At Spacecubed’s 10th Anniversary celebration in July 2022, Innovation and ICT Minister Stephen Dawson presented a $5.9 million Lotterywest grant to Spacecubed to continue to provide positive change to WA’s innovation ecosystem over the next three years. There are three complementary elements created as part of this grant, the Innovative Society Fund, the Innovative Society Index, and Meshpoints (The Innovative Society Constellation).
This article discusses the specifics of The Innovative Society Fund and its two components - Lotterywest IdeaStarter and Catalyst. Each caters to a different area of the innovation ecosystem, one targeting ideas coming through existing innovation incubation and acceleration programs or services and the other focusing on capacity building through new or expanded, projects, programs or events that strengthen, progress or grow WA’s innovation ecosystem
Lotterywest IdeaStarter: for not-for-profit organisations delivering incubation or acceleration programs or services
Lotterywest IdeaStarter funding is for not-for-profit organisations delivering existing innovation incubation and acceleration programs or services. Funds are granted to the organisation, and used to test ‘early stage’ innovative ideas within their program or service, validate that an idea has an opportunity and to progress it towards further investment or support.
These early stage, small grants of up to $15,000 for each idea will enable more Western Australians to be equipped with ‘mind-sets, skill-sets and tool-sets’ to develop innovative solutions and opportunities, accelerate the number of people inspired to innovate within the State, and support ideas to be developed that can positively contribute to Western Australia being a smart, innovative society.
Access the full Fund Guidelines, read the FAQ’s and apply for the Fund here.
Catalyst Fund: for not-for-profit organisations building capacity in industry
Catalyst, supported by Lotterywest, offers two streams of funding available for not-for-profit organisations:
- Stream 1 – supports organisations that want to develop or deliver an initiative to strengthen, progress or grow the innovation ecosystem in WA. This may include programs, projects, or events that will enhance Western Australia’s capacity for innovation.
- Stream 2 – supports organisations that want to develop their own innovation capacity/project to deliver better outcomes for the WA community.
Catalyst offers grants to eligible organisations of $20,000 – $100,000 and aims to develop ideas that can positively impact Western Australia (Stream 1) or organisations wanting to develop their own innovation capacity to generate projects or initiatives that deliver better outcomes for Western Australia (Stream 2).
Access the full Fund Guidelines, read FAQ’s and apply for the Fund here.
Meshpoints: providing a community, governance and facilitation support to enable WA to be a more innovative society
Meshpoints, also referred to as the Innovative Society Constellation, provides a community, governance structure, and support services to Partner organisations who are creating a more innovative society. These benefits and services are provided free to all Meshpoints Partners.
For more on becoming a Meshpoints Partner organisation, head here, or keep an eye out for our future posts discussing featured partners, projects and news. You can also follow Meshpoints on LinkedIn and Facebook.
The Innovative Society Index: reporting, measuring and tracking the state of innovation in WA
The Innovative Society Index is a 10 year project to research and measure development of an innovative society in Western Australia, the impacts of the Lotterywest IdeaStarter and Catalyst funding, and the Meshpoints Innovative Society Constellation program.
The Index will include an annual summit on yearly results, opportunities and gaps to focus priorities for Constellation projects and the Fund in the coming year. The Index aims to provide a common framework for assessing and reporting on these impacts, and assist organisations to report their own impacts. More announcements to come in late 2022 for The Index including what it entails and how you can get involved.
Spacecubed’s Innovative Society Initiative is a ten year project focused on collaboration, innovation and education. Through each component listed above, we aim to accelerate the number of people inspired to innovate within the State, providing increased support for ideas, building local capacity and measuring the impact of innovation in Western Australia.
If you want to get involved with this initiative, please reach out to our team today.
