Applications Invited for MIT Solve - Maternal & Newborn Health 2020

About the Organization:

Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact.

Maternal & Newborn Health

Every 11 seconds, a woman or newborn dies of complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, mostly from preventable or treatable causes. While the majority of these deaths occur in low-income countries, marginalized communities everywhere are disproportionately affected: in the United States, for example, a black woman is 3.3 times more likely to die from a complication in pregnancy or childbirth than a white woman.

The MIT Solve community is looking for technology-based solutions that promote the health and well-being of women, new mothers, and newborns everywhere. To that end, Solve seeks solutions that:

• Expand access to high-quality, affordable maternal and newborn care for women, new mothers, and newborns, including by expanding the health workforce, improving service delivery and diagnostics, and lowering barriers to seeking care, including stigma;
• Decrease the risk of disease among mothers and newborns, including by increasing vaccination rates and reducing infectious disease transmission from mother to baby;
• Improve gynecological health for all women; and
• Support the mental and emotional health of women throughout pregnancy and after childbirth, through psychological and medical care, as well as community support.

Eligibility Criteria:

• 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 our community.
• If you have a solution, they hope you'll apply.

How will my solution be evaluated?

THeir judges are experts and leaders from across industries and sectors. Solve's staff and community (including our 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.

Prizes

All solutions selected for Solve’s five current Global Challenges will receive a $10,000 grant funded by Solve. Solver teams will be selected by a panel of cross-sector judges at Solve Challenge Finals during UN General Assembly week in New York City on September 20, 2020.

In addition to Solve funding, the following prizes are available to Solver teams selected for the Maternal & Newborn Health Challenge. To be considered for a prize, complete the prize-specific question within the application. You do not need to meet these requirements to apply to the Maternal & Newborn Health Challenge:

• The Andan Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion
• Innovation for Women Prize
• Health Workforce Innovation Prize
• The AI for Humanity Prize

Deadline: June 18, 2020

For more information please check the Link