The Sparks’ Innovation Fund – an exciting opportunity to transform the lives of future generations

Sparks has been investing in groundbreaking paediatric medical research for over 20 years, tackling some of the most serious conditions affecting pregnancy, birth and early childhood. The impact that we have had on the lives of children and their families would not have been possible without the dedication of our committed supporters.

Our new Innovation Fund aims to continue this tradition by funding some of the UK’s most exciting new research and provides an exciting opportunity for major supporters to engage with Sparks as venture philanthropists.

This innovative approach could achieve significant improvements to the health and everyday lives of children and their families. The aim of the fund is to support exceptionally bold and pioneering clinical research, providing researchers with the opportunity to test out novel ideas, challenge current thinking and explore a new approach to conventional practice. Because of the speculative nature of such research, applicants have few funding sources to turn to for investment. We would like to change that.

We want to:

• Develop innovative technologies, therapies and tools to tackle specific medical challenges
• Accelerate the pace of clinical application – from lab to bedside
• Provide seed funding for a diverse range of research projects to give proof of concept for testing novel hypotheses
• Leverage significant funding from strategic funders such as the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and commercial partners who may be able to take the concept into everyday clinical use.

Our vision is to generate research outcomes that have the potential to provide exciting and transformative breakthroughs, which might not otherwise have been discovered due to the limitation of funding available for paediatric research.

To do this we need your help. If you are able to consider making a significant donation to this area of our work, then we’d love to hear from you. For further information or to speak to someone about what making a donation would involve then please do get in touch.