Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) Innovation Prize | Sagun’s Blog
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) Innovation Prize
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) Innovation Prize
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect more than one billion of the world’s most vulnerable people. These diseases can lead to increased poverty, stigma and isolation, malnutrition, and lifelong disabilities.
The first annual NTD Innovation Prize will identify and support innovators with creative ideas to solve some of the most challenging issues posed by NTDs across the globe. One cash prize up to $25,000 will be awarded at the 2019 NTD NGO Network (NNN) Conference. The prize, a project of American Leprosy Missions, is designed to encourage and support creativity and ingenuity, funding new ideas that can result in cost-effective, scalable and transformative impact for people affected by NTDs.
Focus Areas
The NTD Innovation Prize will fund ideas aligned with the BEST framework’s strategic domains of behavior, the environment, social inclusion and equity, and treatment and care. Cross-cutting themes related to data and analytics to support access to information and inform decision making are also encouraged.
Applications are open to both foreign and domestic non-profit and mission-driven for-profit organizations, including government agencies and academic institutions, regardless of location, age, size, or budget, who have ideas for ways to reduce the incidence and burden of NTDs through social innovation and meet the criteria outlined in the application process.
Applications may be submitted by an individual, with preference given to collaborative teams.
Selected finalists will be asked to undergo additional due diligence and eligibility checks to ensure the ability to manage funds and execute the idea effectively.
The application process for the NTD Innovation Prize involves three rounds:
Initial Round
Submit a 400-word abstract addressing the following questions:
Semi-finalists will be notified by June 15th.
Semi-Finalist Round
Abstracts will be reviewed and a subset of semi-finalists will be invited to submit the following as part of the second round:
Finalists will be notified by August 1st.
Finalist Round
Based on the video presentations, no more than five finalists will be selected by the panel to proceed to the final round where they will make a pitch during the innovation session at the 2019 NNN Conference in Liverpool, England. Each finalist will give a five-minute presentation to the judging panel and audience, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A.
The Innovation Prize winner will be announced at the conference closing ceremony.