Apply now
Before you fill in this form make sure you’ve read about and understood / agreed with the proposed programme, and had a look at the FAQs. If you still have questions, please email Paul Sturrock at paul@sidekickstudios.net.
No phone calls please. You can ask us to phone you in the email, but we won’t answer questions on the phone until we’ve at least screened you via email as we don’t have the resources to speak to everyone. If you phone us before you email it will hinder your application, so please don't do it. Thanks!
What we're looking for
Below we've outlined the kind of criteria we'll be using to select the organisations we'd like to speak to. When you are ready to go, fill in the form at the bottom of the page. We will read your application and then let you know within two weeks if we’d like to meet for the initial chemistry meeting. We are looking for applications that clearly demonstrate:
1. A significant challenge
We are looking for you to present us with a social challenge which will impact the lives of a significant number of people. We don’t expect you to present us with the solution - we will do this together as part of the project
But we do expect you to demonstrate an ability to crystallise this challenge into a concrete and specific area of focus which we can address through a service or product which uses digital technology. For example, you might identify the lack of parental participation and support as a contributing factor in educational underachievement. But we would then expect you to suggest the development of a service which enables parents to engage and communicate with teachers and classroom activities as an area of focus.
The project must have the potential to be financially self-sustainable. Sidekick School, and the funding it provides, is about the opportunity to transition away from dependence on government or charity funding by creating services which deliver value that someone is willing to pay for - either for themselves or on behalf of others.
The project must have the potential to scale and make a disruptive and original impact on the social problem you’ve identified. We want to make a real and significant difference.
2. A resourceful organisation
We will be looking for a track record of making a significant impact on big, unmet social challenges.
We are looking for evidence of a commitment at board level to developing financially self-sustaining services backed up with a willingness to commit appropriate resources and budgets to the project.
We would like to see a commitment to innovation as exemplified by use of new digital technology to deliver services, and a collaborative and open culture with tolerance for risk and experimentation.
3. A committed team
We will be working together to design amazing new digital products and services. We need you to contribute a team who not only have deep knowledge of your sector, but have the necessary tenacity and resourcefulness to carry through to the end. We also want to work with people with an innovative attitude and the ability to work collaboratively outside organisational boundaries.
Does this sound like you? If so, please fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We review all the applications as they come in, and we make decisions about who to speak to on a fortnightly basis.
