We do

Innovation Catalyst is a new partnership set up to generate, incubate and spread innovation in local government. We are working as part of the Catalyst team on a collaborative workstream focused on youth crime - providing innovation consultancy to Knowsley and Westminster local authorities, designing and delivering a series of collaborative workshops and capturing 'lessons learned' and insights from the work.

The Innovation Catalyst is a partnership between the Innovation Unit and Young Foundation, supported and funded by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and working in conjunction with Essex, Knowsley, Sheffield and Westminster local authorities. Initially funded until March 2009, this first year is a development phase for the future work of the Catalyst.

The project has three key strands of work:

• A collaborative workstream on youth crime, providing research, intensive support and innovation consultants to help develop and support innovative pilots.


• The creation of local government specific resources to support and build capacity for innovation and its diffusion, including building a community of practice and online portal.


• Developing an operational and governance model for the Innovation Catalyst in the future, with a series of delivery mechanisms underneath.