The Rockefeller Foundation in partnership with InnoCentive, Inc. has launched a unique program where NGOs get an opportunity to collaborate with the best scientists, engineers, researchers and professionals from different parts of the world to contribute towards reducing poverty. The Rockefeller-InnoCentive Partnership is an innovative effort towards finding effective solutions against poverty by applying scientific and technological tools and involving the men and women behind science and technology in this.
But what is InnoCentive?
The InnoCentive is a global web community of more than 175,000 scientists, engineers, inventors, researchers and entrepreneurs from around 175 countries. This community is sought by high profile companies such as Procter & Gamble, SAP, Pendulum etc, governmental agencies and other organizations to seek breakthrough solutions for many of their Research and Development projects in various fields of science and engineering. On finding successful solutions, individuals from this community are awarded with financial awards of up to US $1,000,000. And now the same InnoCentive community will be able to provide solutions to NGOs working to reduce poverty in poor and developing regions of the world.
But where can NGOs find the money to afford the services of the InnoCentive community?
This is where the Rockefeller Foundation steps in. Open to the most innovative ideas, the Foundation this time has not only initiated this idea, but it is also at the forefront in offering grant support to NGOs so that they are able to seek the services of the best scientists, inventors and other technical professionals from the InnoCentive. Here is how the process works:
Step 1:
NGOs working for the upliftment of the poor and the vulnerable in any part of the world having scientific and technology-driven interventions. In order to scale up these interventions or to introduce new ideas based on science and engineering for reducing poverty in their areas, NGOs first need to submit an inquiry to the Rockefeller Foundation under the Rockfeller Foundation-sponsored Challenge of the Rockfeller-InnoCentive partnership. This inquiry has to be submitted online with all the relevant information given.
Step 2:
The Rockefeller Foundation will go through the proposal with inputs from the InnoCentive, Inc. On approval, the Foundation will release the grant to the NGO. The selected NGO will also have to enter into a contract with InnoCentive to use its services.
Step 3:
The NGO will then post its “competition” on the website of InnoCentive in which it will seek ideas to improve its interventions for reducing poverty. The InnoCentive community’s scientists, inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs etc will participate and contribute to this competition by presenting the best solution for their anti-poverty programs and projects. There are costs involved in publishing this competition on InnoCentive’s website which will be covered by the NGO from the grant given by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Step 4:
Out of the entries submitted by the participants, the NGO will select the best solution to implement it in its operational area. The participant submitting the winning solution will be awarded by the NGO through the Rockefeller grant. However, the award will be given in two parts: one during the selection of the solution and the other after its successful implementation.
The “competition” or challenge should cover any one of these disciplines: Chemistry, Engineering and design (e.g., bioengineering, civil engineering, electronics), Food and Agriculture, Life Sciences (e.g., biology, medicine, pharmacology) and Physical Sciences (e.g., nanotechnology, biophysics, geology).
But will this really work for NGOs?
Well, the Rockefeller Foundation has already tested this idea. In fact, the current partnership is a renewed collaboration between the Foundation and InnoCentive after successfully implementing it with some NGOs around the world. These include: Kenya-based NGO, Health and Water Foundation (in partnership with Global Giving), which was able to seek the best design for “waterless bio-latrines” which were used in the rural schools of Kenya. The SunNight Solar was able to receive ideas on solar-powered flashlight to lighten up the villages in the Sub-Saharan Africa. In another example, the Rural Innovations network in India was able to improve the “energy efficiency and production quality” of plate grinding mill used by the local community members for their livelihood.
For more information, visit this link.
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