2023 Innovation pitches

Good Boost, represented by Ben Wilkins was awarded as the most innovative project.

Good Boost is a social enterprise working in partnership with community, leisure and health teams to create community-delivered therapeutic exercise and wellbeing programmes. Good Boost follows a human and experience centred approach, with all their solutions being co-designed and co-produced with our beneficiaries and stakeholders to create solutions that are fit-for-purpose, creating local health & wellbeing services. To date they have demonstrated how their services improves physical function, pain and overall quality of life.

Good Boost works extensively with leisure venues, gyms, swimming pools, libraries and more to create local community capacity for healthy ageing, with the majority of participants being 55+.

Good Boost are delivering in 80 venues in the UK and on track to grow to 250 by December 2023, creating a nation-wide service for Healthy Ageing delivered in existing community spaces and growing internationally from this summer.

WeWALK, represented by Jean-Marc Feghali came in second and earned the silver medal.

There are approximately 253 million visually impaired people worldwide, and many rely on the white cane, a simple tool primarily designed to provide ground-level obstacle detection. By equipping the white cane with modern technology, WeWALK delivers a safer and more independent mobility experience to visually impaired people.

WeWALK is more than a product, it fosters social inclusion by empowering visually impaired people.

Heather Duncan’s BlackWood Homes and Care took the bronze medal.

Blackwood Homes and Care has a 50 year legacy of accessible house design and using technology to help people live their lives to the full. Blackwood has over 1600 properties across Scotland, three care homes and delivers care at home. Peoplehood is a programme led by Blackwood which also includes 9 partners across industry and academia. This trailblazing programme will create a place-based menu of products and services, physical and virtual, which supports people as they age. Everything we do at Blackwood is making the most of our expertise and is co-designed with people who have lived experience.