Applications open for Clarion Housing Group’s William Sutton Prize
Howard Lake | 9 August 2021 | News
Applications are now open for Clarion Housing Group’s revamped William Sutton Prize.
After three years of The William Sutton Prize, Clarion Housing Group has made some changes to the categories and the judging panel. The two-prize focus remains, but this year’s focus for The William Sutton Prize for Social Innovation will be ‘A Home for All’, and The William Sutton Prize for Placemaking and Affordable Housing Design will now be called The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking.
The William Sutton Prize was developed by Clarion Housing Group, the UK’s largest provider of affordable housing, to celebrate the legacy of its founder, William Sutton, as a 19th century innovator and philanthropist who bequeathed his fortune to improve the quality of social housing.
Advertisement
There is up to £20,000 on offer for the winners to help turn their bright ideas into reality, with the funding provided by Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group.
SEE ALSO: Winners of Clarion Housing Group’s William Sutton Prize announced (28 March 2021)
“No idea is too big or too small” say the organisers, who are keen to see “ground-breaking concepts addressing a wide range of issues”. These could include:
- solutions to rough sleeping
- preventative solutions for those at risk of homelessness
- multigenerational living ideas
- innovation in housing with care models
- the use of smart technology to empower social housing residents in the management of their homes and engagement with their housing provider.
The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking
This year Clarion is seeking applications from architects and designers for The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking. Areas of focus include, but are not restricted to:
- creating sustainable and successful communities
- sustainable architecture and construction
- energy efficiency
- innovations in promoting biodiversity and green living.
Judging
The winning entries will be determined by a panel led by Clare Miller, Group Chief Executive of Clarion, and including Rebecca Sycamore, Executive Director of Strategy and Development of St Mungo’s (Clarion’s charity partner), and Jeremy Porteus, Chief Executive of Housing LIN.
Also part of the panel is Sebastian Rocca, Founder and CEO of Micro Rainbow which won The William Sutton Prize for Social Innovation in its inaugural year and has gone on to be named one of the top 100 UK social enterprises in NatWest’s SE100 Index.
Polly Praill, Head of Development at The Hackney School of Food, said:
“From the outset, we wanted the Hackney School of Food to be replicated across many more schools, sharing our vision for food education with communities across the country. Winning The William Sutton Prize has enabled us to make this a reality by funding the development of a toolkit to equip and inspire others to create their own School of Food – we’re excited to see what happens next.”
Clare Miller, Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group, said:
“William Sutton’s legacy was to transform lives and communities and it’s been a real privilege to see our winners doing the same over the last few years. There are some hugely talented architects, designers and social entrepreneurs out there and through the Prize, we’re committed to helping them develop their ideas to make a difference to their communities.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.