A Bradford organisation which helped young people become the “entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and responsible citizens of the future” has ceased operating due to financial difficulties.

Partners in Innovation, part of the Positive Bradford initiative, was a not-for-profit company developing a “culture of enterprise and innovation” in schools and communities, helping youngsters develop projects improving society, the economy and environment.

It ran a national competition called Solutions for the Planet with partners including Yorkshire Water, Arriva, H20 Water Services, Morrisons Utility Services, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Metro.

Partners in Innovation development director Elaine Barker said: “In spite of our best endeavours to protect the organisation during these difficult economic times, we have been unable to secure sufficient funding in the time frame necessary. We have made every effort to salvage the situation and reduce our overheads to a bare minimum. Nevertheless, we have no option but to take this very difficult decision.

“Although we’re extremely saddened that Solutions for the Planet (S4TP) will not run this year, we’re very proud that so many schools, businesses and public service providers worked with us. It is simply a shortfall in cashflow that has stopped us from continuing this vital work.”

Partners in Innovation’s success stories include mother and baby packs devised by students at St Joseph’s College, Manningham, which were adopted by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod) and raised more than £170,000 for the charity. Delivered to Third World communities by aid agencies, the packs contain a water filtration system, immunisations, a sterile birthing kit, vitamins, a mosquito net and training for birth attendants.

The students – Isabella Ricordo, Kimi Omolokun, Megan Crowley and Katie Deardon – had the idea after visiting a remote Nigerian village where, with droughts and malaria common and the nearest hospital many miles away, high numbers of women were dying in pregnancy and childbirth.

The idea won a national competition to find a ‘Solution for the Planet’, run by Partners in Innovation in 2008 and the students were invited to Downing Street to meet Sarah Brown, wife of then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

This year they were nominated for Yorkshire Women of Achievement awards along with Miss Barker, who accompanied the girls and Cafod representatives to Nigeria to introduce their packs at a clinic where eight out of 24 women had lost at least one baby.

Other ideas submitted by schools to Solutions for the Planet included a scheme helping street children in Uganda, which was adopted by Hope for Children UK.