The Inspire Fund supports projects that engage underserved communities with the topic of brain health and reducing the risk of dementia. These projects are collaborative, with researchers, communities, creatives, and people with dementia coming together to develop innovative projects.
In 2024 we funded 10 projects through the Inspire Fund totalling £104,734 - six seed fund projects and four follow-on fund projects.
There are two core criteria projects have to meet. Projects should:
- Engage people from underserved audiences, such as minority ethnic communities, marginalised or socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, with the topic of dementia.
- Build knowledge and engage the public with the topic of brain health (in the context of dementia risk reduction) and explore ways to encourage behaviour change.
Follow on fund (up to £20,000 per project)
The follow-on fund is open to projects previously supported through Inspire Fund. This funding is to enable teams to grow their projects and incorporate key learnings from their initial funding.
Project title: Your brain explained
Project lead: Michelle Smith at Theatre for Life
In this project, Michelle and the team at Theatre for Life are building on the impact they had in their original project, in which they created a theatre production exploring the brain which they toured across Portsmouth and Southampton. With this new funding, they want to further engage with neurodiverse young people to inform development of the play, to ensure representation of neurodiverse experiences of brain health. In collaboration with researchers from the University of Southampton and Southampton Children’s Hospital, they’ll hold creative and engaging arts-based workshops to develop the play. The team will also create a sensory and social narrative guide on brain health and dementia to further support neurodiverse audiences to participate. The play will then be taken on a community tour of Hampshire, and filmed for YouTube, promoting positive changes young people can make for their brain health.
Project title: Brain health ambassadors
Project lead: Alanah Knibb
Alanah is building on her original project in which she created Three Nines Fine – a comic telling the story of Aṣàbi and her journey growing her understanding of brain health. This new funding aims to expand the reach of the comic, with online events, science festivals, and the release of a Swahili version. Alanah will also work with a group of brain health ambassadors, supporting them to develop their creativity in writing and comic creation, with the goal of sharing their stories of brain health through comics. Alanah will focus on engaging women from Black, African and Caribbean backgrounds, and socio-economically disadvantaged communities. She will also evaluate the impact of Three Nines Fine, seeking to understand how it has altered attitudes and beliefs around dementia risk and brain health.
Project title: Voyage inside the brain
Project lead: Shaaron Leverment and Ben Brown from Explorer Dome
With this new funding, Explorer Dome will bring their exciting Voyage inside the brain experience to more schools and communities across the South West of England. This immersive, hands-on adventure takes students on an incredible journey through the human brain, showing how it works, what keeps it healthy, and how scientists study it. The team will continue their partnership with Bristol Neuroscience, and look to establish other university partners in the South West. This will support them in bringing local researchers to schools to showcase the dementia research taking place in the area. The team will also refine the content of the experience, the practical hands-on activities and build stronger curriculum links to support teachers to embed the messages in other classroom lessons. The team will target schools that don’t typically get opportunities like this, and also have a community offer to widen access – such as extra events at school pick-up to engage parents.
Project title: Sussex brain bus roadshow
Project lead: Prof Sarah King
In her original project, Sarah worked with artist Daniel Locke and local community groups in and around Brighton to create the Sussex Brain Bus. The bus is a working bus on the Stagecoach South 700 Coastliner route between Brighton and Littlehampton, and is decorated inside and out with messages about brain health. With this new funding, Sarah and the team want to take the bus out on a roadshow to local communities. The bus will stop at three council-led events, where artist Daniel Locke and researchers Sarah King and Claire Lancaster will lead interactive workshops, sharing insights into dementia research and brain health. Participants will learn simple, positive steps to boost brain health and lower dementia risk. The team will share a printed booklet and short animations through the roadshow events, as well as via local public health teams, libraries, and online platforms, empowering everyone to make lasting, positive changes.
Seed fund (up to £5,000 per project)
The seed fund is open to new applicants to the Inspire Fund. This funding enables the testing of new engagement approaches and to build or strengthen partnerships in the project team.
Project title: Wild about brain health
Project lead: Harriet Palin from Durham Wildlife Trust
In this project, Harriet and the team at Durham Wildlife Trust want to help communities in Sunderland and County Durham embrace healthier, happier lifestyles through fun, nature-filled activities, and reduce the risk of dementia. They’ll lead 10 wildlife walks and host engaging brain health workshops, bringing over 100 participants along for a journey to discover how dementia prevention, physical activity, social connections, and brain health go hand in hand. Focusing on minority ethnic groups, socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, and rural communities, the team will offer health education culturally sensitive, with the aim of reducing stigma around dementia. By combining outdoor physical activity with health education, the team aim to inspire sustainable changes in participants’ daily habits, such as regular exercise, healthy eating, and stress reduction.
Project title: Healthy minds, stronger communities: Brain health awareness
Project lead: Dr Fassah Bibi from Mustafia Sharif
Fassah and the team at Mustafia Sharif aim to raise awareness of brain health and dementia among women from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in Greater Manchester. They will host interactive sessions every week, sharing information on brain health and dementia risk in a range of languages including Urdu, Pashto, Punjabi, and English. By opening up the conversation, Fassah and the team hope to dispel cultural myths and stigma around dementia. They aim to equip women with valuable tools and insights, and inspire them to become brain health champions in their families and communities.
Project title: Abbey's brain health challenge
Project lead: Bryony Littlefair from Abbey Community Centre
Abbey’s brain health challenge sets out to bring the local community together to build understanding of brain health and dementia risk reduction. The challenge kicks off with a fair during Dementia Action Week in May 2025, with stalls from local organisations, choir performances, brain health quiz and bingo, creating a positive and empowering focus on brain health. Attendees will be encouraged to sign up to the challenge, taking place from June-December. They will pledge to take part in at least two of the sessions or workshops in the programme, and commit to taking care of their brain health long term by taking on a new activity. The project focuses on people aged 50+ in the ethnically diverse communities of Kilburn and South Hampstead. From June to December, interactive workshops on nutrition, fitness, creative writing, and museum visits keep the energy going, inspiring people to take charge of their brain health.
Project title: Black brain health across generations: an art-based initiative for learning and action
Project lead: Lorna James from Black Health Forum (Bradford)
This project brings the Black community in Bradford together to boost brain health discussions and tackle dementia stigma with creativity and connection. Led by Lorna, and in collaboration with Magda Jordao at Leeds Beckett University, the project consists of creative intergenerational workshops which will mix hands-on activity like creating artworks with information and discussions on brain health. Each workshop will be rounded off with a shared meal, and will take place on the weekend to help boost attendance. Following the workshops, Lorna and the team will work towards holding an exhibition showcasing creations and a social media campaign, to be held in Black History Month in October. By taking an intergenerational approach the team hope to empower the community to develop strategies to promote brain health across generations, and reduce barriers to talk about brain health and dementia.
Project title: Lewisham youth brain health project
Project lead: Fola Afolabi from Youth Involvement and Engagement Lab
The Youth Involvement and Engagement Lab, Lewisham Young Mayor’s team, and SPIN Dementia Network Plus (SPIN-D Network +) are launching an exciting 6-month project to raise awareness about brain health and dementia prevention. Seven young people will become Youth Brain Health Champions and receive training in brain health and advocacy, going on to co-create radio episodes and an outreach campaign. The team will then host listening sessions in schools and youth clubs across Lewisham and share the resources to create intergenerational dialogue about dementia and brain health. The team also aim to support the SPIN-D Network + to develop a UK-wide Young People’s Advisory Group on Brain Health, to further involve young people within their network.
Project Title: CommUniTEA: Demystifying dementia risk and embracing community connections together for brain health
Project lead: Dr Pallavi Nair
CommUniTEA aims to bring people together with community-led tea gatherings to spark conversations about brain health and dementia. Pallavi and her team will focus on South Asian communities across six London boroughs. Each gathering will offer a welcoming and familiar space where participants can openly discuss about ageing, memory and dementia – helping to break down stigma, build understanding and share simple practical tips for reducing dementia risk. These gatherings are designed to resonate with cultural habits, using tea as a symbol of warmth and connection. The engagement sets out to be grassroots-led, with the engagement co-created with community leaders to ensure information is culturally relevant and easy to understand. The project brings together culture, connection, and compassion to promote brain health and empower communities to take positive action together.