Meet the 2024 Pitch Final Winner – Giving HOPE

Late last year, the ARC Accelerate 2024 cohort came together to pitch their groundbreaking ventures for a share of the prize fund. After much deliberation, the judges crowned Giving HOPE from Lancaster University as the winner of our £20,000 pitch prize.

Huge congratulations to the Giving HOPE team: Claire Mason, Kate Chivers, and The HOPE Mothers Group!

The Giving HOPE project

Giving HOPE is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to reducing the trauma experienced by mothers and babies separated at birth due to safeguarding concerns. At the centre of the Giving HOPE offer are the HOPE Boxes, one for mother and one for baby, each containing items to support mother and baby and that reflect their underpinning aims: to support connection, promote identity, recognise grief and loss, and minimise trauma.

This innovation was developed with those with lived experience (the HOPE Mothers Group), with support from a perinatal loss charity, and the charity Birth Companions. It is informed by user groups (midwives, foster carers, and social workers) and underpinned by the Born into Care research findings.

Why HOPE Boxes? And how do they work?

Traction so far

Since producing and trialling their first prototype in 2022, Giving HOPE has gained considerable traction with Health Trusts and Local Authorities, and is now working with over 50 Health Trust and Local Authority partnerships across England, with plans to expand further this year.

Of course, their incredible work hasn’t gone unnoticed! Besides the SHAPE Catalyst Award by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) that supported them during their time on the ARC Accelerate programme, the team has won NHS Safeguarding Stars awards and Lancaster University’s Research and Impact Award in 2024.

Next steps

Giving HOPE has now spun out of Lancaster University and incorporated as a Community Interest Company. With a new website and digital training for practitioners working across Health and Social Care launching in March, the team is looking forward to an exciting year ahead.

In addition, interest in the offering continues to grow, with increasing demand from new parts of the system, such as women’s prisons, residential parenting assessment centres and adoption agencies – there are so many opportunities for ‘spreading HOPE’ and scaling the offering, really showcasing the venture’s potential to create impact at scale.

The team is also working with King’s College London and the Universities of Exeter and Essex to develop the work within perinatal mental health services. Plans are in place for developing further research work to help ensure the Giving HOPE project continues to be built on research evidence.

Where to go to find out more?

You can find out more about Giving HOPE on GivingHOPE.org.uk!

If you would like to get in touch with the team directly, you can also email them at GivingHOPE@lancaster.ac.uk.