PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICATIONS FOR THE AWARDS ARE NOT YET OPEN

Celebrating creativity that meets real needs.

An Awards Scheme from the Mindfulness Initiative

and Hart Knowe Trust

Why does mindfulness need innovation?

Mindfulness is an inherent human capacity that we all have, but cultivating and refining this capacity requires training, and these efforts are necessarily a product of the times we live in.

As culture and technology evolves, so must the ways in which mindfulness is shared and practiced to meet the needs of people. If not, everyday people miss out.

This is why this innovation awards programme has been created - to celebrate the efforts being made in making mindfulness practices more accessible, diverse and effective. 

In 2019 the Mindfulness Initiative published a Fieldbook to support innovation in this space. This Awards scheme has been developed in response to the widespread interest and curiosity that the Fieldbook has sparked.

“The Innovation Fieldbook identified the challenges we face if we are to make the benefits of mindfulness more accessible without compromising the integrity of the approaches that have brought us to where we are now. In my experience innovation can be a pathway for transforming positive aspirations into compassion in action.”

Vin Harris, Co-founder, Hart Knowe Trust

What is the purpose of the awards?

• Celebrate inspiring people and creative ideas in mindfulness. 
• Support innovators in succeeding in their initiatives.
• Build a mutually supportive community of innovators.

Who’s behind the awards? 

This award scheme is a collaboration between two organisations that believe in the importance of innovation in the field of mindfulness. 

Mindfulness Initiative

The Mindfulness Initiative bridges contemplative practice and public policy, championing the inner dimension of social change. In 2019 we published the Fieldbook for Mindfulness Innovators, which has since been supporting innovators globally in developing their projects. 

Hart Knowe Trust

The main purpose of the charity is the advancement of education;  providing opportunities for training so that the development of human potential will improve the quality of individuals’ own lives and enable them to share the value of what they have learnt.

Who can apply?

If you are based in the UK, you’re welcome to apply. (If you’re not - sorry, but we do hope to expand to other geographies in the future.)

These Awards are open for all, and we warmly welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds. You are particularly encouraged to apply if you are from an underrepresented community, or your innovation positively impacts a community that has had less access than others to the benefits of mindfulness-based programmes.

We want to support and encourage individuals and early-stage initiatives, because we believe they have the potential to make a major contribution in diversifying the field of mindfulness. 

We are open to applicants with an existing project, one that is already operational and in the process of being scaled, or just an idea that is just coming to life and is ready to be taken to the next stage of development.

How to apply and by when?

To apply please fill out this form by the 30 April 2022.  This link will take you through to a web-based form. You can download this word document to complete if you prefer, and return it to [email protected]

We would also be grateful if you would consider filling out this (optional) EDI monitoring form, so that we can see who we are reaching with these awards and build on this in the future - thank you.

What are we looking for?

We have six core criteria. We are looking for innovators, and innovations that demonstrate:

• Solutions to a real problem
• Creativity and risk-taking
• Diversity, inclusion and accessibility 
• Testing and adapting as you go along
• Collaboration and learning from each other
• Sustainability and impact over time

What happens if you win? 

We will be selecting a winner, and a runner-up, as well as three outstanding nominees. 

We are delighted to be able to support two innovations with financial backing of £4000 (winner) and £2000 (runner-up) respectively. The award winners will receive these funds to support their project. What this means is entirely up to you, and we encourage the award winners to utilise the fund how they see fit to develop their project further.

Winner gets: 

• £4000 cash to spend on the development of their project
• Short film, social-media friendly, to showcase what’s exciting 
• Showcase on the Mindfulness Initiative website and newsletter
• Constructive feedback and ideas from judging panel

Runner-up gets:

• £2000 cash to spend on the development of their project
• Short film, social media friendly, to showcase what’s exciting 
• Showcase on the Mindfulness Initiative website and newsletter 
• Constructive feedback and ideas from judging panel

Outstanding Nominees get:

• Feature on the Mindfulness Initiative website and newsletter 
• Constructive feedback and ideas from judging panel

Helpful resource:

Fieldbook for Mindfulness Innovators

APPLY NOW

The above link will take you through to a web-based form. You can also download this word document to complete if you prefer, and return it to [email protected]

We would also be grateful if you would consider filling out this (optional) EDI monitoring form, so that we can ensure we are reaching as many communities with these awards as possible - thank you.

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