The £50,000 grant will fund quizzes on employment, diabetes and financial planning for old age
Clean Slate Training and Employment, home to Quids In! Pro, has been awarded a major innovation grant to take its mission to even more people on low incomes.
Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, had a pot of more than £6 million to share among projects that are tackling societal problems in new and exciting ways.
Clean Slate’s £50,000 grant will allow the social enterprise to replicate its flagship Future-Proof Finance Quiz across the fields of employment, Type-2 diabetes and financial planning for later life.
The Future-Proof Finance Quiz is a simple concept. It’s made up of 25 yes or no questions to help participants think critically about their money situation.
Each no answer triggers some advice and a small challenge to prompt changes in behaviour.
It’s free and straightforward to use, whether alongside a support worker or by the participant on their own.
Crucially, it filled a gap in the money guidance landscape as it was developed with people on low incomes in mind.
The new quizzes will help people on low incomes to think about improving their job prospects, cutting their chances of developing Type-2 diabetes, and starting to plan a comfortable retirement when funds are tight.
Jeff Mitchell, founder and MD of Clean Slate, said:
This is a real vote of confidence for our work engaging people at the wrong end of inequality. The funders recognise how it’s wrong that people on low incomes die 10 years younger than others, and struggle into retirement having to depend more on care providers. These are Quids in! readers – social tenants, unemployed people and benefit claimants. We’ll use what we’ve learnt, to engage and inform them about the things that people with money seem to know, like on staying healthy, finding work and planning for the future.
As well as the grant, winning organisations like Clean Slate will get tailored business support throughout the year-long project.
Clean Slate was already known for its expertise in the job readiness and employment fields. Diabetes and ageing well were chosen as the additional quizzes because of the links between low incomes, chronic illness and shorter lifespans.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.
