SOLVE – an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has launched a series of Innovation Challenges offering grants worth $1 Million to help you in solving the most significant global problems with the lasting & transformational impact.
SOLVE believes that talent and ingenuity exist everywhere and, therefore, is seeking the best ideas and solutions to solve the complex challenges our world is facing. This year, the initiative has released five challenges based on major problems, and hopefully, in the future, we will see more such challenges.
Finalists in MIT SOLVE’s Challenges will pitch their solutions to a live audience of 400+ leaders and expert judges at Solve Challenge Finals in September during UN General Assembly Week in New York City. Those that are ultimately selected as a Solver will:
- Join a supportive community of peers, funders, and experts to help advance their innovative work through Solve’s nine-month program;
- Receive mentorship and strategic advice from Solve and MIT networks;
- Attend Solve at MIT, their annual flagship event in May; and
- Receive access to more than $1 million in prize funding for the 2020 Challenges.
Make sure your solutions address the questions each challenge has raised. It should begin with, end with, and involve the people for whom they’re designed.
- How can communities around the world prepare for, detect, and respond to emerging pandemics and health security threats?
- How can marginalized populations access and create good jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves?
- How can marginalized girls and young women access quality learning opportunities to succeed?
- How can every pregnant woman, new mother, and newborn access the care they need to survive and thrive?
- How can we produce and consume low-carbon, resilient, and nutritious food?
CHALLENGE 1: Global Health Security & Pandemics Challenge
The MIT Solve community is seeking the best solutions that can slow and track the spread of an emerging outbreak with the focus on preventative and mitigation measures that strengthen access to affordable primary healthcare systems and enhance disease surveillance systems…[more]
CHALLENGE 2: Good Jobs & Inclusive Entrepreneurship
The MIT Solve community is looking for the best solutions to equip workers with the durable skills needed to stay apace with the changing job market. It is also seeking solutions for inclusive entrepreneurial opportunities through access to capital, networks, and technology…[more]
CHALLENGE 3: Learning For Girls & Women
The MIT Solve community is looking for the best solutions that strengthen women’s and girls’ access to quality learning, promote STEM and digital literacy to effectively transition from education to employment and reduce the barriers from reaching key learning milestones…[more]
CHALLENGE 4: Maternal & Newborn Health
The MIT Solve community is looking for best solutions that promote the health and well-being of women who are not yet pregnant, pregnant women, new mothers, and newborns everywhere by expanding the health workforce, improving service delivery & diagnostics, and lowering barriers to seeking care…[more]
CHALLENGE 5: Sustainable Food Systems
The MIT Solve community is looking for solutions for a low-carbon global food system that provides nutrition with minimal environmental impact. It is also seeking solutions for small-scale producers with access to inputs, capital, and knowledge to improve yields…[more]
Who can apply to Solve’s Challenges?
Anyone, anywhere around the world can submit a solution to Solve’s Challenges. You can be an individual, a team, or an organization. You can be an applicant from previous years or already part of their community. If you have a solution, they hope you’ll apply.
For full participation details, please see Terms of Service.
What type of solutions will Solve accept?
Solve seeks innovative, human-centered, tech-based solutions to their Global Challenges. Their definition of “tech-based” is broad: in addition to AI, blockchain, and virtual reality, Solver teams have leveraged a plant-based fiber that absorbs oil spills, biodegradable sanitary pads, and user-friendly mobile apps. Learn about all their Solver teams‘ diverse technologies.
Through open innovation, Solve is looking for a diverse portfolio of solutions across geography, development stage, and team members’ gender and background. They encourage people of all backgrounds to submit applications.
Solution applications must be written in English. They will consider solutions at all stages of development:
- Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea.
- Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model. If for-profit, a new company getting off the ground that has raised little or no institutional capital (less than $500,000) in pre-seed fundraising.
- Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community. If for-profit, a young company that is working to gain traction and that has raised less than $2 million in institutional capital in seed funding.
- Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth in multiple communities or countries. If for-profit, an early-stage company that has established a track record and is seeking to raise a round of roughly $2 million to $15 million in institutional capital in a Series A or potentially B round.
- Scale: A sustainable enterprise working in several communities or countries that is looking to scale significantly, focusing on increased efficiency. If for-profit, a successful company that is scaling its operations and seeks to raise a round of more than $15 million in institutional capital.
How does Solve’s platform work?
Solve’s award-winning open innovation platform was designed based on 10 years of research conducted by the Climate CoLab, a project of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, which studies how people and computers can be connected so that collectively they act more intelligently than any one person, group, or computer has ever before.
Innovators and entrepreneurs, wherever they are in the world, can submit their solution to Challenges hosted on Solve’s platform using a user-friendly interface that encourages user participation beyond solution submission in the form of community commenting, voting, and editing solutions. In addition, all judging is completed inside the platform, where solutions are assigned to specific judges to evaluate those solutions.
How will my solution be evaluated?
Their judges are experts and leaders from across industries and sectors. Solve’s staff and community (including their Members, MIT faculty, and Solver teams from previous cycles) will conduct an initial review to select semi-finalists, then Challenge Leadership Groups will review semi-finalist solutions and select finalists. Judges will score solutions along the following criteria:
- Alignment: The solution uses technology to address one of Solve’s Global Challenges.
- Potential for Impact: The planned solution implementation has the potential to impact lives.
- Feasibility: Solution implementation is feasible, and the team has a plan for financial sustainability.
- Innovative Approach: The solution includes a new technology, a new application of technology, a new business model, or a new process for solving the Challenge.
- Scalability*: The solution can be scaled to affect the lives of more people.
- Partnership Potential*: The applicant clearly explains how the solution would benefit from the broad range of resources that the Solve community is positioned to provide.
*This criterion will not be considered during the initial review to select semi-finalists.
Finalists will pitch before the Challenge Leadership Group and a live audience at Solve Challenge Finals. If you are invited to pitch at Solve Challenge Finals, travel to New York will be reimbursed and accommodations will be provided.
The most promising solutions will form the new Solver class and build partnerships with the Solve community.
What will I get if my solution is selected?
There’s more than $1 million of funding available for the 2020 Solver Class. If you are selected as a Solver, you’ll receive a $10,000 grant from Solve, as well as access to significant additional prize funding. Visit each Challenge page to learn more about prizes.
However, being a Solver is about much more than prize funding. When you join their MIT-backed network, you’ll receive nine months of personalized support from Solve staff and Members of Solve’s cross-sector community. Through these connections, you’ll build the partnerships needed to accelerate your work, validate your impact and business model, and scale your solution.
Read about all the transformational benefits of being a Solver.
