encourage co-production wherever possible.
CMM: Finally, what would you say to people considering entering next year’s Challenge?
MS: Absolutely go for it! It’s been such an enjoyable experience, demanding but so worth it. We were a bit nervous to begin with, but from forming the idea through to the amazing Challenge weekend and everything in between, we have felt so supported and encouraged to champion our innovation. To have won the Challenge is extra special but we have taken so much knowledge from the process that we felt like we had already ‘won’ regardless of the outcome.
Applications are now open for the 2026 Challenge!
The Care Innovation Challenge is a hackathon-style creative weekend of idea generation and prototype trialling. With cash prizes for the top spots, expert mentoring and guaranteed media coverage this is an opportunity not to be missed. Applications for a place at the 2026 weekend are now open, and creative thinkers, anyone who has a passion for making ideas a reality and people who want to make a positive difference to people’s lives are invited to apply on the Care Innovation Hub website.
The Challenge, hosted by the Care Innovation Hub, is run by NCF and is supported by TLAP through its National Co-production Advisory Group to ensure people with lived experience help to create solutions to key challenges faced by the care sector. NCF is dedicated to developing innovation in the social care and support sector and is a natural home to drive the Care Innovation Hub into the future. Applications are now open for the 2026 Challenge! Visit the Care Innovation Hub website for more information.
CMM would like to congratulate this year’s Care Innovation Challenge finalists – the passion, commitment, creativity and team spirit shown by Dr Shelley James, Carpe Care, David Grey, Molly Baldini and Making Space was exceptional. CMM cannot wait to see how all the finalists develop their ideas as they aim to support the sector.