This significant event celebrated the initiative's numerous achievements whilst announcing a transformative £1.7 million investment from the National Lottery People and Communities Fund to sustain community work and projects for the next seven years.

The launch featured multiple speakers from a range of sectors, with NI First Minister Michelle O'Neill delivering the keynote address. She was followed by Professor Ian Greer, Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast; Paul Sweeney, National Lottery Community Fund UK Committee Member and Northern Ireland Chair; John Walsh, CEO of Belfast City Council; and John McClean, CEO of Radius Housing.

QCAP has been nominated as a partner in this new award alongside the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council, and Radius Housing. Throughout the application process, QCAP worked collaboratively with other partners to support the Market community in securing this significant award, which has been made by the UK Lottery office. This involved technical support, evaluation work and the showcasing of QCAP and MDA’s growing portfolio of place-based programmatic work.

This investment will support QCAP's existing offer in the Market area by providing additional staff and resources to translate academic research into practical projects and local action. The funding creates opportunities for meaningful community transformation that builds upon established foundations developed since the inception of this community academic partnership in 2021.

QCAP will also serve as a learning partner, working closely with the Market Development Association to monitor and evaluate the impact of local transformational programmatic work and activities. Crucially, this role involves understanding how this innovative approach can be adapted and scaled for implementation in other communities across the UK.

The learning generated through this initiative will be disseminated via two established platforms: the Belfast Community and Innovation Network and the C4 Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness. These networks provide valuable opportunities to share insights with community practitioners working in diverse local and wider UK contexts.

This investment represents a significant milestone for community development in the Market area and demonstrates the potential of collaborative community-academic partnerships in creating lasting social change. QCAP looks forward to collaborating and contributing to this exciting next chapter of community transformation.