We’re Back: OPD to Sponsor the 2026 TBAT Innovation Challenge Design Award

Backing bold ideas from day one.

At OPD, we believe great ideas deserve great support - and that’s why we’re proud to return as the Design Award Sponsor for the TBAT Innovation Challenge 2026.

As long-term supporters of the TBAT Innovation Challenge, we’ve seen the value that strategic, design-led support provides to ambitious innovators, turning ideas into viable, successful products. Our involvement in running workshops, judging the competition, and sponsoring the Design Award itself, reflects what we care about most: pushing design thinking beyond the obvious and helping turn smart ideas into real-world impact.

This isn’t just a sponsorship it’s a shared commitment to making things better, by making better things®.

About the Innovation Challenge

Now in its fifth year, the TBAT Innovation Challenge is a national programme designed to help UK SMEs unlock their next stage of growth through innovation. Run by TBAT Innovation, the Challenge combines expert-led workshops, tailored mentoring, and live pitch opportunities - supporting founders from concept to commercialisation.

The 2026 edition has now officially launched - with a prize package worth over £155,000, including cash awards and over £95,000 in tailored business support. The programme includes five free-to-attend online workshops and culminates in a live Finalist Showcase in October.

TBAT’s focus on enabling high-growth innovation aligns closely with OPD’s own approach to building commercially successful, human-centred products. It’s why we’ve supported the Challenge since the very beginning - and why we’re proud to do so again in 2026.

OPD’s role in IC26

We’re proud to once again play a hands-on role in this year’s programme:

• Sponsoring the Design Award and prize, recognising exceptional creativity and execution
• Judging at the Showcase Final and presenting the Design Award
• Presenting two workshops on the double diamond development model:
• Workshop 1: From Idea to Initiation – with Andy Last, Principal Design Engineer (March 18)
• Workshop 3: Investment, Traction and The Team – with Simon Collings, Head of Medical (May 20)

We’re proud to be part of this network once again.

Our Design Award: More Than Recognition

As part of our involvement in the Innovation Challenge, OPD is proud to be on the judging panel for all IC26 awards - and to sponsor and select the winner of the Design Award.

The award was created to recognise outstanding creativity, design thinking, and product execution. It includes a £5,000 consultancy package from OPD, tailored entirely to the winner’s needs. Whether it’s strategic product planning, design refinement, technical feasibility, prototyping, or testing - we provide focused, high-value support to help take their innovation further.

This approach reflects our commitment to early-stage innovators - providing not just recognition, but real, hands-on help that can accelerate their journey from concept to market.

Reflecting on IC25 and Boost Innovations

At last year’s Innovation Challenge, Boost Innovations won the Design Award for their industry-disrupting breast form - a brilliant, user-led product designed to be both breathable, beautiful and comfortable.

As part of their prize, Boost worked with OPD to carry out specialised testing on their product, proving its excellent performance. This gave them access to the kind of technical expertise and insight that can be hard to reach - and that we believe should be more accessible to promising innovators.

“Winning this Design Award was such an amazing experience. I’m so proud of what our small team has achieved. As well as the recognition that the award brings, one of the best parts for us is the opportunity to work with the OPD team as part of the prize - something we couldn’t have afforded to do without the award.” - Samantha Jackman, Director at Boost Innovations

In the video below, Sam shares more about their experience - and the value of accessing OPD’s skills, tools and thinking through the award.

Want to read more about Boost’s win and our collaboration?
Read our IC25 wrap-up blog: Celebrating Design, Collaboration and Innovation

Looking ahead

The Innovation Challenge 2026 is now underway, and we’re excited to see the ideas, teams and technologies coming through this year’s programme.

Whether at the workshops or the Showcase later this year, we look forward to meeting the innovators shaping what’s next - and supporting them through the Design Award and beyond.

Let’s continue to make better things, together.