Herd Dynamics CIC wins Social Innovation Challenge 2026
The £30,000 award will enable Herd Dynamics to grow its innovative approach to youth development and leadership.
Herd Dynamics CIC, led by Danni McKinnon, was named the winner of this year’s Social Innovation Challenge (SIC) at the Social Enterprise Scotland Awards 2026. Securing the top prize of £30,000 will enable Herd Dynamics to grow its innovative approach to youth development and leadership.
Herd Dynamics CIC impressed the judges with the strength and credibility of its plans to scale its impact through the Social Innovation Challenge funding. The organisation is challenging perceptions of what is possible for young people by creating opportunities for them to build confidence, develop new skills and realise their leadership potential. Its distinctive approach brings young people and professionals together to learn from one another, creating benefits that extend far beyond individual programmes. The organisation has already demonstrated the positive impact its model can have on senior leadership teams as well as young participants.
The SIC judging panel recognised the strong foundation built by Danni McKinnon and her team. Through a shared vision and deep connections across Scotland’s social enterprise ecosystem, Herd Dynamics is well-positioned to take its work to the next level.
The two £10,000 runner-up awards were presented to:
- Rhyze: Rhyze works with community growers to improve soil health using nutrient-rich compost produced by worms. Through research and hands-on collaboration, Rhyze is developing a practical and affordable approach to restoring soil health and strengthening environmental resilience.
- Code Division: Code Division addresses barriers to employment in the digital economy for heritage-language, refugee and diaspora communities. The project provides accredited digital skills training in learners’ native languages, helping to widen access to employment opportunities while tackling digital exclusion.
Danni McKinnon, founder of Herd Dynamics CIC, said
Herd Dynamics grew from what I’ve learned at Eat Sleep Ride: horses don’t care about your job title; they respond to who you really are. That makes them brilliant teachers of leadership.
My aspiration is to bring that learning to businesses and leaders across Scotland, helping them build trust, teamwork and shared leadership, while creating income that supports the young people and communities at the heart of Eat Sleep Ride.
Gael Drummond, Firstport’s Chief Executive, said:
Congratulations to Danni and the team at Herd Dynamics CIC on being named the winner of this year’s Social Innovation Challenge. Their work is a powerful example of social innovation in action, creating opportunities for young people to build confidence, develop leadership skills and realise their potential. We’re excited to see how this funding will help them reach even more young people and create lasting positive change across Scotland. I’d also like to congratulate our outstanding runners-up, Rhyze and Code Division, and thank everyone who applied for bringing forward such inspiring and innovative ideas.
About the Social Innovation Challenge
The Social Innovation Challenge supports people with bold ideas to tackle some of Scotland’s biggest social and environmental challenges. Each year, we invite applications from individuals and organisations with social enterprise ideas that can create lasting positive change while addressing an annual theme.
This year’s Challenge focused on four key priorities for Scotland: eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency, and ensuring high-quality, sustainable public services. Alongside the £30,000 winner’s award, two runner-up prizes of up to £10,000 were also available.
The SIC continues to attract strong interest from across the country. This year, we received 77 Expressions of Interest, resulting in 33 full applications. The shortlisted ideas highlighted the creativity and ambition of Scotland’s social enterprises, demonstrating innovative approaches to some of the country’s most entrenched social and environmental challenges.
Over the past four years, the Challenge has supported projects making a real difference in communities across Scotland. Previous winners and finalists have tackled fuel poverty through an innovative island heat network, reduced the cost and environmental impact of children’s clothing through a shared wardrobe model in Glasgow, created new opportunities for young people through heritage skills training, and improved access to childcare through a trauma-informed, flexible, and community-led solution.
A huge thank you goes to everyone who applied to this year’s SIC, as well as the assessors and judging panel who supported the selection process.
The next edition of the Social Innovation Challenge will open in spring 2027. For updates and information about the 2027 edition, subscribe to our newsletter.