Live in the Liverpool City Region? Got a powerful business idea that offers a new way to address a health or care challenge locally? We’re offering eight inspiring local people a year's £23,000 Real Living Wage salary, £5,000 seed funding, and leading support to make their business idea a reality.
Unlocking LCR's hidden entrepreneurs
Our communities are filled with hidden entrepreneurs with the inspiring ideas and passion to drive change that come from lived experience. Yet without financial security and the right opportunity, many are held back from becoming the social entrepreneurs we need.
Starting in early July, Citizen First LCR is a full-time fully-salaried 12-month programme that will support eight hidden entrepreneurs to build businesses that help tackle health and care challenges facing local communities, supported in some way by technology.
We're looking for inspiring local people with innovative business ideas that offer new ways of addressing local health or care challenges rooted in their lived experience, but face barriers to making them a reality.
Sound like you? Apply today. Deadline 4 May.
See below for further information and download the Citizen First LCR recruitment pack here
To remove barriers we're offering:
for a full year
to build your business
with full curriculum
available when you need them
to integrate technology into your solution
A series of optional in person information events will take place across the Liverpool City Region during the weeks of 14 and 21 April. Further events will be added to this page.
Join us and ask any questions that you have.
15 April, 11-12:30pm
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool L3 1DS
22 April, 2-4pm
Firefit Hub, 131 Upper Warwick Street, L8 8HD
16 April, 11:30-1pm
Torus Foundation, Central 4 Corporation Street St Helens WA9 1LD
22 April, 10-11:30am
Bootle - Lock and Quay, 2 Irlam Road, L20 4AH
23 April, 5-6pm
Southport - Southport Market, King Street, PR8 1LA
Starting in early July, Citizen First LCR is a full-time fully-salaried 12-month programme that will support eight hidden entrepreneurs to build businesses that help tackle health and care challenges facing local communities, supported in some way by technology.
The programme is aimed at local people from the Liverpool City Region who have an innovative business idea that offers a new way to address a local health or care challenge rooted in their lived experience, but face barriers to making it a reality.
1. A great business idea:
- That offers a new way of tackling a health or care challenge
- Has the prospect of becoming an investable business
- Can be tech enabled in some way (don’t worry if you’re not a tech expert or clear on this yet. We’ll provide support to help you integrate technology into your solution)
2. Lived experience
- That shows you’re the right person to make this idea a reality
- You’ve experienced or witnessed this challenge first hand and understand its impact
- The Citizen First LCR offer removes barriers to making your business idea a reality
3. Entrepreneurial drive
- That demonstrates you have the passion and drive to be an entrepreneur with all the challenge that entails
Tech-enabled simply means that technology can be integrated in some way into your business, from a website that supports your work to Artificiail Intelligence being at the core of it, and everything in between. Don’t worry if you’re not a tech expert or clear on this yet. We’ll provide support to help you integrate technology into your solution.
No, our recruitment process is completely CV-less. Citizen First LCR is open to any person living in the Liverpool City Region who has an inspiring business idea that offers a new way of tackling a local health or care challenge and believes this unique offer removes barriers for them to make it a reality.
No, you just need a great business idea, direct or indirect experience of the challenge, and strong entrepreneurial drive. You might still be at ideas stage and that's absolutely fine.
Yes, you can apply if who have already set up your business. You may have been doing it in your spare time at the side of your desk or may have now taken the leap. Crucial to us is that you can demonstrate that the Citizen First LCR offer removes barriers to you making your business idea a reality. You will be employed by us for the year of the programme.
Yes, the programme is designed to support people who may not have had access to traditional business opportunities, including those who are unemployed and/ or on benefits. To support participants to understand the impact of participating in the programme on their benefits, all candidates shortlisted for interview will be offered an income maximisation review by IncomeMax, a successful social enterprise that has spent the last 15 years providing confidential money advice services.
No, as long as it's a company (rather than a charity) that addresses a health or care challenge locally that's fine. It might be a company limited by shares or guarantee, a Community Interest Company or a more traditional commercial business.
Citizen First LCR is a full-time programme running for 12 months from early July.
We believe that you learn best by doing so you’ll be supported to roll up your sleeves from day one and take your business idea directly to your customers and communities. You’ll develop your business model and evidence base by testing your assumptions with the people who would buy your product or service. And you’ll build your brand, be supported to integrate technology into your solution, and engage with investors. By the end of the year your goal is to have secured investment to take your best next step following the programme.
Citizen First LCR is a full-time commitment for the 12 month period and you will be required to participate in all aspects of the programme and research underpinning it.
You will receive a Real Living Wage salary of £23,000 for 12 months, £5,000 seed funding to help develop your business idea, a dedicated business advisor, full training, and support from tech experts at the University of Liverpool to integrate technology into your business.
You'll be employed by us on a year's Fixed Term Contract with a salary of £23,000. Your contract of employment will set out the terms of your employment including expectations that you:
- participate fully in all aspects of the programme and the research undperpinning it
- attend all training and support as required including regular meetings with your business advisor and sessions with the wider cohort
- will only work on the programme and your business idea during the 12 month period
This is a hybrid programme. The majority of your time will be spent working remotely but we'll have regular full-cohort days working together. We currently anticipate these being fortnightly.
No, you will be required to only work on your business idea and the programme during the 12 month period.
You will be able to use your seed funding flexibly to develop your business. Three areas all participants will be required to cover are travel and expenses incurred, branding for your business, and vouchers for your co-design group (a programme requirement). There will be a simple process to unlock seed funding over the course of the 12 months.
You will own the IP for the business idea you bring to the programme, as well as any developments you make during the programme’s 12-month duration. Public Life will provide training and support, and the University of Liverpool will contribute expert support to help you develop your business idea and create a Minimum Viable Product to attract investment.
No, this is your business and you will own all of it.
Citizen First LCR is supported by a research collaboration of organisations interested in understanding how we can bring this unique approach to communities across the country. You'll be required to share your experiences throughout and supported to capture data that can help us answer our research questions. We want to understand:
- How a fully-salaried 12 month programme like this best supports hidden entrepreneurs to develop and launch investable technology-enabled businesses addressing unmet health and care needs within the Liverpool City Region
- The key barriers faced by hidden entrepeneurs in translating their lived experiences and community-rooted ideas into viable health and care solutions and how we can mitigate these
- How expertise from a range of organisations and sectors can support hidden entrepreneurs to develop investable technology-enabled health and care solutions
We want to get to know you as a person not a CV (in fact we won’t even look at CVs!) and have designed each stage with that in mind.
Stage 1: Your short application. Deadline: 4 May
Stage 2: In person selection event. Week of 12 May, Liverpool City Centre.
Stage 3: Final interviews. Week of 19 May.
Job offers will be made to the successful eight participants one month before the programme beings in early July.
Applying for Citizen First LCR couldn’t be easier. You'll be asked to answer three simple questions (250 words max each). You’ll then be invited to submit a three minute pitch video. We’d recommend reviewing the ‘What we’re looking for’ section before answering. The deadline for applications is 4 May and you can apply by clicking here.
