WUNRN
Submit your Entry for the
Women | Tools | Technology Challenge
The competition is heating up for the Women | Tools | Technology Challenge. We are looking for the best innovations that catalyze the economic advancement of women through technology.
Entries can be submitted until 5PM US EST on April 14, 2010.
For more details and to submit your entry online, visit:
http://www.changemakers.com/technologywomen
Guidelines
and Criteria
The Women | Tools | Technology Challenge
is open to all types of individuals and organizations (charitable
organizations, private companies, or public entities) from all countries. We
consider all entries that:
- Reflect
the theme of the challenge: Women | Tools | Technology: Building
Opportunities & Economic Power
- Indicate
growth beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated impact and
sustainability. While we support new ideas at every stage and encourage their
entry, the judges are better able to evaluate programs that are beyond the
conceptual stage and have demonstrated a proof of impact.
- Are
submitted in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese.
Please complete the entire entry form and submit
before April 14, 2010.
Assessment Criteria
The winners of Women | Tools | Technology will
be those that best meet the following criteria:
Innovation:
This is the knock-out test. The entrant must describe a systemic and/or
transformational solution that, when applied, will expand women's access to and
use of technology to support their economic advancement. The innovation will
demonstrate a substantial difference from other initiatives in the field with
potential for replication. The solutions may include:
- Development
of a new technology that meets an unmet need for women
- Expanded
distribution of an existing technology that already serves women
- Improved
outreach and education that teaches women how to use a technology to their
utmost advantage
- Better
implementation processes - such as creative partnerships, distribution
mechanisms or financing - that ensure technology use is effective and
sustainable for women.
The ideas and solutions generated through this
challenge must spark profound transformation in the way technologies used by
women in developing countries are invented, designed, accessed, understood,
used, or serviced.
Social Impact: It is important that the innovation provides a
system-changing solution that expands women's access to and use of technology
to promote their economic advancement. We will look for projects and solutions
that have the potential to:
- Increase
women's economic productivity or provide new economic opportunities
- Rethink
women's engagement in significant economic sectors - like energy and
information and communication technologies
- Identify
and address at least one of the barriers which have prevented women from
experiencing the benefits of technology
- Demonstrate
how women are integrated in the lifecycle of the technology development
process not just as technology users, but also as technology designers,
manufacturers, marketers, etc.
Some innovations will have proven success at a
small level, while others will have potential to grow, engaging millions of
people. Still others will achieve their impact quickly, while some will seed
change for the long term. We look for breadth and depth, numbers and stories
that make a substantive difference in the lives of women and their communities.
ExxonMobil has a special interest in supporting investment worthy solutions
that support women's economic opportunities in the developing world.
Sustainability: For an innovation to be truly effective it must:
- Demonstrate
a plan for financial support
- Explain
how partnerships, community support, design, marketing, or distribution
opportunities will support long-term viability
Entrants should describe not only how they are
currently financing their work, but also how they plan to finance their work in
the future. The most successful entrants describe a long-term vision with
regional and or global targets and the financial model to support them.
Entrants should also demonstrate that they have strong partnerships and support
networks that help achieve the project's mission.
For more information about how to integrate
women in the technology development lifecycle and the barriers that
historically prevent women from accessing and/or using technology, see the
International Center for Research on Women's (ICRW) white paper, Bridging the Gender Divide in Technology: How technology
can advance women economically.
Challenge
Deadlines and Procedures
Online submissions are accepted until April 14,
2010 at 5PM US EST. At any time before this deadline, participants are
encouraged to revise their entries based on questions and insights that they
receive through the Changemakers' collaborative process. Participation in the
discussion enhances an entrant's prospects and provides the community and the
judges an opportunity to understand the entrant's project more completely.
Participants are reminded to include all revisions in the entry form. Revisions
made in the comment field are less likely to be viewed by the judges.
There are four main phases in the challenge:
- Entry Stage, January 27 - April 14, 2010: Entries can be submitted until 5PM US EST on
April 14, 2010, and throughout this stage anyone can participate
in online discussion with the entrants. Early entries - received by March
1, 2010 - will be eligible for additional prizes.
- Online Review and Judging, May 25 - June 2, 2010: Online review and discussion continues.
Simultaneously, a panel of expert judges and a team of Ashoka staff select
10-15 finalists.
- Voting, June 2 - June 16, 2010: The Changemakers community votes online to select the
three award-winners from the slate of finalists.
- Winners Announced, June 23, 2010: The Women | Tools | Technology winners - the three
finalists that receive the most votes - will each receive a cash prize of
USD $5000.
Participation in the challenge provides the
opportunity to receive feedback from fellow entrants, Changemakers staff,
judges, and the Changemakers community. Showcasing initiatives and
demonstrating social impact advise potential investors about how best to
maximize the strategic impact of their investments.
Prizes
Challenge Winners: The top three entries will win USD $5000 each. Winners
of the Women | Tools | Technology Challenge will also be invited to participate
in a collaboration workshop with Ashoka’s Changemakers and ExxonMobil during
summer 2010.
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