Start by finding two other individuals who share your passion and commitment to this process. Together, come up with a big question that frames your challenge and inspires a design solution. This should be open ended enough to enable exploration, but focused enough to create a plan of attack.
The online application is your chance to introduce us to your team, highlight your skill sets and perspective, and show your thinking so far. In the application, tell us a bit about yourselves and why you are interested in this. You must also identify your audience, frame your big challenge, create a hypothesis of how to address it, and describe some initial ideas for what you would like to build and test. After reviewing the applications, we will conduct 30 minute video interviews with shortlisted teams.
Five teams will receive $70,000 in funding. Selection will be based on the proposed team, their focus on high risk populations, an interest in Design Thinking as a method for innovation, and the potential for sharing the excitement and strategies from this project with others in your circle of influence.
Design Thinking is an approach to creative problem solving that focuses on user needs through research, prototyping, and iteration. You will learn and practice this process over the course of a four-month period, beginning in March with a week-long workshop.
Power to Decide will provide guidance along the way, through topic-focused workshops and through remote support. This helps you and your team develop new skills while also connecting with the larger Innovation Next cohort.
The final pitch is the culmination of your work and research: you’ll present a compelling story about the evolution of your design, a vision for the minimum viable product (MVP), and a plan of how to get there.
All Teams will present a virtual pitch in early June.